CNN In Texas, 1 million people have handgun permits

CNN ^ | July 8, 2016 | Sheena McKenzie, CNN

[KeyLargo]

In Texas, 1 million people have handgun permits

Sheena McKenzie

At a protest against police violence in Dallas, a young man wanders the streets with a gun casually slung over his shoulder.

The hefty weapon hangs all the way from his hip to his ankle, apparently barely raising the eyebrows of passersby.

A few hours after the Dallas shooting, local police posted a photo of the man on Twitter, saying: "This is one of our suspects. Please help us find him!" Videos later emerged online purportedly showing the man peacefully walking in the crowd during the shooting. The original tweet remains online -- long after he man, named Mark Hughes, told Dallas station KVTV he was interrogated by police and released without apology. Read the latest updates in our live blog

The sight of someone walking through a packed protest toting a large gun would be cause for alarm for many people around the world, but in Texas, it's not so far-fetched.

Over 1 million gun carriers

Of the 27.5 million people who live in this southern U.S. state, more than 1 million people are licensed to carry a handgun.

Dallas County has 57,620 licensees -- the third highest number in the state, following Harris (139,563) and Tarrant (71,504) counties.

A "handgun" is defined as "any firearm that is designed, made, or adapted to be fired with one hand." While Texans are required to have a permit to carry a handgun, they do not need one for rifles or shotguns -- which may help explain the man at Thursday's protest brazenly toting a long weapon.

Texas is one of 45 states that allow some form of open carry. Only five states -- New York, Florida, Illinois, South Carolina and California -- and the District of Columbia ban

[ctdonath2]

Prepping to push for a ban on “sniper rifles”.

[silverleaf]

Hello Mr Johnson, time to negotiate with the terminator....

[Lorianne]

You don’t need a permit to own a handgun in Texas (someone here said that the other day).

You need a permit to carry. So is CNN saying there are 1 million CCW permits in Texas?

They seem confused.

[KeyLargo]

Dallas Shootings: How police use robot explosives
July 9, 201612:18am

Mathew MurphyNews Corp Australia Network

DALLAS police officers say they killed one of the suspects involved in the deadly sniper shootings with a robot explosive. But what exactly is a robot explosive?

Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the robot was only used after they unsuccessfully negotiated with the suspect for several hours.

“Negotiations broke down. We had an exchange of gunfire with the suspect. We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot and place a device on the extension for it to detonate

where the suspect was. Other options would have exposed our officers to grave danger.”

Mr Brown made a point to say that early reports that the suspect committed suicide were not accurate.

“The suspect is deceased as a result of detonating the bomb,” said Mr Brown.

Police in the US are increasingly using robots to help defuse bombs, negotiate with suspects and, in this case, kill those they believe pose a threat.

The robots are mobile, weigh around 25 kilograms depending on the model and have extendible arms that reach a few metres.

There are a number of different models of robots that police use which have sophisticated audio and visual systems.

Police officers use the cameras on the robot to first assess the situation.

A two-way audio system and night vision allows police to be able to communicate with suspects.

The most common use for a police robot is in bomb removal and disposal. While robots are expensive, the cost is small compared to that of human life. Some robots are so tough that they can survive multiple blasts.

If the robot is able to reach the suspicious device, the operator can use the claw to grip the device, lift it and move it to a cleared location for detonation.

Read at:

http://www.news.com.au/technology/dallas-shootings-how-police-use-robot-explosives/news-story/d356f9f59e2260b86a49b98976f1c82c

[BuffaloJack]

> We need to stop calling them BLM.

Agreed. BLM is “Bureau of Land Management”, a completely different government subsidized terrorist organization.

[KeyLargo]

Black Power Political Organization Takes Responsibilty For Murdering 5 Dallas Cops

by Tyler Durden

Jul 8, 2016 9:53 AM

Thursday night saw the biggest loss of life for America's law enforcement since 9/11. Last night five police officers were killed, six officers were wounded and two civilians were shot according to the most recent reports.

The Black Power Political Organization has taken responsibility for the attack according screen shots of a Facebook post. The group's Facebook account has since been taken down.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-08/black-power-political-organization-takes-responsibilty-murdering-5-dallas-cops

[unixfox]

CNN In Texas, 1 million people have handgun permits

And the rest of us don't give a shit about "permits" We have them and carry them because it is our RIGHT, not because someone says we can.

[CGASMIA68]

Could taken him alive provided he didn’t off himself.
Cops had nothing but time.........
IMO he was more value to the info trail alive than dead.

[Ancesthntr]

937,500 at the end of 2015, vs. 826,000 a year earlier (figures rounded. All at the Texas DPS website. It might be a million now, but I will be that in light of recent events it will be well over a million by 12/31/16.

BTW, while there is no license necessary to open carry a rifle or shot gun in Texas, there is NO such authorization in the law within the limits of a city, and in most suburbs doing so will get you a very quick conversation with the local PD.

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

I’m surprised that Florida and South Carolina do not have Open Carry.

[gigster]

Here in Michigan, we are an open carry state, and there is no permit of any sort needed to exercise that said right. opencarry.org is your comprehensive source for related information.

[gigster]

Here in Michigan, we are an open carry state, and there is no permit of any sort needed to exercise that said right. opencarry.org is your comprehensive source for related information.

[smokingfrog]

Is this the first time the police have killed someone with a robot?

[Iron Munro]

CNN In Texas, 1 million people have handgun permits

THE REAL STORY:

One million people in Texas have handgun permits and not one of them murdered a law enforcement officer last night

[gigster]

Did they disguise the bomb as a dozen doughnuts to get close to the perp?

[Rebelbase]

Somehow I doubt the perps were using guns that were legally permitted and purchased.

[gigster]

(note to self): Press Post button only once.

[Lady Heron]

That number will grow massively now.

[longtermmemmory]

does this mean 26 million citizens are slacking off?

[yoe]

(Shopping in Texas)