It looks like Sen. Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville) and Sen. Mario Gallegos (D-Houston) like to go back on their word.
I don’t know about you, but people who give their word then go back on it? They lose a lot of standing in my book. Integrity is about all you really have in life, so it’s important to maintain and improve it… not lose it.
From Alice Tripp of the TSRA:
Dear JOHN, Rumors include the Brady Campaign funneling money into Texas to kill CHL on Campus!Background:
SB 354by Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) would allow adult students, faculty, and staff with a concealed handgun license to carry in buildings located on college campuses currently prohibited by Texas law. SB 354 would also stop colleges and universities from creatingadministrative rules which serve to expel a student or terminate an employee for simply having their licensed handgun in their personal vehicle.
You might be interested in knowing that every college and university in the state of Texas has such administrative rules on the books. That’s what local control buys you: zip, nada, nothing!
Update and Status:
SB 354 became eligible to be debated on the Senate floor last week. TSRA worked to help Senator Wentworth count the required votes to reach the two-thirds rule. The Texas House uses a Calendars Committee which prioritizes and sets the House Calendar; the Senate requires 2/3s of the total senators present to agree to bring a bill up for discussion. There are 31 senators and the required number is 21. The final vote is an up or down simple majority.
It’s a gentlemen’s agreement. I’ll hear your bill even though I might ultimately vote against it, and you’ll hear mine. It also gives power to the minority party and in the case of SB 354, a great deal of power. Two Senators have taken SB 354 hostage, two with help from their “friends”.
Senator Wentworth had counted his votes and turned in his list to the Lt. Governor and we were good-to-go with 22 votes, counting Senator Wentworth.
Governor Dewhurst recognized Senator Wentworth who made the required motion to suspend the rules and consider SB 354. A debate followed.
The list of senators agreeing to the two-thirds rule included Senator Lucio (D-Brownsville). Senator Lucio requested language that would address a primary, secondary, and child-care facility on one of his college campuses. Over night the language was hammered out and Senator Lucio’s staff believed the correction would address the school’s concerns, would be acceptable to Senator Lucio, and wasn’t harmful to Senator Wentworth’s bill. Good-to-go…
The next day, last Thursday, as Senator Wentworth laid out and began explaining his bill, Senator Lucio decided that he wanted his college to take the weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) to review this language and insisted Senator Wentworth hold off.
Wentworth was ready and anxious to get on with it. He would keep the language but did not want to wait three more days. Lucio removed his name from the list and now we were down to 21 but still Good-to-go.
For quite a while the debate continued among those who opposed the bill. This included Senator Steve Ogden (R-Bryan). Ogden insisted that so few students would have a concealed handgun license, how could this number possibly make a college campus more safe. Senator, this is about personal safety! Not policing a college campus.
After a couple of hours a group of senators gathered around Senator Mario Gallegos’ desk. Gallegos was on the two-thirds list. Senator Gallegos supported a similar bill last session and told me he had no problem supporting it again. However, with some pressure from the opposition, he too took his name off and now we were at 20 and below the required number. The wheels came off!
Senators Lucio and Gallegos signed the sheet and pledged to vote for the two-third rule to bring up SB 354. The pledge sheet was submitted to the Lt. Governor’s desk. Nothing happened to cause these two senators to go back on their commitment, their word to Senator Wentworth and to Texans.
Below is the list of contact information for Texas state senators:
Please pay special attention and email and to call Senators Lucio (D-Brownsville), Gallegos (D-Houston), and Ogden (R-Bryan). It’s not a waste of time, it’s important that everyone hears from you but particularly the “opposition”. If you have children or grandchildren in a Texas college let the Senate know this information too.
I clipped out the contact information. You can find it on the Texas Senate website.
Here’s an even better part to the story. Local CHL Instructor and rights advocate, Robert Greene, visited with Sen. Lucio’s office about this matter. He asked for their source of the information and was told “this conversation is over and you need to leave.”. According to Robert:
Sen. Lucio wouldn’t vote for SB 354 Campus Carry because of the high school using TAMU Kingsville cafeteria and gym. This is not true. After calling St. Gertrudis Academy, we found they are in their own building and use another K-8 schools building for a cafeteria and gym, which are already exempted under federal law.
Yes, the particular issue is of interest to me, but regardless of the particular issue… if someone gives their word then goes back on it, how can you trust them? How can you be assured they won’t renege on a promise they make to you?
Stuff From Hsoi 