LDB415 wrote:I suspect a significant number of people would find any carry of any firearm in a person's hand as threatening. For that matter the same would apply to fixed blade knives and many other items probably.
If you want to carry your AR pistol I'd suggest a sling as a less threatening alternative.
I am not advocating any form of restriction but sadly there isn't enough common sense in the general public to avoid some form of restriction now and then.
My point is the restriction should be that it cannot be carried in a manner calculated to cause alarm.
you should really stop using that term, it is too ambiguous and open to bad interpretation and misuse thereby letting gun haters lock you up
I've noticed a news outlets are referencing a piece done in the Texas Tribune, reporting Lt. Gov. Patrick has gone on record saying open carry is not a priority of this legislature and he further adds he doesn't believe there's enough support for it.
Last edited by gsansing on Tue Jan 27, 2015 3:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
My wife says I'm a gun snob.... I'm okay with that.
Life is too short to own cheap guns...
NRA Member / TSRA Member
Sounds like Patrick is already making excuses for it not even being brought up for a vote. Despite the fact that the GOP had OC as a plank in the platform. He's apparently unwilling to put in political capital into making it happen.
The problem is that OC is Toxic right now in the legislature thanks to OCTC, Kory Watkins, and his ilk. I suspect that the legislators are afraid of supporting the bill (HB195/SB342)because they will potentially be blamed for unleashing these kinds of people on the public w/o a background check. They are afraid of supporting a licensed OC bill because they are afraid OCTC, Watkins, ect. will do something (BAD PR, possibly even illegal) in retaliation. If they do nothing they only have to deal the fall out from not getting it to a vote. In the end OCTC needs to go away and stay out of things so that progress can be made on the issue. Alternatively Kory Watkins and company could volunteer to do something high profile and in the best interest of Poncho Nevarez as a way of apologizing after asking what he wants. I would suggest Watkins and company consider moving out of state as a good start.
How do you explain a dog named Sauer without first telling the story of a Puppy named Sig?
R.I.P. Sig, 08/21/2019 - 11/18/2019
I'm not going to point too much of a finger at Watkins and his band of merry cohorts. And it's not like anyone had no reason to think Patrick wouldn't support 2A legislation and OC.
“Public safety is always the first cry of the tyrant.” - Lord Gladstone
XinTX wrote:I'm not going to point too much of a finger at Watkins and his band of merry cohorts. And it's not like anyone had no reason to think Patrick wouldn't support 2A legislation and OC.
XinTX wrote:I'm not going to point too much of a finger at Watkins and his band of merry cohorts. And it's not like anyone had no reason to think Patrick wouldn't support 2A legislation and OC.
How is Dan Patrick supposed to bring an open-carry bill to the Senate floor for a vote if the bill never gets voted out of committee favorably?
Chas.
I suspect the heartburn derives from announcing less than 2 weeks into the session that open carry is on life support. From the outside, it might appear that not much effort was made to bring about something that was a rather prominent campaign promise.
Not trying to put words in anyone's mouth... not mine either.
I am not a lawyer. This is NOT legal advice.! Nothing tempers idealism quite like the cold bath of reality.... SQLGeek
XinTX wrote:I'm not going to point too much of a finger at Watkins and his band of merry cohorts. And it's not like anyone had no reason to think Patrick wouldn't support 2A legislation and OC.
How is Dan Patrick supposed to bring an open-carry bill to the Senate floor for a vote if the bill never gets voted out of committee favorably?
Chas.
I suspect the heartburn derives from announcing less than 2 weeks into the session that open carry is on life support. From the outside, it might appear that not much effort was made to bring about something that was a rather prominent campaign promise.
Not trying to put words in anyone's mouth... not mine either.
I think what adds to the frustration for me is what we see from our Congressmen in Washington. We expect them to fight but all I notice is them rolling on their backs and showing their bellies to the opposition. But this is Texas. We pride ourselves on being cut from a different cloth. We look challenges square in the eye and don't flinch. Don't tell me that something is important and then give up on it. That's the Washington way. This is a cleavage issue for this state and an absolute embarrassment that we are one of only a handful of states that don't allow open carry.
When I retired from the Army I could have picked up and moved anywhere but my family and I fell in love with this state. I want my last breath to be Texas air, but I want to die as free as possible.
"Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic deeds." - C.S. Lewis
My State Rep Joe Moody is a liberal puke who won't even acknowledge my communications with him. How about yours?
