Reduce Off-Limits Areas for Texas CHL’s

[H6RBW]

Thanks, Charles. Let us know of any way we can help move this forward - much more important to me than the possibility of open carry.

[ErnieP]

This would be the most beneficial for the largest number of CHLs. It would extend the amount of self protection much more than Open or Campus. That fact should be very persuasive to the legislature when they decide which one or maybe two bills to act on this Session. Thanks for all you do Charles!

[jmra]

If I had to pick I would much prefer this than an open carry bill.

[s3779m]

With all the talk about opening up places to carry, is there currently a bill to allow carrying at work? It would seem to fit in along with campus carry.

[C-dub]

With all the talk about opening up places to carry, is there currently a bill to allow carrying at work? It would seem to fit in along with campus carry.

Property owners/employer's rights will not be trumped by law. There is no law preventing me from carrying at work except to respect the rights of the employer. There are a few places that are, but I think even those say that if the employer allows it employees can carry there.

[MeMelYup]

A lot of owners will not do that, if there would be an altercation it would (in today's society) lead to lawsuits because "the owner condoned the act" by giving permission. Sort of like the WalMart one where the family is suing them because it is against policy to carry on the clock. Their son was robbing the store when an off the clock manager killed the robber. They are suing WalMart because of their no guns policy and their son was killed by an employee.

[C-dub]

A lot of owners will not do that, if there would be an altercation it would (in today's society) lead to lawsuits because "the owner condoned the act" by giving permission. Sort of like the WalMart one where the family is suing them because it is against policy to carry on the clock. Their son was robbing the store when an off the clock manager killed the robber. They are suing WalMart because of their no guns policy and their son was killed by an employee.

Unfortunate to be sure. I would sign an agreement absolving my employer from responsibility of an incident I were involved in. Those are the conditions we carry everywhere else. Why would I expect it to be different at work. After all, I'm not a city employee.

[TrueFlog]

Any updates? There sure seems to be a lot of buzz on open carry....but I know many folks who are 200 times more interested in this process.

Only a small update. I/we gave up on the first Senator and it is now being considered by a Houston area Senator.

Chas.

Has there been any news on this matter? Hopefully the new Senator has been more receptive.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Any updates? There sure seems to be a lot of buzz on open carry....but I know many folks who are 200 times more interested in this process.

Only a small update. I/we gave up on the first Senator and it is now being considered by a Houston area Senator.

Chas.

Has there been any news on this matter? Hopefully the new Senator has been more receptive.

Yes, a 3rd Senator is looking at it and may file soon. If she doesn't do it very soon, it likely won't get the traction necessary to pass. Time isn't up until March 3rd, but that's way too late.

Chas.

[Jumping Frog]

Yes, a 3rd Senator is looking at it and may file soon. If she doesn't do it very soon, it likely won't get the traction necessary to pass. Time isn't up until March 3rd, but that's way too late.

We'll flood her inbox and voicemail with polite and respectful requests if you say the word . . .

[Charles L. Cotton]

Yes, a 3rd Senator is looking at it and may file soon. If she doesn't do it very soon, it likely won't get the traction necessary to pass. Time isn't up until March 3rd, but that's way too late.

We'll flood her inbox and voicemail with polite and respectful requests if you say the word . . .

We can't start putting pressure on people until it's filed. That's the mistake the open-carry folks made in 2009 when they hammered Debbie Riddle and destroyed their reputation in Austin.

It's perceived as a major change so people are going to be reluctant to file something when they know I know what it takes to get it passed. It's easy to file a bill to placate someone, then don't work it.

Thanks for the thought and rest easy, if it get's filed I'll ask folks to turn on the heat!

Chas.

[H6RBW]

Charles,

Your efforts are appreciated. Please let us know, when the time is right, how we can help.

Can't tell you how much I'd love to be able to carry into the courthouse - especially after the story about the Kaufman County A.D.A. last week.

