Less than a week after the Olmos Park City Council repealed an ordinance that prohibited anyone other than an authorized police officer from carrying a loaded rifle or shotgun on public streets, two other municipalities are following suit.

Late Tuesday and early Wednesday, city council members in Hollywood Park and Alamo Heights unanimously repealed their open carry ordinances, which were almost identical in nature to the one in Olmos Park.

Gun rights activists praised the two cities for their proactive decision to repeal the local laws.

“Anytime that the Second Amendment is respected and, even better, promoted, that’s a very good, very healthy and very American thing,” David Amad, vice president of Open Carry Texas, said Wednesday. “The truth of the matter is state law has pre-empted all of these different city ordinances for some time. It’s really just a formality.

“To get them erased from the books, that’s always a good thing,” he added.

All of the ordinances were in clear violation with state law, which allows individuals to openly carry a long gun without a license. Texas also prohibits municipalities from pre-empting state law by regulating the transfer, ownership or carrying of firearms.

The laws came to light early last week after CJ Grisham, president and co-founder of Open Carry Texas, was tased while being arrested at a small gun rights demonstration in Olmos Park. Two other activists also were arrested at that time.

Police charged Grisham, a retired Army sergeant from Temple, with assault of a police officer, interfering with the duties of a public servant and obstructing a roadway, according to court records.

A spokeswoman for the Bexar County district attorney’s office said Wednesday that prosecutors are reviewing all three charges.

The arrests drew ire from gun rights activists who say Grisham and his peers were lawfully practicing their First and Second amendment rights and that the police department’s response to the demonstrations were unwarranted.

They also say the arrests follow a pattern of similar behavior by Olmos Park police. Between Feb. 7 and March 17, three other activists who were openly carrying weapons in the small city were arrested, detained or threatened during similar demonstrations, the group says.

After videos of the incidents went viral on the internet, the Olmos Park City Council repealed its city ordinance that regulated firearms. On the same day, the Alamo Heights City Council announced it intended to discuss its local law, which was passed by the council on Oct. 12, 1964.

During a short presentation Wednesday morning, Alamo Heights Police Chief Rick Pruitt suggested City Council repeal its ordinance but he assured residents that the police department was aware of their concerns.

“Now let me offer some assurance to this council and to the guests in the room today and, of course, citizens,” Pruitt said. “We will investigate all cases of individuals displaying rifles and shotguns. … We’re going to observe the behaviors out there because it’s not the possession or display of weapons. It’s the conduct of the individual that’s going to initiate police action.”

“We’re not turning our heads to citizens’ concerns,” he added.

Hollywood Park Mayor Chris Fails said the ordinance there had been on the books for at least three decades. No one in the city was aware the ordinance existed, he said, and the police department was not enforcing it.

When the city learned of the local law, officials decided to discuss it during a workshop already scheduled for Tuesday. The City Council unanimously voted to repeal it.

“There was no way I would support enforcing that strict of an ordinance,” Fails said Wednesday. “I’m a big supporter of the Second Amendment. … I’m glad we have our ordinance in line with state law.”

Next steps

Amad, of Open Carry Texas, said he’s pleased the cities have repealed their ordinances. He hopes other local municipalities will review their laws, as well, to make sure they are in compliance with state law.

The city of San Antonio, for example, has a similar ordinance it does not enforce.

But Amad said the outcry was never about the local laws.

“This entire set of circumstances, the whole shouting match, was never about the Olmos Park ordinance,” Amad said. “It was about the behavior, and specifically the criminal behavior, of the police department.”

Specifically, activists would like to see Olmos Park Police Chief Rene Valenciano, one of the officers who arrested Grisham, fired and criminally charged for his conduct during the arrest.

Valenciano, who has been with the force for 14 years, was appointed interim chief in 2014 after former Chief Fritz Bohne resigned.

Amad said the group is pro-law-enforcement. He understands how police officers — and residents — might be wary of an individual openly carrying a long gun in public.

What he objects to, he says, is unlawful and disrespectful behavior.

“If you don’t have any indication that the man has broken the law, approach him that way,” Amad said. “We have no problem with an officer approaching us and asking what we are doing. When a police officer shows us respect, we will show them respect back.”

Brandon Burkhart, vice president of This is Texas Freedom Force, a nonprofit dedicated to gun rights and preserving Texas history, said he plans to attend every Olmos Park City Council meeting until Valenciano is fired.

And on Saturday, activists are planning a gun rights rally near Kenwood Park just outside Olmos Park. After they convene, they plan to march into Olmos Park.

“We’re not going to go away,” Amad said. “We’re not going to give out. We’re not going to give in.”