Capitol braces for hearing on 2 gun bills
Do You Want to Make a Difference, or Just a Point?The Texas Capitol is preparing for large and passionate crowds for Thursday’s first public hearing on two hotly debated gun bills.
Expect an expanded presence by Department of Public Safety troopers and crowd-control measures that will include holding the hearing in a relatively small meeting room in the Capitol Extension, with much of the crowd directed into overflow rooms showing live coverage of the testimony.
A similar model was followed during last session’s sometimes-raucous hearings on stricter abortion regulations.
Thursday’s hearing before the Senate State Affairs Committee on open-carry and campus-carry gun bills will begin at 9 a.m. in Room 1.016 of the Capitol Extension.
Those who wish to testify or register a position on the bills can fill out cards at a table near the meeting room at least 30 minutes before the hearing begins. The Capitol’s electronic signup monitors will not be used.
Speakers will have two minutes each to testify
There is no better way to prove to the political and legislative community that you are an inexperienced neophyte than to overstate the benefits of your proposed legislation, or the ramifications of failure to pass a bill. For example, at one time many “constitutional carry” supporters claimed that open-carry reduces crime. There is no evidence this is true and it certainly does not pass the smell test. Testifying that it does in a committee hearing will likely result in being asked to show the proof. Another example of overstating one’s case is claiming that open-carry is legal in 44 states. While perhaps technically true, it is not commonly practiced to the extent that supporters may imply. Again, do not oversell your bill. Tell the truth, there is no reason to prohibit open-carry and it will be a convenience to many law-abiding Texans.