[Richard_B]

Any updates? There sure seems to be a lot of buzz on open carry....but I know many folks who are 200 times more interested in this process.

Only a small update. I/we gave up on the first Senator and it is now being considered by a Houston area Senator.

Chas.

Has there been any news on this matter? Hopefully the new Senator has been more receptive.

Yes, a 3rd Senator is looking at it and may file soon. If she doesn't do it very soon, it likely won't get the traction necessary to pass. Time isn't up until March 3rd, but that's way too late.

Chas.

History has shown that any bill not prefiled stands a much lesser chance of passage.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Any updates? There sure seems to be a lot of buzz on open carry....but I know many folks who are 200 times more interested in this process.

Only a small update. I/we gave up on the first Senator and it is now being considered by a Houston area Senator.

Chas.

Has there been any news on this matter? Hopefully the new Senator has been more receptive.

Yes, a 3rd Senator is looking at it and may file soon. If she doesn't do it very soon, it likely won't get the traction necessary to pass. Time isn't up until March 3rd, but that's way too late.

Chas.

History has shown that any bill not prefiled stands a much lesser chance of passage.

That may be the case legislature-wide, but not for our gun bills. I don't know what percentage of our bills are pre-filed, but it's not large. Recent high-profile bills we passed that were not pre-filed include:

SB766 - Range Protection bill - filed 2/17/11
SB378 - "Castle Doctrine" filed 1/31/07
HB1815 - Motorist Protection Act - Filed 2/22/07
SB501 - Prohibiting government use of TPC §30.06 - filed 2/14/03
HB2909 - Established TPC §30.06 (among other things) - filed 3/13/97

Chas.

[Richard_B]

Any updates? There sure seems to be a lot of buzz on open carry....but I know many folks who are 200 times more interested in this process.

Only a small update. I/we gave up on the first Senator and it is now being considered by a Houston area Senator.

Chas.

Has there been any news on this matter? Hopefully the new Senator has been more receptive.

Yes, a 3rd Senator is looking at it and may file soon. If she doesn't do it very soon, it likely won't get the traction necessary to pass. Time isn't up until March 3rd, but that's way too late.

Chas.

History has shown that any bill not prefiled stands a much lesser chance of passage.

That may be the case legislature-wide, but not for our gun bills. I don't know what percentage of our bills are pre-filed, but it's not large. Recent high-profile bills we passed there were not pre-filed include:

SB766 - Range Protection bill - filed 2/17/11
SB378 - "Castle Doctrine" filed 1/31/07
HB1815 - Motorist Protection Act - Filed 2/22/07
SB501 - Prohibiting government use of TPC §30.06 - filed 2/14/03
HB2909 - Established TPC §30.06 (among other things) - filed 3/13/97

Chas.

Charles,

I won't get into a "is too" -- "is not" exchange with you, but it is not a "good thing" when a bill is not prefiled.

It is difficult enough to get a bill through the maze of obstacles in the legislative process...as an aside, some of them should have been eliminated many decades ago, such as the requirement for a 2/3rds vote to get a bill out of committee. When a bill is not profiled, it frequently is an indication of uncertainty of its support or issues related to organizations supporting it either involving communication with the hoped for author or other problems.

Speaker Strauss allowed at least one bill to die in committee in the immediate past session during the waning days of the legislative session when he could have moved it along had he wished to do so which is always a problem. Bills need to "hit the ground running" and make their way through the process as expeditiously as possible to stand much chance of passage.

And then there is the matter of leadership by the Governor and Lt. Governor. Gov Perry recently said that Texans should be able to carry anywhere, but where is his support now that it is time to actually do something about it?

I don't doubt the list of bills you cite as successful efforts despite their not having been profiled, but why weren't they profiled? With the legislature meeting every two years, it is not exactly a surprise when it comes into session, though what happens when it is in session may frequently be a surprise, but that's another story.

Failure to have a bill prefiled is not a death knell, but the bottom line is that it is worthwhile to have bills profiled.

Cheers