ZStomp
05-01-2007, 01:52 PM
What you guys think?
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/stategov/stories/MYSA050107.07A.perry_guns.30eddd5.html
Perry would allow carrying guns anywhere
Web Posted: 04/30/2007 11:18 PM CDT
Clay Robison
Austin Bureau
AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry said Monday that Texans who are legally licensed to carry concealed handguns should be able to take the weapons anywhere, including churches, bars, courthouses and college campuses.
"I think it makes sense for Texans to be able to protect themselves from deranged individuals, whether they're in church, or whether on a college campus or wherever they are," he said. "The idea that you're going to exempt them from a particular place is nonsense to me."
Perry commented to reporters after he and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt had met privately with educators, mental health experts and law enforcement officials to discuss the recent shootings at Virginia Tech.
Leavitt and other Cabinet officials are traveling around the country to discuss school and community safety practices in preparation for a report to President Bush.
The governor's remarks aren't likely to result in widespread changes in Texas gun laws, particularly this late in a legislative session that must adjourn by May 28.
But the comments elicited sharp responses, and Perry's stance puts him at odds with a major political ally, the Texas Association of Business, over the right of employers to continue to ban firearms from their property.
"We're not in the Wild West anymore," said Tommie Garza of Houston, executive director of Texans for Gun Safety. "It (the governor's idea) doesn't seem like the sensible thing to do."
Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who sponsored the concealed handgun law as a state senator in 1995, said he agreed with Perry that "we need more guns in schools in the hands of responsible people."
But he drew the line at carrying firearms into bars.
"People get drunk there, and their aim is not as good," he said.
Current law prohibits the carrying of firearms, even by handgun licensees, into bars, schools, most areas of college campuses and courthouses.
Churches can ban them, if congregations choose, and governmental bodies can prohibit licensees from carrying pistols into public meetings.
Companies also can prohibit their employees from carrying weapons onto their property.
The Senate has approved a bill to allow handgun licensees to leave their weapons hidden and locked up in their cars on company parking lots, but the TAB and many major employers are trying to kill that legislation in the House.
"We think it should be the prerogative of employers or property owners to prohibit guns on their property," TAB President Bill Hammond said.
Travis County Constable Bruce Elfant, who in the past has lobbied the Legislature for background checks and other gun control measures, said he didn't think many law enforcement officials or educators would support the governor's idea.
"Can you imagine guns on college campuses?" he asked.
Signs prohibiting guns don't deter people with "ill intent," Perry said.
Asked about carrying a pistol into a bar, he added, "I think that a person ought to be able to carry that weapon if they are legally licensed to."
The governor responded less clearly when asked whether Texas should submit mental health information on some individuals to a national database used for background checks of people trying to buy firearms.
Seung-Hui Cho, the shooter who killed 32 people and himself at Virginia Tech on April 16, had purchased two handguns, despite having been declared mentally ill.
Senate Bill 1755 by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, which hasn't yet been heard by a Senate committee, would cover people who have received court-ordered inpatient mental health services or who have been declared mentally incapacitated. But it wouldn't apply to people like Cho, who was a mental health outpatient.
There are privacy requirements under federal law that must be considered, Perry said.
"I think we as a country need to have that discussion about when does public safety overwhelm the need for our privacy, if and when that does occur," he said.
[email protected]
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/stategov/stories/MYSA050107.07A.perry_guns.30eddd5.html
Perry would allow carrying guns anywhere
Web Posted: 04/30/2007 11:18 PM CDT
Clay Robison
Austin Bureau
AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry said Monday that Texans who are legally licensed to carry concealed handguns should be able to take the weapons anywhere, including churches, bars, courthouses and college campuses.
"I think it makes sense for Texans to be able to protect themselves from deranged individuals, whether they're in church, or whether on a college campus or wherever they are," he said. "The idea that you're going to exempt them from a particular place is nonsense to me."
Perry commented to reporters after he and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt had met privately with educators, mental health experts and law enforcement officials to discuss the recent shootings at Virginia Tech.
Leavitt and other Cabinet officials are traveling around the country to discuss school and community safety practices in preparation for a report to President Bush.
The governor's remarks aren't likely to result in widespread changes in Texas gun laws, particularly this late in a legislative session that must adjourn by May 28.
But the comments elicited sharp responses, and Perry's stance puts him at odds with a major political ally, the Texas Association of Business, over the right of employers to continue to ban firearms from their property.
"We're not in the Wild West anymore," said Tommie Garza of Houston, executive director of Texans for Gun Safety. "It (the governor's idea) doesn't seem like the sensible thing to do."
Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who sponsored the concealed handgun law as a state senator in 1995, said he agreed with Perry that "we need more guns in schools in the hands of responsible people."
But he drew the line at carrying firearms into bars.
"People get drunk there, and their aim is not as good," he said.
Current law prohibits the carrying of firearms, even by handgun licensees, into bars, schools, most areas of college campuses and courthouses.
Churches can ban them, if congregations choose, and governmental bodies can prohibit licensees from carrying pistols into public meetings.
Companies also can prohibit their employees from carrying weapons onto their property.
The Senate has approved a bill to allow handgun licensees to leave their weapons hidden and locked up in their cars on company parking lots, but the TAB and many major employers are trying to kill that legislation in the House.
"We think it should be the prerogative of employers or property owners to prohibit guns on their property," TAB President Bill Hammond said.
Travis County Constable Bruce Elfant, who in the past has lobbied the Legislature for background checks and other gun control measures, said he didn't think many law enforcement officials or educators would support the governor's idea.
"Can you imagine guns on college campuses?" he asked.
Signs prohibiting guns don't deter people with "ill intent," Perry said.
Asked about carrying a pistol into a bar, he added, "I think that a person ought to be able to carry that weapon if they are legally licensed to."
The governor responded less clearly when asked whether Texas should submit mental health information on some individuals to a national database used for background checks of people trying to buy firearms.
Seung-Hui Cho, the shooter who killed 32 people and himself at Virginia Tech on April 16, had purchased two handguns, despite having been declared mentally ill.
Senate Bill 1755 by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, which hasn't yet been heard by a Senate committee, would cover people who have received court-ordered inpatient mental health services or who have been declared mentally incapacitated. But it wouldn't apply to people like Cho, who was a mental health outpatient.
There are privacy requirements under federal law that must be considered, Perry said.
"I think we as a country need to have that discussion about when does public safety overwhelm the need for our privacy, if and when that does occur," he said.
[email protected]