Texas Marksmen FAQ
What is/was Texas Marksmen?
Texas Marksmen was founded in 2010 as a student organization at the University of North Texas for the purpose of teaching marksmanship to college students. It later became a 501(c)(3) charitable organization focusing largely on providing low cost Texas license to carry courses to UNT students. The organization was shut down in December of 2018 after false and defamatory allegations about the organization - made mostly by a corrupt Denton city councilwoman and UNT professor named Deb Armintor and an unethical journalist named Carter Mize - led to the resignation of its faculty advisor and student leadership.
What makes/made Texas Marksmen different?
My vision for Texas Marksmen was to bring the 2nd Amendment to millennials and Gen Z by appealing to some very specific aspects of their culture. We knew, when the organization was founded, that we would not be able to appeal to this generation if our focus was Olympic or Bullseye style competition. We were appealing to a generation that grew up playing Call of Duty and we tailored the organization to that generation. Our first events were tactical shotgun matches, and the reason we had matches of this nature is because pump action shotguns are inexpensive, the ammunition is easily available, anyone 18 or over can buy one, and because we could use lower grade steel targets that were less expensive. As the organization matured, we began offering Texas license to carry classes and expanded our training opportunities to include pistol, tactical carbine (mostly AR/AK type rifles), and precision rifle. We even had night shoots to allow students to shoot their pistol while holding a flashlight or to practice using an AR-15 with a weapon mounted light. While we did not purport to teach tactics or provide military style training, our training was intended to utilize the type of weaponry that students would be familiar with from video games. I would often buy firearms that I didn't even really want because I thought that they would be fun for my students to try out during training.
Isn't it true that Texas Marksmen taught white nationalism?
Absolutely not. It is true that I refused to train any individual associated with Antifa or Black Lives Matter. However, I also refused to train people associated with the Ku Klux Klan, Skinheads, actual Neo-Nazis, etc. The reason for refusing to train these individuals is because the club was intended to be a safe place of people who loved to shoot. Although clubs of this nature are inherently political with respect to 2nd Amendment issues, I did not want anyone to feel like the couldn't train with us because of who they were. Further, I did not want to train individuals who were part of organizations or movements I personally deemed as posing a threat of physical harm to others.
How did you keep people like that out of the group?
We organized on Facebook and had people join a "vetting" group, which is where they would remain only long enough for us to ensure that they weren't crazy and were not there to sow discord within the group. I had previously been involved in campus organizations where outside infiltrators attempted to take over the group and then vote to disband it. The vetting page was a safeguard against this measure. Another safeguard against this measure is that the group was not set up according to democratic principles. A new president was selected by the outgoing president and approved by a board of directors which consisted of me as well as the prior presidents of the organization. This was done to ensure that the group remained true to its original purpose and couldn't go off the rails.
Why bring Texas Marksmen back now?
In the aftermath of the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the media was quick to blame everyone and everything except the gunman who carried out the shooting. Activists like David Hogg want to make his generation the one that takes away our precious 2nd Amendment rights. There needs to be resistance to this. We are it. At the core of this organization is my belief that - in their heart of hearts - most people want to have fun. That is what we provide. Do we take safety seriously? Absolutely! Do we expect those who train with us to learn certain fundamentals? You bet! But this is something that folks are choosing to do in their own free time. It has to be fun or people won't come back. That is the problem with the NRA today. Nobody wants to sit through an 8 hour class for the "privilege" of firing a few shots with a 22 at the end of class. I am not saying that classes like that are bad - I am an NRA Certified Pistol Instructor myself - but they are not what the younger generation is looking for. My goal is to develop classes that will hold the attention of a younger generation, show them just how much fun this can be, and make them want to resist the forces of evil who want to remove that joy from their life.
How does this blog fit into the picture?
Well, I am hoping folks reach out to me through this blog. As I get this project back up and running, I will be using this blog to post about 2nd Amendment related issues, to review gear from time to time, and even to post cool ideas for training.