XinTX wrote:I'm not going to point too much of a finger at Watkins and his band of merry cohorts. And it's not like anyone had no reason to think Patrick wouldn't support 2A legislation and OC.
How is Dan Patrick supposed to bring an open-carry bill to the Senate floor for a vote if the bill never gets voted out of committee favorably?
Chas.
I suspect the heartburn derives from announcing less than 2 weeks into the session that open carry is on life support. From the outside, it might appear that not much effort was made to bring about something that was a rather prominent campaign promise.
Not trying to put words in anyone's mouth... not mine either.
If it's not voted out of committee, the GOP (who made this a prominent campaign issue) has no one to blame but themselves. They have near historic majorities in both houses of the legislature. They don't have to overcome the old "blocker bill" or 2/3 rule any longer. And being the majority, they controlled who was on the committees. But a week in we have the Lt Governor who campaigned on the promise to "fight" for such legislation come out publicly and wave the John Boehner Memorial surrender flag.
“Public safety is always the first cry of the tyrant.” - Lord Gladstone
XinTX wrote:I'm not going to point too much of a finger at Watkins and his band of merry cohorts. And it's not like anyone had no reason to think Patrick wouldn't support 2A legislation and OC.
How is Dan Patrick supposed to bring an open-carry bill to the Senate floor for a vote if the bill never gets voted out of committee favorably?
Chas.
I suspect the heartburn derives from announcing less than 2 weeks into the session that open carry is on life support. From the outside, it might appear that not much effort was made to bring about something that was a rather prominent campaign promise.
Not trying to put words in anyone's mouth... not mine either.
If it's not voted out of committee, the GOP (who made this a prominent campaign issue) has no one to blame but themselves. They have near historic majorities in both houses of the legislature. They don't have to overcome the old "blocker bill" or 2/3 rule any longer. And being the majority, they controlled who was on the committees. But a week in we have the Lt Governor who campaigned on the promise to "fight" for such legislation come out publicly and wave the John Boehner Memorial surrender flag.
What exactly do you expect Patrick to do to get a bill to the floor for a vote?
Do you realize he has already reduced the number of democratic committee chairmanships to two?
Do you expect or think he should do away with the committees or just bypass them?
Do you know if it would pass if the senate voted on it?
I too want to see a floor vote on at least one open carry bill. However, attacking one person such as Patrick is not going to help. Encourage your reps to support the cause and then at the appropriate time, voice your opinion to the members and chairmen of the appropriate committees.
Throwing misguided stones at this point does no good.
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XinTX wrote:I'm not going to point too much of a finger at Watkins and his band of merry cohorts. And it's not like anyone had no reason to think Patrick wouldn't support 2A legislation and OC.
How is Dan Patrick supposed to bring an open-carry bill to the Senate floor for a vote if the bill never gets voted out of committee favorably?
Chas.
I am sure that you aren't actually asking a question, but I'll answer anyway. Put rather simply, Patrick needs to do his job. If OC is already DOA, then he and the entire Texas GOP that let it happen need to find work elsewhere. It is an embarrassment that Texas lacks OC of any type for any reason. Furthermore, it is astounding at the apparent lack of resolution that the Texas GOP has regarding 2a rights. It is part of our platform and I voted for them because of it. There are a lot of passionate people out there supporting this cause. It is unfortunate that Texas' elected leaders don't share that same passion. Mark this day Chas, if the Texas GOP doesn't start embracing their party values now, you, the GOP and all conservative Texans will find ourselves marginalized and forgotten once this state goes blue. You see, right or wrong, democrats stand by their values even if it means getting in your face over it. It rallies their base. Ex. You didn't see the democrats tuck tail and run when a bunch of women descended on Austin and shut down government to protest their right to kill babies. So the moral of this story is the Texas GOP had better wake up now and get to work passing legislation that matters. And I'll give you one more news flash...this matters!
I'm not "attacking" Patrick. Just calling him to task for the disconnect between his campaign rhetoric and his actions. Patrick has been in the TX Senate and had some good inside knowledge of the math involved in getting things done. It's not like some political neophyte was coming in. And he campaigned on "fighting for OC". No one forced him to put that on his list, he chose to do so. The TX GOP also did so. Now there are only four people in this process I can directly affect with my vote in this process. Abbott has already publicly stated that if an OC bill reaches his desk he will sign it. My Representative and Senator said they will support it. Patrick said he not only would support it, but "fight for" it. But now he appears to be backing away from that.
