TexasCHLforum.com

LarryH wrote:

frazzled wrote: Why would you vote them out because the bills didn't pass? Unless you are a one issue voter-which I can respect- you vote for the best candidate.
I have a bias against incumbents as these positions were never meant to be long term appointments, but its not the only factor.

I believe that was his point. He was merely trying to determine the parameters of your previous statement.

Yes. I was trying to see how far you wanted to go/where you wanted to go, and I based most of what I said on this exchange:

frazzled wrote:

tacticool wrote:

Right2Carry wrote:I don't understand how Oklahoma was able to get the parking lot bill passed and yet Texas has failed repeatedly to get this done.

Maybe the Oklahoma legislature didn't waste the first couple weeks of their session wishing their biggest donors an official Texas happy birthday.

Maybe the Oklahoma legislature is more competent or more ethical than the Texas legislature.

No maybe about it. I'm voting anti-incumbent based on the last session.

You can only get change if you vote FOR change.

If I misunderstood you, or unfairly portrayed you as a one-issue voter, then I apologize profusely.

I don't like "lifetime legislators" either, but sometimes it works in 'our' favor to have some people in office a little longer than others - still, it is a double-edged sword. They're just as likely to turn on us as a coyote on a lab puppy.

Liberty wrote:Those of us that have Reps that are generally pro gun need to be talked to also, They could have got some of the legislation through if they had used some statesmanship and political savy.

This is true. My senator (Wentworth) authored the Campus Cary bill, and my rep (Kuempel) was one of the co-sponsors of the Parking Lot bill. While they did everything they could (on those bills) to get them passed, I need to go back and see what they did on the other legislation (esp. Voter ID) to see if their work on those bills helped or hindered in other places.

Now, posing a somewhat rhetorical question to tacticool and frazzled: Should I vote these two guys out because the two bills didn't pass? From all accounts, they were in the thick of it (until Kuempel had his heart attack in the elevator, anyway) and did everything they could to get the bills out of the stupid calendar committee. I burned up their phone lines (as did thousands of others), and they knew what kind of pressure they were feeling from constituents.

Yes, vote FOR change, but vote in an informed and (shall I say) 'tactical' way that helps advance us forward from the last session. Let's not lose ground that has to be made up again.

That's why I'm a little conflicted about Sens. Lincoln (AR) and Specter (PA) today - if they lose their primaries, great! BUT, then there is no anchor point for deep anti-incumbent voter turnout in the general election this fall in those races, it will be back to the regular R vs. D, instead of "get THIS bum out".

solaritx wrote:Chas,
Great idea.

Where can I go to see who these people are that supported and pushed the pro-gun bills?

Where can I find data on the Rep. leaders that put up road blocks on those good pro-gun laws that we all thougth were reasonable and right and all but doomed our 2nd amd. rights?

Where can I find those individuals that caved on their principles because the Dems said they would stop all laws from going through if the Conservatives continued to push for voter ID? They caved, nothing got done, and the Dem's basically got their way.

Personally, I want people to represent me, my views and my way of life. Not do the easy thing. Do the right thing.

For me, it's more important to be correct politically than it is to be politically correct.

I have no problem supporting those that stand for our rights, but I really don't know who these few lone voices are?

Garry N

I think the NRA (and likely the TSRA) publish report cards for legislators, but I'm not sure where to find them right now - I haven't done a search yet.

If you have the bill numbers, you should also be able to search the legislature's voting record through the legislature's website. I think.
I made a quick run over to the 2009 Legislature sub-forum (http://www.texaschlforum.com/viewforum.php?f=92) and found the bill numbers. They are:
Parking lot bill: HB1301, SB730
Campus Security bill: HB1893, SB1164

I haven't searched around here too much, but one possibility is: http://www.votesmart.org/index.htm
Wait! I think I found it! The Lege's own website. Duh!: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

Look under "view votes" under the "Search Legislation" box.

I'm late, too, but why not jump in? Does anyone else still have the March 2010 issue of your NRA magazine lying around anywhere?

I'm assuming that Wayne LaPierre's "Standing Guard" column is in all issues of the "family" of magazines. He had a bang-on column about the Canadian long gun registry's likely demise. It is somewhat tangential, but relevant to our Open Carry discussion.

He details much of the work done to get the registry repealed, and how the call to repeal began in earnest in 2006, with the election of Stephen Harper, who came into office promising to dump it. It is now 2010, and they still haven't gotten rid of it, yet they are on the verge. 4 years of educating the Canadian public to get to where they are, and the work still isn't done.

I must state that I am in favor of passing some form of OC, even though I'd likely not spend too much time doing so. I think, however, that the fervent supporters of OC have to take into account that just because it was brought up in '09, and some of our surrounding states now have it, that it will not be a slam dunk.

I may be misreading some of you, and I know that many of you have posted well-reasoned (and very much appreciated) arguments in favor of pursuing OC in '11, but I don't know if the public is in the right place yet. I think we have to get them much closer to the point that they say "Hey, this is a good idea - why don't we have OC in Texas?"

I have supported some of the work of opencarry.org in the past, and think that they can do some good here in Texas, but this has to be a unified front, with the support of NRA, TSRA, opencarry.org, and the many schools/clubs/groups that promote the shooting sports within Texas. Because of that, I don't think 2011 is the time to "push it". It may well be the time to say "we're looking for this in the future, and we are unified in pursuing this, but we've got to lay the groundwork first, and we will."

I plan on polling some of my fellow licenseholders and gunners this weekend to feel them out and see what they think. If this group of pro-gun people isn't ready for it, I think OC is going to have a long, hard road before there are any positive results.

Please don't take this as a slam on those seeking OC this coming legislative term, because it isn't. I just think we, as a state, aren't quite 'there' yet.