Posted on 05/01/2007 12:02:53 AM PDT by FreedomCalls
AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry, mulling ways to stop the kind of murderous rampages that recently left 33 dead on a college campus in Virginia, said Monday there’s one sure-fire solution he likes: allow Texans to take their concealed handguns anywhere.
Period.
Perry said he opposes any concealed gun-toting restrictions at all — whether it’s in a hospital, a public school, a beer joint or even the local courthouse.
“The last time I checked, putting a sign up that says 'Don’t bring your weapons in here,' someone who has ill intent on their mind — they could care less," Perry told reporters. “I think it makes sense for Texans to be able to protect themselves from deranged individuals, whether they're in church or whether on a college campus or wherever."
As reporters began clicking off a list of places where concealed permit holders face restrictions, Perry cut off the questioning and made it clear that he meant anywhere at all.
Under current law, secured airport areas, hospitals, courthouses, bars, churches and schools are among the places where weapons are or can be banned, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
People entering federal courts in Texas are routinely required to leave even their cell phones behind.
“Let me cover it right here," Perry said. “I think a person ought to be able to carry their weapons with them anywhere in this state if they are licensed and they have gone through the training. The idea that you’re going to exempt them from a particular place is non-sense to me."
State Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, called Perry’s proposal “a terrible idea."
“Anybody has a right to tell somebody that they can’t bring their handgun into their place of business," Burnam said. “I think the governor is just overreaching in a counterproductive way and it's kind of typical (of the) governor — shoot from the hip, literally and figuratively."
Perry made the remarks at a news conference after meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt to discuss ways to prevent mass shootings and enhance school safety. The discussion stems from President Bush’s drive to find solutions to such tragedies in the wake of the carnage at Virginia Tech University.
About 260,000 Texans, who have undergone mandatory background check and training, are licensed to carry a concealed weapon, records show. In the last fiscal year, 180 licenses were revoked and 493 were suspended for unknown reasons, records show.
Mr Perry ... keep this up AND start making provisions for open carry ... and then maybe we can talk about some of these godawful toll roads.
I Agree with Gov. Perry 100%! God Bless him.
You’re right! With the Libs running aroung trying to make CCP public knowledge on the Internet, it’s better if no one knows you’re carrying. Keeps the gun-grabbers guessing.
No, I agree that businesses have the right to prohibit patrons from carrying weapons. This may be a red herring though, since Perry may simply be referring to removing government restrictions on private businesses, rather than *forcing* businesses to allow gun-bearers on their premises.
Agreed. Worse, the violent crime rate in the wilderness and especially the National Parks is growing faster than the national average for the urban areas. Park Service has now developed a SWAT team concept to handle some especially troublesome areas. I read recently that Park Rangers spend more than 85% of their time handling criminal acts rather than what has been known as their past job description of Fire Lookout or Tour Guide.
I was under the mistaken opinion that CCW was allowed in church/places of worship in Texas. Thanks for this clarification. We have many of the same ridiculous restrictions here in Nebraska (including a prohibition of CCW in churches) with our new CCW law that went into effect Jan. 1, 2007.
IIRC, both Virginia and Arizona were so called "Open Carry" states and it did make the LEOs so nervous that the CCW permit law was passed so as to offer everybody a little bit more comfort. If the cops don't know they won't roust needlessly. If the criminals don't know, perhaps they'll be more circumspect in committing crimes.
I would and do support the efforts of legislators in my state (FL) to force business owners to allow employees to have firearms in their vehicles without danger of harrassment or termination. I think this should also apply to customers. Post the appropriate signage and let the chips (and the bucks) fall where they may. What say you? If you're armed and wish to enter the actual building of my business, then please leave your gun in the car. Sounds reasonable to me, although I still don't like it. I think this should especially apply to teachers, too.
They have no right to conduct business when their policies present a clear hazard to their customers, no more so than a restaurant with diseased cooks.
They deny the public protection, they close their doors.
How about a "Carrying While Intoxicated" law? If you are otherwise detained and found to be carrying AND blow more than 0.08 you can be disarmed (pick it up in the morning at the poice station) and charged with a misdemeanor.
Sorry, I used a first-person shop-owner "persona" in a few of my statements, causing a confusion for which I hereby apologize. In most places I have been speaking as myself (dayglored), but in a few I assumed the persona of a business owner for the sake of sentence construction (easier in first-person); I should have stayed in third-person.
I (dayglored) support concealed carry without limitation, though I personally would respect the wishes of a neighbor who differed, when I was on his property.
> You should have a problem respecting those who refuse to abide by our Constitution. Can you agree?
The Constitution guarantees my right to keep and bear arms. It does not force my neighbor to put up with whatever I feel like doing on his property, even if what I'm doing is protected when I'm on my property or in public. For example, I can spray-paint "Hippies stink!" on my house if I want to. But I can't spray-paint it on my neighbor's house, even though the First Amendment guarantees my right to freedom of speech.
So, in my view, my RKBA is not infringed by my neighbor's wishes, since it's my choice to go on his property or stay off.
Blind squirrel, acorn, etc.
We're in complete agreement about employees.
> I think this should also apply to customers. Post the appropriate signage and let the chips (and the bucks) fall where they may. What say you? "If you're armed and wish to enter the actual building of my business, then please leave your gun in the car."
I think I'd support that. I would want it to be clear that if I -do- carry a gun inside (presumably accidentally), the remedy is being escorted out, but no criminal or other charges as long as I leave without a fuss.
If the business owner wants to be rigorous about it, they can put in a metal detector at the door. That makes me feel better about going in unarmed, since presumably any bad guys won't be carrying in the door either.
And even if I am tipsy, I’m still going to stay armed. If someone has a knife to my wife’s throat, or is walking around shooting innocents, my aim may be less precise (still better than most cops’) but I don’t lose my right of self defense just because I am tipsy (or sleepy, or distracted, or on the cell phone, or applying makeup, or very elderly, or any of the other things that make drivers more dangerous than threshold “intoxication.”)
Just make me liable for my errors, and everything will be fine.
In Texas you do. There is no exceptable limit like there is for driving. If you are driving at .07 no problem. If a cop smells booze on your breath, boom your license can be taken.
“As One of those 260,000 Texans. I heartily applaud the Governor.”
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Ditto.... and the safest place for a mass murderer to pull off a massacre is in a posted “no weapons” facility!
>In Texas you do. There is no exceptable limit like there is for driving. If you are driving at .07 no problem. If a cop smells booze on your breath, boom your license can be taken.
We all have the right to live, and a tipsy person is quite capable of defending his life. Guns really aren’t that hard to shoot, and don’t require any great skill or coordination, considering the mentally disabled condition even a sober person is likely to be in during an attempted lethal attack.
Of course, I don’t EVER shoot when I have had even the slightest bit to drink. But I ALWAYS carry, and I am not a tee-totaler. Draw your own conclusions.
If some guy is running after my wife with a meat-cleaver and an erection, I’ll shoot no matter my condition. Might not have as high of a hit rate, but I’m surely not going to say “gee, I just had a half bottle of wine, so I’d better let him kill her.” Of course, if I should negligently kill a few bystanders, I’ll probably lose my house and spend time in jail. Or maybe not.
But I’ll be keeping my options open on the self-defense front, thank you very much.
You missed the part about "if otherwise detained." If you are intoxicated and not being a problem and are carrying, then no problem. But if you are violating the law for some reason, and the cops detain you, frisk you, and find a weapon and a CHL card, then they can charge you since you have not demonstrated that you are potentially not fully in control of the weapon or willing to be law-abiding while carrying.
Remove one of those "nots" there. Either one. Doesn't matter.
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