To be continued.....Stay tuned.
Texas Marksmen was founded in 2010 as a student organization at the University of North Texas for the purpose of teaching marksmanship to college students. It later became a 501(c)(3) charitable organization focusing largely on providing low cost Texas license to carry courses to UNT students. The organization was shut down in December of 2018 after false and defamatory allegations about the organization - made mostly by a corrupt Denton city councilwoman and UNT professor named Deb Armintor and an unethical journalist named Carter Mize - led to the resignation of its faculty advisor and student leadership.
What makes/made Texas Marksmen different?
My vision for Texas Marksmen was to bring the 2nd Amendment to millennials and Gen Z by appealing to some very specific aspects of their culture. We knew, when the organization was founded, that we would not be able to appeal to this generation if our focus was Olympic or Bullseye style competition. We were appealing to a generation that grew up playing Call of Duty and we tailored the organization to that generation. Our first events were tactical shotgun matches, and the reason we had matches of this nature is because pump action shotguns are inexpensive, the ammunition is easily available, anyone 18 or over can buy one, and because we could use lower grade steel targets that were less expensive. As the organization matured, we began offering Texas license to carry classes and expanded our training opportunities to include pistol, tactical carbine (mostly AR/AK type rifles), and precision rifle. We even had night shoots to allow students to shoot their pistol while holding a flashlight or to practice using an AR-15 with a weapon mounted light. While we did not purport to teach tactics or provide military style training, our training was intended to utilize the type of weaponry that students would be familiar with from video games. I would often buy firearms that I didn't even really want because I thought that they would be fun for my students to try out during training.
Isn't it true that Texas Marksmen taught white nationalism?
Absolutely not. It is true that I refused to train any individual associated with Antifa or Black Lives Matter. However, I also refused to train people associated with the Ku Klux Klan, Skinheads, actual Neo-Nazis, etc. The reason for refusing to train these individuals is because the club was intended to be a safe place of people who loved to shoot. Although clubs of this nature are inherently political with respect to 2nd Amendment issues, I did not want anyone to feel like the couldn't train with us because of who they were. Further, I did not want to train individuals who were part of organizations or movements I personally deemed as posing a threat of physical harm to others.
How did you keep people like that out of the group?
We organized on Facebook and had people join a "vetting" group, which is where they would remain only long enough for us to ensure that they weren't crazy and were not there to sow discord within the group. I had previously been involved in campus organizations where outside infiltrators attempted to take over the group and then vote to disband it. The vetting page was a safeguard against this measure. Another safeguard against this measure is that the group was not set up according to democratic principles. A new president was selected by the outgoing president and approved by a board of directors which consisted of me as well as the prior presidents of the organization. This was done to ensure that the group remained true to its original purpose and couldn't go off the rails.
Why bring Texas Marksmen back now?
In the aftermath of the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the media was quick to blame everyone and everything except the gunman who carried out the shooting. Activists like David Hogg want to make his generation the one that takes away our precious 2nd Amendment rights. There needs to be resistance to this. We are it. At the core of this organization is my belief that - in their heart of hearts - most people want to have fun. That is what we provide. Do we take safety seriously? Absolutely! Do we expect those who train with us to learn certain fundamentals? You bet! But this is something that folks are choosing to do in their own free time. It has to be fun or people won't come back. That is the problem with the NRA today. Nobody wants to sit through an 8 hour class for the "privilege" of firing a few shots with a 22 at the end of class. I am not saying that classes like that are bad - I am an NRA Certified Pistol Instructor myself - but they are not what the younger generation is looking for. My goal is to develop classes that will hold the attention of a younger generation, show them just how much fun this can be, and make them want to resist the forces of evil who want to remove that joy from their life.
How does this blog fit into the picture?
Well, I am hoping folks reach out to me through this blog. As I get this project back up and running, I will be using this blog to post about 2nd Amendment related issues, to review gear from time to time, and even to post cool ideas for training.
To be continued.....Stay tuned.
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