If, during my interview, I made commitments to meet certain goals and objectives, then after being on the job a short time tell my employer "no, can't get it done", I shouldn't expect a glowing performance review.
Look, I'm no hard core OC supporter. If OC were law today I can think of only a couple very specific instances where I would do so. But I am a big believer in personal liberty. I do believe people should have the choice to do so. And we're now in a long period where the Republicans have control of the legislative and executive branches in TX. But history shows, nothing is permanent. Does anyone think that if the Dems held the seats the GOP now holds that they wouldn't get gun control bills through in one session? If we can't expect big wins while holding as many of the levers of power we now hold, we should brace for some significant losses once we're back to minority status. A lot of what prohibits OC stems from laws put in place during Reconstruction. If we can't undo a bad law in over 100 years, I just don't know what to think.
“Public safety is always the first cry of the tyrant.” - Lord Gladstone
XinTX wrote:I'm not going to point too much of a finger at Watkins and his band of merry cohorts. And it's not like anyone had no reason to think Patrick wouldn't support 2A legislation and OC.
How is Dan Patrick supposed to bring an open-carry bill to the Senate floor for a vote if the bill never gets voted out of committee favorably?
Chas.
I am sure that you aren't actually asking a question, but I'll answer anyway. Put rather simply, Patrick needs to do his job. If OC is already DOA, then he and the entire Texas GOP that let it happen need to find work elsewhere. It is an embarrassment that Texas lacks OC of any type for any reason. Furthermore, it is astounding at the apparent lack of resolution that the Texas GOP has regarding 2a rights. It is part of our platform and I voted for them because of it. There are a lot of passionate people out there supporting this cause. It is unfortunate that Texas' elected leaders don't share that same passion. Mark this day Chas, if the Texas GOP doesn't start embracing their party values now, you, the GOP and all conservative Texans will find ourselves marginalized and forgotten once this state goes blue. You see, right or wrong, democrats stand by their values even if it means getting in your face over it. It rallies their base. Ex. You didn't see the democrats tuck tail and run when a bunch of women descended on Austin and shut down government to protest their right to kill babies. So the moral of this story is the Texas GOP had better wake up now and get to work passing legislation that matters. And I'll give you one more news flash...this matters!
You said you were going to answer the question, but you didn't. How is Patrick supposed to bring a bill to the floor of the Senate if it does not clear a committee? Hint: He cannot!
Not having open-carry is hardly an embarrassment. What is embarrassing is that a handgun of people act like being able to let everyone see you are armed is the most important issue facing Texas gun owners and the Texas Legislature. Texas has very liberal gun laws and that's because the NRA and TSRA have used their expertise to improve them over many years. There are no shortcuts.
XinTX wrote:I'm not "attacking" Patrick. Just calling him to task for the disconnect between his campaign rhetoric and his actions. Patrick has been in the TX Senate and had some good inside knowledge of the math involved in getting things done. It's not like some political neophyte was coming in. And he campaigned on "fighting for OC". No one forced him to put that on his list, he chose to do so. The TX GOP also did so. Now there are only four people in this process I can directly affect with my vote in this process. Abbott has already publicly stated that if an OC bill reaches his desk he will sign it. My Representative and Senator said they will support it. Patrick said he not only would support it, but "fight for" it. But now he appears to be backing away from that.
If, during my interview, I made commitments to meet certain goals and objectives, then after being on the job a short time tell my employer "no, can't get it done", I shouldn't expect a glowing performance review.
Look, I'm no hard core OC supporter. If OC were law today I can think of only a couple very specific instances where I would do so. But I am a big believer in personal liberty. I do believe people should have the choice to do so. And we're now in a long period where the Republicans have control of the legislative and executive branches in TX. But history shows, nothing is permanent. Does anyone think that if the Dems held the seats the GOP now holds that they wouldn't get gun control bills through in one session? If we can't expect big wins while holding as many of the levers of power we now hold, we should brace for some significant losses once we're back to minority status. A lot of what prohibits OC stems from laws put in place during Reconstruction. If we can't undo a bad law in over 100 years, I just don't know what to think.
Can you share with us the evidence showing he is backing away from it and not fighting for OC? I do not consider the comments he made about how much support he believes there is in the senate for OC as evidence he is backing off.
What specifically do you want him to do to get it to the floor for a vote?
Note: Me sharing a link and information published by others does not constitute my endorsement, agreement, disagreement, my opinion or publishing by me. If you do not like what is contained at a link I share, take it up with the author or publisher of the content.
