Committee Hearing on HB 1893 Scheduled for Monday, March 30

[Douva]

http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup ... ill=HB1893" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Aggie_engr]

So when will we know how it turned out? Will there be a video clip of the discussions like there was for the parking lot bill?

[Keith B]

So when will we know how it turned out? Will there be a video clip of the discussions like there was for the parking lot bill?

You can see the hearing here http://www.house.state.tx.us/committees ... eeCode=420" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
CCOC bill hearing starts at about 4:16 into the session.

(Edited link to take you to the archive vs. the live stream)

[mdek]

A quick synopsis of the stream (#7):

1) A girl from TSU speaks out against the bill, using the same predictable arguments about feelings, being able to call police, etc.
2) The committee chairman and Rep. Driver have a bit of back and forth about closing
3) chairman puts forth motion to record 28 (corrected from 48) witnesses for the bill, and 15 against.
4) Driver tries to push to have the bill moved out of committee then and there, but is shot down (meaning anything further will wait till Wednesday I believe).

I was hoping we'd see some movement, but no need to be impatient. I believe 4 of the 9 committee members are authors/coauthors of the bill, including the chairman and vice-chairman, so I'm optimistic.

[jimlongley]

I found a modicum of hope in the way the chair and other committee members treated the witnesses. They joshed and bantered with the pro witnesses and were somewhat abrupt with the antis.

[Keith B]

Michael Perez was our best supporter. As a teacher he expressed the extreme importance of issues that face faculty and students on campuses. He was clear and precise and I applaud his presentation!

[gwilhite]

Thanks, mdek, for the synopsis. I couldn't get the video to work and haven't run across a lot of coverage of yesterday's events. That might be good. At least there's not a big uproar. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[Aggie_engr]

Did anyone catch the Rice university police chief around 6:02:38? He really gets ripped for teaching his "shoot on site" tactic during an active shooter situation (he calls it neutralize the threat/guy with the gun). He says his officers will drop anybody that's got a gun.

6:03:39 Rep. asks chief what his officers are trained to do when they come upon two people shooting and how they identify the good guy.

6:08:03
Rep. "so, do houston police officers ever come onto your campus?"
Chief "on occasion, not very often...."
Rep. "do you shoot them too? (laughter from audience) They got a gun man!"
Chief "um, well.. we.... (stammering)"


Ahhhhhhhahahahahah! I was literally doing this ^

Rep. also said he would have to "check into" some of the methods regarding dropping someone with a gun on site this chief was teaching his officers. Hopefully that means he'll find someone that will talk some since into him.

[pedalman]

The Rice University police chief sounds like a loose cannon who has been watching too many Diehard and Chuck Norris movies.

I wonder if the University's legal counsel is aware of this stance?

[hirundo82]

Rep. also said he would have to "check into" some of the methods regarding dropping someone with a gun on site this chief was teaching his officers. Hopefully that means he'll find someone that will talk some since into him.

Did anyone mention that police in the rest of the state do not have problems differentiating between someone on a killing spree and someone acting in lawful self-defense (as evidenced by the lack of shootings of CHLs by law enforcement)?

Also, was the chief asked what his department's policy was to CHL holders carrying in non-prohibited areas of campus, or officers patrolling off-campus (they patrol the public streets surrounding the campus), or when his officers carry off-duty? I know that Rice doesn't post 30.06 signs at every area of campus, and I've driven onto the campus with a handgun in the car. Does his "Shoot them all and let God sort them out" policy apply to his department at all places and at all times?

[mdek]

I just called my state representative (Ellen Cohen, District 134 - Houston) to find her stance on HB 1893. They took my contact information and said they'd call me back.

Rep. Cohen (D) took over from former Rep. Martha Wong (R) in the 2006 elections. Since then, her most well-known achievement was instituting a strip club tax that was overturned as unconstitutional by our courts. During the 2006 campaign, she clearly stated at a debate that she fully supports the 2nd amendment, but the response from her office proved otherwise. Now, it's understandable if a Representative says that he or she "doesn't support the bill" or a similar response, but rather her Chief of Staff Bill Kelly called me back and bluntly stated that Cohen is "100% against the bill". I asked him to inform her that one of her constituents would like her to reconsider her stance and then thanked him for his time.

Please, call your representative and find out if they support the bill and/or encourage them to support it. At the very least we'll know what we're up against and who can be worked on to make sure we've got a majority if/once it makes it out of committee. We have 73 authors and coauthors last time I checked!

Disclaimer: I was the Libertarian Party candidate for the race in this district in both 2006 and in 2008. Unfortunately, this isn't my only issue with many of Cohen's politican positions but is the most relevant on this forum.

[O.F.Fascist]

watching this now.

Fortunately both my State Representative and State Senator support conceal carry on campus.

[KD5NRH]

Disclaimer: I was the Libertarian Party candidate for the race in this district in both 2006 and in 2008.

So, if we end up losing this one by one vote, we can blame you for not campaigning harder?

[mdek]

Disclaimer: I was the Libertarian Party candidate for the race in this district in both 2006 and in 2008.

So, if we end up losing this one by one vote, we can blame you for not campaigning harder?

Sure you can blame me, at least I tried. But seriously, we would do well to get a real pro-rights conservative into this office, regardless of any party affiliation.

Does anyone know what the committee is next scheduled to discuss the bill?

[Charles L. Cotton]

Unless the bill is recommitted to committee, there will not be another hearing. If it is voted out of committee favorably (and I believe it will be), then it goes to the Calendars Committee. From there it will either be set on the calendar for floor debate and voting, or it will die in Calendars. I believe it will make it to the floor. Note, this could happen either with HB1893 or SB730.

Chas.