By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has come to the defense of Cleveland Cavaliers hoop star James Harden following his arrest in Harris County, Texas for having a handgun without a holster when he was pulled over on a traffic stop.
The gun was reportedly in plain sight, but various published reports say there are few details about the arrest, which occurred early Saturday morning. Harden was booked into the county jail but subsequently posted $100 bond and was released, published reports say.
The New York Post reported Harden is facing a misdemeanor charge of “unlawful carrying weapons.”
But CCRKBA officials have criticized the arrest.
“Let me see if we have this straight,” said CCRKBA Executive Director Andrew Gottlieb. “Harden had a gun, in Texas, which is a ‘Constitutional carry’ state where no carry license is required, open carry is legal and it was not in a holster. It was in his vehicle, allegedly in ‘plain view’ even though it probably wasn’t visible to any other motorist, but only to a police officer who approached the vehicle after it was stopped. We could argue all day long about the holster issue, but this seems like government trying to micromanage how someone travels from Point A to Point B with a legally-owned firearm in a state where gun ownership is as common as cowboy boots and sirloin steaks.”
CCRKBA Director and Armed American Radio host Mark Walters added, “If I asked you under what circumstances a man who owns his gun lawfully, in a state that recognizes constitutional carry and doesn’t require a permit, where open carry is lawful, and who isn’t a prohibited person, would possibly be facing charges for ‘unlawfully carrying a gun,’ you’d probably look at me cross eyed and ask me if I was kidding.
“Harden is facing 364 days in jail and a fine of thousands of dollars,” Walters observed. “Why? Because that lawfully owned and carried gun that wasn’t in a holster! This is the nonsense you expect in any state behind the blue wall but we’re talking about Texas! Something’s broken and this story is proof we can never let our guard down no matter what “color” state we live in!”
“We understand Harden is scheduled to be back in court on June 22,” Gottlieb noted. “Barring any unreported extenuating circumstances, a proper course of action might be to gently slap his wrist, encourage him to buy a holster and send Harden on his way.”
NBC News reported that under conditions of his release, Harden was ordered not to possess any weapons, and he cannot consume alcohol or drugs, “and must submit to random urine tests, according to court documents.”
