Mr. _____,
The legislation you refer to has only been talked about at this point.
There is no pre-filed legislation, and the only lawmakers who have mentioned
the proposal out loud have been ones opposed to it. We have yet to find a
single lawmaker who is willing to introduce such a bill.
I wish the people at OpenCarry.org would do more than talk about this issue.
For the cost of the billboards they have put up around the state, they could
have hired a contract lobbyist to help with this issue. According to the
Texas Ethics Commission, they have not yet hired (at least not yet) anyone
to represent this issue in the capital.
Philosophically, we have absolutely no problem with this issue. However, in
the current climate in Austin (made worse recently) it will be, at best,
exceedingly difficult to pass this measure, and most likely it will be
impossible. There simply is no support for it in the legislature. We have
identified issues such as campus carry and CHL rights in employer's parking
lots that we believe we have a significant chance to pass, and we had both
issues examined in an interim study.
The open carry issue will have a much greater chance of passage if an
interim study was sought prior to the 2011 session, and a committee were to
recommend some form of change. I realize that waiting another couple of
years is difficult. However, Jerry Patterson (the author of the Concealed
Handgun Law) is quick to point out that it is far easier to fix or tweak an
existing law than it is to write an entirely new one.
On a final note, as a way of explanation of how difficult passing open carry
will be, keep in mind that what is being proposed is absolutely
unprecedented. There is no instance in US political history that I am aware
of, that a law like the one Texas has has been repealed. States currently
enjoying open carry do so because their legislature never passed a law
forbidding it. Texas did in 1871, and reversing that law will be
exceedingly difficult.
Again, I am not opposed at all to this measure, but I am concerned about a
measure with little or no chance of passage proving to be a draw on
resources and political capital, as well as spurring opposition forces into
stronger action this year in Texas.
Jim Dark
Executive Director
TSRA