Dallas Morning News 05/24/15

[jimlongley]

In a letter to the editor.

Reflecting on the Twin Peaks massacre, I wish to suggest to those in Austin eager to pass open carry legislation to consider how the death count would have been more tragic were open carry legal. The shooters would have been carrying AK 47 assault rifles. Why would any lawmaker in his right mind cast a vote subjecting our police officers to such a scenario of weaponry?

Let’s hope our governor doesn’t pander to the open carry crowd as easily as he did to the Texas-invasion crowd and that he vetoes open carry legislation. No wonder the rest of the country thinks Texans are cracked!

Go against the grain Gov. Abbott, and do the right thing. You were elected by people with families and don’t ever forget that.

Imagine being in a doctor’s waiting room with your kids and in walks two guns with people attached. Good guys or bad guys? How does the parent compute this? We get our kids out of there! Or at a movie with guns in full view of any deranged nut wanting to make a name for himself. Are you kidding?

John Pennington, Fairview

Attempting to stay within DMN's 200 word limit, my reply:

RE: John Pennington; Veto Open Carry DMN 05/24/2015, Mr. Pennington would go a great distance toward enhancing his case if he took into account a couple of facts:

First, open carry of any rifle would not be covered under the proposed legislation, it only covers handguns carried by CHL holders.

Second, besides the simple fact that a true (fully automatic) AK-47 “Assault Rifle” is covered under Federal Laws, the semi-automatic look alikes to AK-47s, which are, by definition, NOT actually “Assault Rifles” are actually legal to open carry in Texas today, without this legislation.

Governor Abbott isn’t pandering to anyone, he is fulfilling a campaign promise to sign open carry legislation, so if he does any pandering on this bill, it would be if he caves in to the alarmists.

If you are sitting in the doctor’s waiting room and people walk in carrying, it’s because your doctor must be comfortable, because your doctor didn't take advantage of the law and post the office off limits. And the last deranged nut to commit a theater massacre disobeyed the law against carrying there. A law that prevented anyone from possibly being able to defend themselves.

Governor Abbott, do the right thing, sign the legislation as you promised, and don’t pander to the fear mongers spreading disinformation.

[safety1]

[tomtexan]

In a letter to the editor.

Reflecting on the Twin Peaks massacre, I wish to suggest to those in Austin eager to pass open carry legislation to consider how the death count would have been more tragic were open carry legal. The shooters would have been carrying AK 47 assault rifles. Why would any lawmaker in his right mind cast a vote subjecting our police officers to such a scenario of weaponry?

Let’s hope our governor doesn’t pander to the open carry crowd as easily as he did to the Texas-invasion crowd and that he vetoes open carry legislation. No wonder the rest of the country thinks Texans are cracked!

Go against the grain Gov. Abbott, and do the right thing. You were elected by people with families and don’t ever forget that.

Imagine being in a doctor’s waiting room with your kids and in walks two guns with people attached. Good guys or bad guys? How does the parent compute this? We get our kids out of there! Or at a movie with guns in full view of any deranged nut wanting to make a name for himself. Are you kidding?

John Pennington, Fairview

Attempting to stay within DMN's 200 word limit, my reply:

RE: John Pennington; Veto Open Carry DMN 05/24/2015, Mr. Pennington would go a great distance toward enhancing his case if he took into account a couple of facts:

First, open carry of any rifle would not be covered under the proposed legislation, it only covers handguns carried by CHL holders.

Second, besides the simple fact that a true (fully automatic) AK-47 “Assault Rifle” is covered under Federal Laws, the semi-automatic look alikes to AK-47s, which are, by definition, NOT actually “Assault Rifles” are actually legal to open carry in Texas today, without this legislation.

Governor Abbott isn’t pandering to anyone, he is fulfilling a campaign promise to sign open carry legislation, so if he does any pandering on this bill, it would be if he caves in to the alarmists.

If you are sitting in the doctor’s waiting room and people walk in carrying, it’s because your doctor must be comfortable, because your doctor didn't take advantage of the law and post the office off limits. And the last deranged nut to commit a theater massacre disobeyed the law against carrying there. A law that prevented anyone from possibly being able to defend themselves.

Governor Abbott, do the right thing, sign the legislation as you promised, and don’t pander to the fear mongers spreading disinformation.

[joe817]

Well put Jim!

[rbwhatever1]

John Pennington is just one more ignorant human walking the planet without a clue using up air that could be going to normal folks. People like him look to others for protection. Keep him safe. Keep his family safe. He has probably never read the Texas or U.S. Constitutions. I bet he was really happy when his letter was published. I bet he was calling all his friends and family to check out his brilliant article. I wonder if he read the 5 comments posted to his uneducated emotional fact-less letter to the editor....

http://letterstotheeditorblog.dallasnew ... tout.html/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sjfcontrol]

...in walks two guns with people attached...

