SB1164 Campus-Carry Voted favorably from State Affairs Cmt.

[Skiprr]

Made calls to the offices of all three, and at least got my name on a list of non-constituents who urged them to reconsider their stance. I'm faxing Duncan and Ogden separately.

If this plays out as I fear it might, I'm also tempted to write open letters to Senators Duncan and Ogden, copying the state Republican Party leadership (Benkiser, Crocker, Adams, and Opiela) as well as Michael Steele. As Charles says, it is pretty difficult to misconstrue what appears at the top of page 47 of the official platform:

Republicans remain the party of vigorous action against crime and the party that empowers the law abiding by protecting their right to keep and bear arms for self-protection.

I infer that to mean at least a degree of support on RKBA issues. It certainly does not mean a party member is expected to actively work for the defeat of popular NRA- and TSRA-supported Second Amendment legislations.

Van de Putte may have flip-flopped on her TSRA A- rating, but she is not a Republican and is not overtly seeking to quash a bill that is clearly pertinent to her party's core platform. Harder for me to blast her.

But at a time when the Republican Party is striving to reorganize and mount solid campaigns in 2010, having Duncan and Ogden act more like New York Democrats than Texas Republicans is absolutely frustrating.

[toddlinder]

Was able to call everyone on the committees several days ago. Today called my two senators, good responses from them, one is a co-sponsor, the other (I think Duncan) gave me specific info about exempting private institutions (since I teach at a private university) and the time delay for implementation. Both offices very nice to me.

[will381796]

What's your take on this?

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6420377.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Charles L. Cotton]

Senator Ogden offered a killer amendment to SB730 (employer parking lots) and he has been quoted in a Chronicle article (I haven't seen it) as saying SB1164 is dead, presumably meaning Senator Wentworth will not have the 21 votes necessary to get the bill to the floor. He apparently goes on to say that, if campus-carry passes, professors will live in fear. What an insult to the most law-abiding people in Texas.

In the Chronicle article, the claim that "students and faculty will live in fear" is attributed to "opponents" of campus carry, not to Senator Ogden himself. While I agree that it's insulting, there's nothing in the article to suggest that the insult came from the Senator.

I believe it does when coupled with his refusal to vote to bring the bill to the floor for debate and the killer amendment he added to SB730. As I said, I hadn't read the article, but was relying upon what was reported to me.

Chas.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Here is the portion of the 2008 Texas Republican Party Platform that deals with campus-carry. It's as clear as the proverbial bell. Here is the link; it's on page 18. http://www.texasgop.org/site/DocServer/ ... ATFORM.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chas.

PROMOTING INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM AND PERSONAL SAFETY

INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM
Right To Keep and Bear Arms – We urge the Legislature and Congress to repeal all laws that infringe on the right to bear arms, and to reject any monitoring of gun ownership, and all excessive taxation or regulation of guns and ammunition. We support a ten-year minimum mandatory sentence without parole for felonies committed with firearms. Stiff penalties should be enacted for frivolous lawsuits against legitimate firearms manufacturers. All gun owners are responsible for safely storing and operating firearms. We believe the Legislature should enact legislation: allowing: Concealed Handgun License holders to carry concealed weapons on publicly owned institutions of learning; and, preventing employers from prohibiting Concealed Handgun License holders from storing their concealed handgun in their vehicle while on a company parking area, and removing civil liability from property owners who do not prevent Concealed Handgun License holders from carrying on their premises. We believe that FFL holders should be free from harassment, and license revocations and denials against firearm dealers based on violations consisting of largely inconsequential recordkeeping errors and encourages the ATF to consider lesser gradation of sanctions for such errors.

[Charles L. Cotton]

I believe we should make it abundantly clear to Mr. Ogden that his standing in the way of the campus carry bill will not forgotten when his seat is up for grabs come votin' time.

He is my Senator. What would be a good message to send to him regarding this?

We will see SB730 (Employer parking lots) back in the Senate for a vote, since it was amended in the House. Let's remember that.

Chas.

[cclacy]

I have been following both Parking Lot and Campus Carry intensely. I have distributed contact information via email and passed out flyers that I made concerning both bills. I just wanted to include a copy of the letter I just faxed and emailed to Senator Ogden (my senator). I will also call his office tomorrow. I have also contacted Duncan and Van de Putte.

Senator Ogden:

I am writing you to urge you to support SB 1164 (Concealed Carry on Campus) which recently got voted out of the Senate State Affairs Committee. As you know, it will need 21 Senate votes to go to the full Senate to be debated and voted on. Statements you have made recently on the radio as well as in newspaper articles concern me. Its seems that you are indicating that you do not support this bill.

As you also know, the Republican Party platform clearly endorses this bill. The anti-gun lobbies who oppose this bill simply do not have the facts on their side. They instead rely on emotion and truth distortion to make their argument. Some have made the claim that faculty and students at Universities will somehow feel LESS safe if this law passes. A law-abiding citizen at least 21 years of age who has gone through the requirements of a Texas CHL is not someone who anyone should fear. In fact, quite the opposite should be the case. To suggest that one of these citizens would decide to pull out a firearm and murder a professor because he or she received a bad grade is an insult to the citizens of this state as well as an insult to everyone’s intelligence. I sincerely hope you are not swayed by such rhetoric.

I have lived in the Brazos Valley for the last 12 years, and have always voted for you when you have run for re-election. You are a well respected and senior Senator in the Texas Legislature with an impressive career. I respect your right to make your own decision on this issue, but I sincerely hope you will stand with your party and support this bill. If you decide, however, not to vote for this bill to become law; I would be VERY disappointed if you didn’t at least vote to allow this bill the chance to come before the entire Senate for a debate and chance for a fair vote. Please let the legislative process take place fairly. Give SB 1164 the chance to be heard and voted on. Please let me know what you decide.



Respectfully,


Christopher C Lacy