Gun-rights advocates already lobbying Texas legislators
Posted Friday, Nov. 26, 2010
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/11/26/2660699/gun-rights-advocates-already-lobbying.html#ixzz16TzvtDcn
By Anna M. Tinsley
Or at least a call to let Texans carry their guns -- whether concealed or out in the open -- at colleges and pretty much anywhere else they'd like in this state.
Less than two months before the Texas Legislature reconvenes in January, gun advocates are already asking state lawmakers for proposals geared to give gun owners more freedom.
"In Texas, there's no viable reason why Texans are denied their rights the way they are," said John Pierce, co-founder and spokesman of opencarry.org, a group championing expanded gun rights nationwide. "We're talking about a tradition and history of rugged individualism that Texas embodies.
Several gun bills have already been filed, including measures to allow guns at colleges, temporarily exempt guns and ammunition from sales taxes and exempt guns, ammunition and gun parts made in Texas from federal regulation.
Pierce said there's no bill filed yet to make Texas an open-carry state, allowing gun owners to freely and openly carry firearms wherever they go. But he and others who could not find lawmakers to file such a measure in 2009 are working to change that.
"I'm very optimistic," Pierce said. "I am optimistic that even if it doesn't happen in 2011, it will happen in 2013 or 2015."
Brian Malte said he hopes that Pierce is wrong. He said he and others at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence say they are keeping an eye on gun-related bills in Texas.
"We expected to see a slew of pro-gun bills coming down the pike," said Malte, the group's director of state legislation. "But the bills are a bit extreme. ... We'll do our best to derail all of them."
Here's a look at some proposals state lawmakers may consider next year:
Open carry
Texas is one of seven states -- along with Arkansas, Illinois, Florida, New York, Oklahoma and South Carolina -- where handguns cannot legally be worn in plain view in any form. Texas residents may carry concealed handguns if they have a permit.
Supporters say open carry is needed because under the concealed-carry law, gun owners can get in trouble for displaying their weapon even inadvertently, such as if a jacket blows back enough to show a gun. More than 66,000 people have signed an online petition asking Gov. Rick Perry and the Legislature to make Texas an open-carry state.
Pierce said he hopes to have two versions of the bill to give lawmakers a choice. One version would require Texans to have a permit to carry their weapons openly. The other would require Texans to have a permit to carry concealed weapons but would allow open carry without a permit.
"The number of states that don't allow any form of open carry are dwindling," Pierce said. "For Texas to be one of the last holdouts on a gun issue, it just seems un-American."
Katherine Cesinger, deputy press secretary for Perry, said: "The governor believes that a person ought to be able to carry their weapon with them anywhere in the state if they are licensed and have gone through the proper training. He would be open to looking at any proposals lawmakers bring to the table regarding open carry."
Malte said that proposal wouldn't be best in Texas, which has so many large urban areas.
"I think it's kind of a crazy idea for people to be openly carrying on crowded buses or shopping malls," he said. "Perhaps in more rural areas it might not be as extreme. But for law enforcement, this could be a very troubling scenario."
Guns on campus
This issue, which failed in 2009, is expected to be reintroduced in the next legislative session.
At issue is whether to allow concealed handgun permit holders 21 and older to carry guns into college and university buildings, dormitories and classrooms. The proposal began gaining attention after the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, which left more than 30 dead.
"This is another area of the law where there would be a large public policy benefit to supporting this," Pierce said. "Hopefully this will pass as well. It would be a valuable thing."
Utah is the only state to allow students to carry concealed weapons at colleges.
Advocates say such a law would keep students and employees safe in Texas. Opponents say allowing guns on campus could create more danger and even boost suicide rates. Republican state Rep.-elect David Simpson of Longview filed the measure.
Malte said he hopes that those who helped kill the bill in 2009 are active again.
"The sheer extreme nature of arming college students caught people's attention and took them off guard," he said. "Quite a few folks thought that would pass."
Constitutional carry
Some gun rights advocates hope that Texas lawmakers next year will follow in the footsteps of Arizona, Alaska and Vermont by making Texas a constitutional carry state, allowing concealed and open carry without permits.
Members of the new Lone Star Citizens Defense League are trying to find legislative support for such a proposal.
"Constitutional carry will basically enable Texans to carry a firearm for their personal defense without state regulation," said Shane McCrary, 38, of Odessa, who is helping spearhead the effort. "Nothing is really getting done in the state of Texas to enable our rights as honest citizens.
"My goal is that the soccer mom who has to go shopping or downtown -- or anywhere she needs to go -- should be able to carry a firearm in her purse so she can defend herself," he said. "We want constitutional rights for firearm ownership. If you haven't committed a crime, any place you want to be, you should have the right to carry your firearm."
Opponents say the proposal contradicts the reasoning that was behind concealed-handgun licensing -- which requires background checks, tests and training -- when it passed in 1995.
"Now they're saying, 'We're kidding,'" Malte said. "They're saying, 'We don't think anyone needs training or testing or background checks.' It's a recipe for disaster."
Other proposals
A few other proposals touch on taxes and federal regulation of guns.
A bill filed by Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, would add handguns, rifles, shotguns and ammunition to the list of back-to-school items that can be bought tax-free during the tax-free weekend.
Another would exempt guns, ammunition and gun parts that are made, sold and kept in Texas from federal regulation, including gun registration, dealer licensing rules and buyer background checks. State laws would still apply, according to the bill filed by Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, R-Parker.
The goal, some lawmakers have said, is to test Texas' sovereignty in relationship to the federal government. And it could lure small-gun manufacturers to Texas to make certain types of ammunition, parts and weapons that would be sold only in Texas.
"States don't get to pick and choose which federal laws they do and don't get to enforce," Malte said. "This is just another bill in a litany of bills that cross the logic line for most Americans."
Online: To sign or see the petition seeking open carry in Texas, go to www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?texasoc.
For more information about the Lone Star Citizens Defense League, go to lonestarcdl.org.
Anna M. Tinsley, 817-390-7610 Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/11/26/2660699/gun-rights-advocates-already-lobbying.html#ixzz16TzS4vB5
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