Besides the cartoonish mental image this comment provokes, it says a lot about the writer's belief that guns are animate objects capable of movement and actions on their own.

[The Annoyed Man]

...in walks two guns with people attached...

Besides the cartoonish mental image this comment provokes, it says a lot about the writer's belief that guns are animate objects capable of movement and actions on their own.

You beat me to it. I had exactly the same thought.......that it is ridiculous how much free will and animation hoplophobes ascribe to a simple mechanical device.

[Mel]

John is from Fairview.
This is the same town that tried to sue McKinney Airport because the departing jets were "dumping" jet fuel all over their kids.

[jimlongley]

John is from Fairview.
This is the same town that tried to sue McKinney Airport because the departing jets were "dumping" jet fuel all over their kids.

Actually we were with him on that suit for different reasons.

[SkipB]

Any law that is passed is for us the law abiding citizens. Any member of a gang of any type could care less about the law. They don't care about 30.06 postings or open carry. They don't care about the 51% law. They prefer handguns because they are easy to conceal. They don't obey the law. Where you and I would take our carry piece off and leave it in our vehicle because the law stated for us to do so, they will not comply. When someone is fighting against our rights they are fighting for those gangs and criminals we carry to protect ourselves from. Just my thoughts.

[A-R]

In a letter to the editor.

Reflecting on the Twin Peaks massacre, I wish to suggest to those in Austin eager to pass open carry legislation to consider how the death count would have been more tragic were open carry legal. The shooters would have been carrying AK 47 assault rifles. Why would any lawmaker in his right mind cast a vote subjecting our police officers to such a scenario of weaponry?

Let’s hope our governor doesn’t pander to the open carry crowd as easily as he did to the Texas-invasion crowd and that he vetoes open carry legislation. No wonder the rest of the country thinks Texans are cracked!

Go against the grain Gov. Abbott, and do the right thing. You were elected by people with families and don’t ever forget that.

Imagine being in a doctor’s waiting room with your kids and in walks two guns with people attached. Good guys or bad guys? How does the parent compute this? We get our kids out of there! Or at a movie with guns in full view of any deranged nut wanting to make a name for himself. Are you kidding?

John Pennington, Fairview

Attempting to stay within DMN's 200 word limit, my reply:

RE: John Pennington; Veto Open Carry DMN 05/24/2015, Mr. Pennington would go a great distance toward enhancing his case if he took into account a couple of facts:

First, open carry of any rifle would not be covered under the proposed legislation, it only covers handguns carried by CHL holders.

Second, besides the simple fact that a true (fully automatic) AK-47 “Assault Rifle” is covered under Federal Laws, the semi-automatic look alikes to AK-47s, which are, by definition, NOT actually “Assault Rifles” are actually legal to open carry in Texas today, without this legislation.

Governor Abbott isn’t pandering to anyone, he is fulfilling a campaign promise to sign open carry legislation, so if he does any pandering on this bill, it would be if he caves in to the alarmists.

If you are sitting in the doctor’s waiting room and people walk in carrying, it’s because your doctor must be comfortable, because your doctor didn't take advantage of the law and post the office off limits. And the last deranged nut to commit a theater massacre disobeyed the law against carrying there. A law that prevented anyone from possibly being able to defend themselves.

Governor Abbott, do the right thing, sign the legislation as you promised, and don’t pander to the fear mongers spreading disinformation.

[jimlongley]

And the letter as published 05/26/15

Re: “Veto open carry,” by John Pennington, Sunday Letters.

Pennington would go a great distance toward enhancing his case if he took into account a couple of facts: First, openly carrying any rifle would not be covered under the proposed legislation, it only covers handguns carried by CHL holders.

Second, a true (fully automatic) “AK-47 assault rifle” is covered under federal laws. The semiautomatic lookalikes to AK-47s, which are, by definition, not actually assault rifles, are actually legal to open carry in Texas today, without this legislation.

Gov. Abbott isn’t pandering to anyone; he is fulfilling a campaign promise to sign open carry legislation, so if he does any pandering on this bill, it would be if he caves in to the alarmists.

If you are sitting in the doctor’s waiting room and people walk in carrying, it’s because your doctor must be comfortable, because your doctor didn’t take advantage of the law and post the office as off-limits. The last deranged nut who committed a theater massacre disobeyed the law against carrying there — a law that prevented anyone from possibly being able to defend themselves.

Gov. Abbott, do the right thing, sign the legislation as you promised, and don’t pander to the fear mongers spreading disinformation.

Jim Longley, Allen