Texans, call Calendars Committee re: SB534

[PerryNoyed]

SB534 is the bill that disallows employers to take job action against employees who either apply for, possess, or exercise their CHLs, so long as their handgun is kept in their locked vehicle in the company parking lot. It passed the Senate (about 30-0), went to the House Criminal Jurisprudence committee, and was reported favorably by that committtee to the Calendars committe with a few changes.

If the Calendars committee does not take action to schedule this bill for debate on the House floor, it will die in committee!.

Below is the message on the TSRA website, basically asking everyone to call the Speaker (Tom Craddick) and members of the Calendars committee. Below that is the address of the Speaker's website and his phone number, as well as the names and phone numbers of the members of the Calendars committee. Below that is a draft email to send to the Speaker and Calendars committee, feel free to use any or none of it.

Please make your calls on Monday, be polite but firm.
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TSRA messge follows:
CHL Employee Rights – Allow CHLs to Have Handguns In Locked Private Vehicles
In Parking Areas~SB 534 by Senator Glenn Hegar (R-Katy)/Rep. Patrick Rose
(D-Dripping Springs)

Individuals go through the rigorous background check, training and application process to obtain CHL so that they can protect themselves in a lawful, responsible manner. However, if an employer's "No Firearms" policy extends beyond the physical workplace to include parking lots and garages, employees who are CHLs are effectively prohibited from protecting themselves during the workweek – they may only keep their firearms i n their vehicles if they park them off company property and on public roadways, which may be unsafe or unavailable.

Proposed legislation would give CHLs the right to trans port and store their handgun in locked vehicles on company property and would also provide immunity from liability for employers.

This legislation was modeled after current Southwest Airlines policy.

Passed in the Senate, passed House Committee hearings, now sitting in House Calendars Committee to be added to the House Calendar (5/10/07)

Stuck in Calendars Committee (5/17) We need your calls to the Speaker and to House Calendar Committee!
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Speaker Craddick's contact info:
http://www.house.state.tx.us/speaker/welcome.htm
Speaker Tom Craddick
512-463-1000
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Calendars Committee contact info:
Calendars Committee:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=80R&CmteCode=C050
Position Member
Chair: Rep. Beverly Woolley 512-463-0696
Vice Chair: Rep. Norma Chavez 512-463-0622
Members: Rep. Dan Branch 512-463-0367
Rep. Myra Crownover 512-463-0582
Rep. Dawnna Dukes 512-463-0506
Rep. Gary Elkins 512-463-0722
Rep. Ryan Guillen 512-463-0416
Rep. Mike Hamilton 512-463-0412
Rep. Larry Taylor 512-463-0729
Rep. Sylvester Turner 512-463-0554
Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale 512-463-0661
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Draft email to send:
Please, do all that you can to schedule SB534 for action by the whole House immediately. SB534 is keenly needed to require busineses to respect the civil rights (including the 2nd Amendment rights) of their employees who possess a concealed handgun license - it applies to no one BUT CHL-holders, and it imposes other requirements on those employees. The bill does not allow CHL-holding employees to possess their handgun outside of the employees' owned/leased LOCKED vehicle while on the employer's property, so it in NO way infringes on the property rights of the employer. CHL-holders should not have to forfeit such an important civil right for employment, and the suggestion to "go work somewhere else", while appropriate in the case of restricted "privileges" ( i.e., no smoking on company property, poor health care insurance, etc.) but is NEVER appropriate when it comes to restrictions by employers on the fundamental RIGHTS of their employees.

 

[JohnKSa]

Here's a copy of an earlier post from me. It has a link for the entire committee.

SB 534 would prevent employers from penalizing a CHL holder for keeping a handgun in a locked vehicle in the company parking lot while at work.

It is currently in this committee.

http://www.house.state.tx.us/committees/050.htm

There isn't much time left to get it moving before the legislative session ends.

Send them an email (just click on a committe member's name and you'll be taken to their website and given the option to send an email) and let them know that it doesn't make sense to disarm a permit holder from the time they leave home in the morning until the time they return from work at night.

An email to House Speaker Tom Craddick would help too.

http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist82/craddick.htm

It's easy to say that one could just change jobs, but I had around a decade invested in my career at my company before they changed their policy to forbid CHL holders' handguns in locked cars in the parking lot. And if I changed jobs to a company that allowed it, there's no guarantee that the new company wouldn't change its policy the next day.

My company provides on site security but that doesn't do anything for me during my 90 minute commute nor during the errands I often run after work. Parking offsite is a solution for some but many, like me, can't do it feasibly.

The bill only applies to CHL holders and provides liability immunity for the employers for any incidents relating to CHL holder's handguns. Even so, there are several large businesses and business associations lobbying heavily against it. One provided the results of a poll to support their argument but the questions they asked were pretty skewed--among other things, they failed to inform the polled persons that the bill only applied to permit holders.

There's a VERY good chance that this bill will pass if it can just get out of committee, and if it gets to Gov. Perry's desk it might as well already be signed.

 

[netprophet21]

done

 

[msimonds]

I also sent in 3 different emails > this really needs to get passed imo

 

[wdlsguy]

According to http://www.tsrapac.com, SB 534 died on the House calendar on 5/22, along with 170 other bills.