Posted on 01/27/2005 3:28:02 PM PST by NativeTexun
Houston transit riders can carry guns 04:32 PM CST on Thursday, January 27, 2005 HOUSTON – Houston area residents licensed to carry concealed handguns can now take their weapons aboard buses and light rail trains. The board of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County on Thursday repealed its long-standing ban of concealed weapons. The transit authority, also known as Metro, had banned such weapons on its buses and trains since 1995, when the Legislature voted to allow licensed owners to carry concealed handguns in most public places. In 2003, the state amended the concealed handgun law to prevent Texas cities from banning such weapons from public buildings. In response to the change in the law, Metro officials on Thursday voted to amend their policy to now prohibit the unlawful carrying of such weapons. "I think Metro was not enthusiastic about people carrying handguns on board, but we cannot legally ban people who are legally carrying those handguns from being on Metro," said David Wolff, Metro's chairman. The change in Metro's policy was sparked by a lawsuit filed in October 2003 by several organizations. "Metro is to be commended. They did the right thing. They did the lawful thing. They saved their ratepayers unnecessary funds to litigate it further," said Texas General Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who is chairman of the Civil Liberties Defense Foundation, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Note that these are *concealed* weapons. Your people (the insecure) would not know that the weapons were there unless they were feeling up the other passengers.
Hi Unknown - Your first post is drawing some fire. I think you simply do not understand. Did I read a headline this week that there is a law being considered to make it a crime to carry a knife in your fair nation?
>>Maybe the hero with the fastest draw will rein supreme just like in the old westerns. Here's hoping they pop the bad guys right between their eyes.<<
What a Texas-sounding sentiment! If you're not a native, you lived here long enough that Texas "rubbed off" on you. ; >
Thanks for the additional info!
This decision of Houston Metro reminds me of a casino bus that was hijacked on the way to Shreveport a few years ago. A cell phone saved the day on that one. One of the passengers called police via her cell.
Imagine if the idiots tried to pull off that stunt and got a barrel in their face!
Actually, statistics will show that armed citizens will make the other riders safer. If the others don't feel safe, let them get a permit to carry for themselves. Here in Mississippi, it is very easy, you go to a gun store, hand over a drivers license, they run a background check, sell you the gun and the carry permit (good for three years at a cost of $100, it is called a "gunslinger's license" believe it or not!) at the same time, and you are on your merry way....
Bet you the crime rate aboard Metro buses craters.
Spooky looking white guys who stand around not looking at anyone in particular tend to put a gangsta off his game.
Shortening crime careers saves the public tax money. Bad for the lawyers, though -- they'll come after you for cancelling a valuable client. They can't afford to give up all that repeat business.
Oh and the government in England is after your big bad BB guns. Can you carry a wood toothpick over there?
If only they allowed concealed carry on the subways of NYC.
Friend:
If you ever lived in Houston, and rode a bus there, you would KNOW why persons should be allowed to carry weapons :)
Hell, in New Yawk, they can't even carry a SCREWDRIVER! :)
And now they are banning knives in Jolly Old England!
http://www.porac.org/newsarticle7.html
Kewl tewl has LEO's worried.....
This especially coming from the UK, where the entire citizenry is unarmed, except for the criminals and has rapidly become the poster child for "ban guns, crime goes through roof".
I ran across this little bit of fact elsewhere on the net, and decided that it maybe would be a good factual counterpoint to your ignorance of the realities of the world:
Today I want to set the record straight and dispel a few of the more common myths with some hard facts.
First, according to statistics provided by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, there is an interesting correlation between accidental deaths caused by guns and by doctors.
Doctors: (A) There are 700,000 physicians in the U.S. (B) Accidental deaths caused by physicians total 120,000 per year. © Accidental death percentage per physician is 0.171. Guns: (A) There are 80 million gun owners in the U.S. (B) There are 1,500 accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups. © The percentage of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.0000188.
Statistically, then, doctors are 9,000 times more dangerous to the public health than gun owners. Fact: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR. Following the logic of liberals, we should all be warned: ‘Guns don’t kill people. Doctors do.’
More seriously, Dr. Glen Otero of the Claremont Institute has published an enlightening article entitled “Ten Myths About Gun Control.” (This entire article can be found at the website of Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws http://www.dsgl.org.) Here are just a few of his well-documented findings.
Approximately 80 percent of all adult American citizens own firearms, and a gun can be found in nearly half of American households.
Between 1974 and 1995, the total number of privately owned firearms in America increased by 75 percent, to 236 million. During the same period, national homicide and robbery rates did NOT significantly increase.
Less than 1 percent of all guns are involved in any type of crime, which means that 99 percent of all guns are NOT used to commit any crime.
In 1987, the National Crime Victimization Survey estimated that about 83 percent of Americans would become the victims of violent crime during the course of their lifetime. The National Self-Defense Survey found that between 1988 and 1993, American civilians used firearms in self-defense almost 2.5 million times per year, saving up to 400,000 lives per year in the process.
Guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens deter crime. Where U.S. counties have enacted concealed-carry laws, murder rates fell by 8 percent, rape by 5 percent, and aggravated assault by 7 percent. Urban counties recorded the largest decreases demographically.
You get the picture: Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. But sometimes law-abiding citizens with guns can save the lives of other innocent people.
It’s time to restore some common sense to the hysterical debate over gun control. When Cain killed Abel with a rock, God didn’t ban all rocks. He dealt with Cain personally. We need to enforce our criminal laws against murder, robbery, and assault.
I will cite the testimony of just one more expert witness. No, it’s not another politician or media pundit. Here’s what former Mafia underboss, self-confessed hit man, and government informant Sammy “The Bull” Gravano had to say:
“Gun control? It’s the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I’m a bad guy, I’m always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You pull the trigger with a lock on, and I’ll pull the trigger. We’ll see who wins.”
So after you have gone out and done some factual research, you can come back and maybe... just maybe, you might have enough information and education to carry on a debate with the memebers of this forum. Until that point is reached, it would be a good idea to remember the old maxim:
"It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt".
You see, you are entering into a battle of wits here, and you, my British friend, are completely unarmed. (pun definitely intended)
Sounds like an impressive tool, in the proper hands
Sounds like a public affair affair based on nothing but hot air !
Maybe they haven't heard of the simple CZ52 with a 223 Timbs or .224 Boz load. Been around a decade er two in one form or another.
I have an FN 5.7 Pistol on order from my local gunrunner....will advise as to it's scary ability after a few hunnerd rounds downrange.
Stay safe !
That 7.62x25 is a vest shredder, and the Timbs at 1800 fps are speedy little puppies
You know what I love about all you folks? (well most of ya any how)
You understand the 2nd amendment!
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