Cleveland Cavaliers star and former NBA MVP James Harden was arrested in Houston, Texas, over the weekend on a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully carrying a firearm. According to court records, the point guard was arrested and charged after police found a pistol sitting in clear view in his vehicle.
The problem wasn’t that Harden’s gun was illegal or that he threatened violence against anyone. He legally possessed the weapon, and Texas enacted Constitutional Carry in mid 2021. Before this incident, Harden had no criminal record. His alleged offense was that the gun in question was in a cup holder instead of a holster. In Texas, which fancies itself one of the most pro-gun states in the union, a law-abiding citizen can be arrested over a piece of leather.
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Even supposedly pro-gun states often have laws on the books that criminalize harmless conduct and turn otherwise law-abiding gun owners into criminals. James Harden now faces a Class A misdemeanor, and the conditions of his bond have temporarily stripped him of his Second Amendment rights as his case plays out.
The Texas law requiring a holster when open carrying a firearm in a motor vehicle is not the only law that trips up innocent gun owners in the Lone Star State. Texas employs a bizarre and confusing signage system that property owners can post outside of their businesses. A 30.07 sign prohibits citizens with a Texas license to carry from open carrying; however, it does not affect citizens carrying under the state’s permitless carry law, for some strange reason. A 30.06 sign prohibits concealed carry for LTC holders but does not affect open carry or those carrying without a permit. Business owners who oppose all guns on their property can post a 30.05 sign. A 51% sign applies to all establishments that make 51% or more of their income from selling alcohol, carrying in bars and other businesses that apply is strictly prohibited. In Texas amusement parks, LTC holders are typically allowed to carry unless 30.05-30.07 signage is posted, whereas Constitutional Carry ironically does not exist in these locations.
Another egregious, longstanding example of a red state infringing on the God-given rights of its citizens was the total ban on open carry in Florida until late last year. Despite Gov. Ron DeSantis signing Constitutional Carry into law in 2023, open carry remained a Class 2 misdemeanor. If a gun owner were carrying a pistol on his hip and a gust of wind exposed a firearm, it could presumably result in a criminal conviction. The state provided a narrow exception if the exposure of a gun was “accidental and inadvertent,” leaving gun owners entirely at the mercy of a police officer’s judgment.
Finally, in September 2025, the First District Court of Appeals ruled Florida’s open carry ban unconstitutional.
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In Tennessee, another Constitutional Carry state, a citizen is completely barred from permitless carry if they have had a DUI in the last five years or two DUIs in the last 10 years. This deprives Second Amendment rights over nonviolent misdemeanors and creates another class of disqualified citizens who would otherwise pass a federal background check.
Major progress has been made in recent years on the Second Amendment front. Before 2003, only Vermont allowed citizens to carry guns without a state permission slip. Now, 29 states allow permitless carry; however, many of these states still have landmines on the books that can turn innocent citizens into criminals for simply defending themselves, and oftentimes doing so with full intent to follow the law. Even your red state may be bureaucratically micromanaging your God-given right to self-defense.
Brady Leonard (@bradyleonard) is a writer, musician, and host of The No Gimmicks Podcast.