From the InBox:
Dear Texas Republican,
I’m sure you know the importance of protecting gun rights in Texas. I don’t even have to tell you that the 2nd Amendment is the one that preserves all other rights. We are our own first responders, and safeguarding our God-given right to own and carry firearms is not only critical to our everyday safety but is also the foundation of protecting liberty. As a Republican, you realize this.
What you may not realize is that Texas stands significantly behind other states on firearms freedom. While well over half of the other states have been enjoying forms of unlicensed carry for years now, it was only in 2015 that it became legal to carry a handgun openly in Texas. Even so, a license is still required.
I’m determined to work with our Texas legislature to change all of that. Our convention delegates in both 2014 and 2016 have asked that Constitutional Carry be a legislative priority, so that anyone who owns a handgun may carry it, open or concealed, no permit required.
We, the delegates of the 2016 Republican Party of Texas State Convention, call upon the 85th Texas Legislature to pass constitutional carry while maintaining licensing as optional for reciprocity purposes. Delegate vote at convention: Yes: 6,295. No: 724.9. (89.67{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} approval rate) (Read more about constitutional carry)
Will you help us make this legislative priority a reality?
This weekend I will be at the Gun Rights Policy Conference in North Texas to promote Constitutional Carry on behalf of the Republican Party of Texas and on behalf of the grassroots who have worked so diligently on this vital issue. (Come see me there!) I promise you that RPT will continue to work to advance constitutional carry as long as it is our delegates’ priority, until we see it recognized in Texas.
Help us make constitutional carry a reality. Donate $15 today and receive one of these complimentary bumper stickers that you can use to show your support for this important legislative priority.
Thank you for your support on this vital issue. As we continue to work together with the Texas Legislature, I am confident that we will see Constitutional Carry recognized in Texas.
Rachel Malone
Operations Director
Republican Party of TexasP.S. I am committed to working for constitutional carry in Texas so that anyone who owns a handgun may carry it, open or concealed, no permit required. Will you help me make this a reality? Please donate $15 today — you’ll support my work and receive a complimentary bumper sticker!
Paid for by the Republican Party of Texas and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. www.Texasgop.org
(no emphasis added)
And they are serious. Anyone. Doesn’t matter if you are a convicted, escaped murderer – you own a gun, you carry it. Because, you know, it’s your ‘right’. If you don’t believe me, just read the above.
No, no, no, don’t tell me that the gun the convicted, escaped murderer is carrying is exempted. Nope. Read again. You own it, you carry it, concealed, open, whatever. No restrictions because, 2nd Amendment.
Oh, and BTW, this is a ‘God-given right’. Huh. I’m no theologian but I did stay at a Holiday Inn a while back. And somehow I missed that passage in the Gideon Bible that was in the nightstand. Although I did read something about a slingshot.
Good grief, this is what the RPT has become?
Ironically, I received a call a few days ago saying that the RPT was in financial trouble now that James Dickey was the Chair. I wouldn’t have a clue. I don’t know Mr. Dickey and I think the RPT is irrelevant.
But to send out a hyperventilating email urging me to give them $15 to make sure that anyone that owns a gun (notice that they didn’t bother to talk about ‘legally’ owning a gun) is allowed to carry it openly (or hidden) in public without any sort of government intervention whatsoever makes me think that perhaps the rumors are true.
If so, Greg Abbott better cough up some of that campaign fortune and help them out. Because I surely won’t.
Constitutional Carry? Fine for me, I guess. Lord knows I own too many guns and have a fairly nice stockpile of ammo. But what about that other dude? You know, the ‘other’ dude. Sorry, Republican Party of Texas, I’m not buying (or giving) this one.
I’m pretty sure that all constitutional rights are said to come from our creator. Thus they are “God-given”.
The Declaration of Independence, considered my most serious scholars to be the underpinning of the United States Constitution, states:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights”
*by
And clearly one of those God-given rights is carrying a hand grenade.
As a prepper, I would like to have a few RPG’s, just in case there is a “Red Dawn” invasion.
Besides, the citizens should maintain parity with the Ruling Class forces so as to discourage the type of confiscations the Progressives, such as Hillary, advocate.
David, this is incorrect.
Federal law designates felons (most of the time) as “prohibited persons” who will not only fail a NICS background check, but will receive very harsh sentences if they merely have a firearm in their house whether it is his/her firearm or not.
