Two points.getsome wrote:... I'd think if the NRA/TSRA were serious about getting it passed (permit or no permit), shouldn't they be putting forth bills each and every legislative session?Charles L. Cotton wrote:The NRA and TSRA are the only organizations that can get it passed ....
First, ,if you are familiar with Texas politics, you know that the legislative session is a very short time window every other year. Effective lobbying recognizes the need to focus efforts on one or two major bills. One cannot tackle everything all at once. Recent sessions have seen NRA/TSRA efforts focused on passing a parking lot bill and a campus carry bill. Personally, I am glad for the parking lot bill protection, which means a whole lot more to me than open carry. After all, I have a gun on my employer's parking lot every day. I also have college-age children and getting campus carry passed is more important to me than open carry.
Second, when the previous open carry bills were poorly drafted, mediocre pieces of work derived in a vacuum and then lobbied in an abrasive and amateur manner, the NRA and TSRA simply had to step back or they risk losing credibility with Legislators that literally took decades to create. The last session was a perfect example, when some of the more vehement open carry proponents where literally spreading hatred, vitriol, and veiled threats to the Legislators who were pro-bill for not acting quickly enough.
If you are tempted to label me one of those anti-open carry haters, please be advised I was regularly open carrying every week (sometimes open, sometimes concealed) for years before moving to Texas. I am not opposed to open carry, but I am opposed to juvenile antics and ineffective tactics.
