A non-resident Florida LTC holder... Say it ain't so RedRanger.

The DB was asking for it....hope he had a great time behind bars. I wouldn't have thought Southlake would wuss on the issue. If you don't have a LTC and you are carrying you need to spend some time n jail. If you have one and a cop asked you for it you need to show it to him or spend some time in jail and have your license revoked.

I'd be willing to bet there were other factors involved that they didn't want to mess with that led them to dismiss the case. When the legislature passed the open carry law they left the part of the law that say it's illegal but added an exception if you have a license. Because of that, it is still inherently illegal to open carry a handgun so the only way for you to show you are not violating the law is to show your license. Since open carry was granted by exception the only thing an officer needs to check your license is to see you open carrying.

Fair Enough

Why will the police not check guys standing on the corner looking for work that I see in almost all cities in North Texas?

Every time I have asked a LEO I have been told they don't enforce Federal Laws only state laws.

USCIS clearly states if you are Permanent Residence (GreenCard Holder) you must have it in your possession at all times, that is what give you legal right to be in USA and work in USA if you are an immigrant.

USCIS is division of Department of Homeland Security

https://my.uscis.gov/helpcenter/article/what-should-i-do-with-my-permanent-resident-card

I read both "versions" of the law beore it passed. The first "final" version Iread included a provision allowing LEO's to request a LTC just for openly carrying a handgun. This was deemed unconstitutional by the state's AG. That provision was removed. They didn't replace it with a proviion forbidding the practice, they just deleted that paragraph. as soon as I saw that I knew we'd have a Guinea pig carry without a LTC just to see what the courts would do. Asking to see your LTC jut because you're carrying is like pulling you over to see your drivers license just because you're driving.

Open carry without a license is pretty stupid, though. Should the need arise to use the firearm, even in defense of a third party, I can see a conviction happening. Sure, the courts do take into account the circumstances, and they likely would at the moment the firearm was used, but the time it was carried illegaly up to the point it was needed to, say, stop a violent crime, would have to be accounted for. Retrieving a gun from your vehicle to stop a cime is one thing. Having it on your person illegally is a whole other animal. Just how I see it.

edited to add: That raises a question I have. Let's say I'm jay-walking while openly carrying and get halted by an LEO for jay-walking. Can he demand my LTC? I know during a traffic stop if the officer sees or smells evidence of additional violations (beer on your breath, MJ smoke, etc) he can investigate that. But just having a pistol on my hip is not "evidence of criminal activity," it's just an observation. Would that "search and seizure" hold up in court, or not since we have the assumption of innocence?

Local law enforcement can't enforce federal law and the Supreme Court has ruled that a state can't pass a law criminalizing a person for being in the country illegally (Arizona v.United States). I don't agree with it, but that's what we have to work with.
If we are dealing with an illegal for something else we can call the Border Patrol to see if they want an INS hold put on the person, but that's very hit and miss.

It is inherently illegal to drive a car if you don't have a license or insurance.