But Jack, read the above. Anyone. And if you combine that with the ‘get the Feds outta here’ mantra, it’s pretty clear that they mean anyone.
TBH, I wrote this mostly in jest when I was bored yesterday. I was hoping that people would recognize that and ponder the fact that the Republican Party of Texas, with all of the issues we need to address in the state, is focused on raising money $15 at a time on this issue.
I find that bizarre but I suppose others might not.
Free people dont ask permission…slaves do
Good to see that you haven’t changed. 😉
I only see black and white, no grey.
I hope you are doing well.
Doing great, thanks for asking. My field of vision has always been shades of grey.
Lift strong, live long. 🙂
We see what happens when radicalized Democrat extremists get firearms. Liberalism is a mental disorder.
Reading the comments and the article I really hate it when someone decides to take something to the straw man extreme in order to try and stir the pot. I believe is shows an intellectual laziness instead of addressing the actual parts of what they do not like. So yes I will address your comments and override your attempt to ensure that common sense and current law do not make it into your diatribe:
1. Federal Law is supreme and even though current Texas State Law allows felons to have a gun for self defense in their domicile 5 years after they finish parole, Federal Law does not recognize it and a Federal agent can and will charge a convicted felon if it is found that they have one in their possession.
2. To answer another comment I saw above, no if a felon lives with a non-felon and they have secured the weapon in a manner that the felon does not have access to it the law states that there is no violation. The sticky point is you would have to go to court if there was an issue and hope that the judge said that lack of access was what you said it was.
That said yes it is crazy that people who have never broken the law and have a Second Amendment right have to get a license in order to carry a pistol. Those laws are relatively recent in the history of the United States and even for Europe, in the Victorian era in Europe as well you could have a pistol etc. without having an issue.
I am willing to accept some minimum safety standards but my version of minimum and a raving Liberal’s version of them are so far apart that getting to Mars would be easier than bridging that gap. One conversation had a Liberal state well you should put all of your guns in a centralized Police controlled lock up where when you need it to go to the range you go and show them your permit and pick it up along with ammunition and go out and use it and bring it back. Mine is ensuring that my granddaughter cannot get access to it while she spends time at our house and if you break into my house while I am not there you cannot get to it easily in order to arm yourself.
The Second Amendment was put in place by the Founding Fathers, who had just fought a war with the premier Army on the face of the earth at that time. They had done it starting with just armed citizens and militia moving to finally getting the beginnings of a trained regular force that in a few later battles actually stood toe to toe with the British Army. They understood the inherent tyranny of government and that an educated and armed citizenry was their only defense against it. Thus the Second Amendment is not for hunting or even home defense against criminals although it also allows that, it is to allow a defense of both the citizens and to the same extent the States against a out of control Federal Government.
If we start there with this argument, notice in the Second Amendment there is no comment about who can own it was left to the States. In the past until relatively recently convicted Criminals did not automatically lose their right to be armed, I would be interested in hearing if any of the tales of people being let out of Prison and in their belongings which were returned during the Old West days they got their guns back are true. I am not really happy about Federal regulation of firearms because of the inherent aspect of the distrust against the Federal Government in the Second Amendment and you can regulate that right out by constricting it in the name of safety until it is gone.
Anyone should be able to carry a firearm? Even Democrats? You gotta be kidding!
I am a gunowner and a gun nut. But I don’t want violent felons and the dangerous mentally ill to have access to firearms. I can’t believe that any right-thinking conservative would want a dangerous mentally ill person to have access to guns. Just ask Deputy Goforth’s widow. He was murdered by a mentally ill person with a pistol.
Now, I would like Congress to remove the prohibition on spending federal funds to finance hearings by the ATF director on authorizing ex-convicts to possess weapons. The law for the hearings is on the books.. It is disengenuous to essentially repeal the law by refusing funding.
It’s good that RPT is trying a low dollar pitch for funding. That’s where the good stops.
No one, including the NRA, argues for a literal interpretation of the Second Amendment. Most reasonable minds understand the federal limitations associated with background checks as reasonable restrictions.
Whatever the party apparatus does needs to keep optics in mind. It’s hard to envision a pitch that sounds more idiot fringe than this pitch.
However, this is also one that needs to be written off aa trying to get financial involvment from the far right end of the party.