Politics

Gun laws and Texas schools

/ hsoi

A useful article about gun laws as they pertain to schools in Texas. (h/t to KR Training).

One question.

Texasl Penal Code Section 46.03(a)(1) says that you cannot carry concealed on a school bus. But I wonder. Is that school bus period? Or school bus performing school-related activities? The intent of the law seems to pertain to school-related activities, but the letter of the law seems to read school bus period. The reason I wonder is I know the City of Austin (and may well other places in Texas too) uses school buses to shuttle people around for large city events. These events have no weapons restrictions to/from/at the event, people with CHL’s can carry and go about their business as usual, and if the bus was a city bus there’d be no issue. But merely due to logistics of handling the event (needing lots of mass transportation vehicles), school buses get used.

IMHO, this is a place where the law needs some clarification. I would assert that when a school bus is used for a non-school-related function that it’s not truly a school bus, merely a bus that’s painted yellow.

But IANAL. Still, I’m going to write my Texas congresscritters.

Tea Party Update

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

When I originally mentioned the Austin Tea Party, their website listed 2 times: a midday one and an evening one. Checking the Tea Party website, I now see it only talking about the evening event. So I emailed to ask what happened to the midday event.

It seems it is a separate (but obviously related) event, the Don’t Mess With Texas Tea Party.

The evening event is the National Tea Party.

Let’s surrender!

/ hsoi

I really do not like Ann Coulter. But this article I mostly agree with. I don’t like all of her cheapshots and bashing (but it’s not being diplomatic that makes her money), but her underlying argument is spot on.

EFF: On warrantless wiretapping, Obama worse than Bush

/ hsoi

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Obama’s handling of warrantless wiretapping is worse than Bush.

For all you people that wanted “hope and change”, I guess you didn’t realize that change can also include “getting worse”.

Again, the gulf between Candidate Obama and President Obama is striking. As a candidate, Obama ran promising a new era of government transparency and accountability, an end to the Bush DOJ’s radical theories of executive power, and reform of the PATRIOT Act. But, this week, Obama’s own Department Of Justice has argued that, under the PATRIOT Act, the government shall be entirely unaccountable for surveilling Americans in violation of its own laws.

So all you Obama supporters out there. Please explain to me how this is good. How this is better.

HB 1893 update

/ hsoi

I just received an email update from TSRA that HB 1893 passed out of committee by a 5-3 vote.

As of this writing the bill’s page isn’t updated and I can’t find more details yet… hopefully more details soon.

Updated: Still waiting on the meeting minutes. I’d like to know who voted how.

Updated 2: Finally, the meeting minutes have been posted. I list their name followed by party affiliation, district number, and NRA 2008 grade:

For: Merritt (R, 7, A); Frost (D, 1, A+); Driver (R, 113, A+); King, Phil (R, 61, A+); Lewis (R, 81, C).

Against: Burnam (D, 90, F); Mallory Caraway (D, 110, C); Rodriguez, Eddie (D, 51, D).

Absent: Vo (D, 149, B+)

Inanimate object springs to life

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

… and manages to cause death and destruction. At least, according to this guy.

I am not unsympathetic to the death of 5 children. I am sure they were fully innocent, and this is the act of a lone, upset, confused, sad, twisted man. The whole story is sad and terrible.

However, a gun did not kill these children, a man did. Yes he used a gun, but that really doesn’t matter unless you’re pushing an agenda. This man did what he did because he had deep problems, and had he lacked a gun he likely would have found some other way. When someone driving a car hits and kills someone, we say the driver killed the person, not the car. If that person was drunk, we say a drunk driver killed the person, not Anheuser-Busch. When a person slips in the bathtub, we don’t blame soap. Why are guns singled out as the one inanimate object that is somehow able to do things on its own?

But what I really wish to comment on is Mr. Rivers’ comments in his posting. I had started to write this long piece, dissecting his assertions and arguments…. but I got tired and opted to edit my posting here to a simple thing.

Mr. Rivers, can you demonstrate and explain how your proposed solutions will actually solve the problem that you see existing? Don’t just keep reciting the same old mantras of gun control, no emotional appeals, but actually articulate how your proposed means will achieve your desired ends. I’ll wait right here for your answer. Joe Huffman has been waiting for nearly 5 years.

Mr. Rivers, I used to come from a similar place as you. Then I became educated on the topic, arguably from “the other side”. Knowing “both sides of the issue” instead of clinging to my old one side, logic won out and I now find myself where I am today. As a result, it’s difficult for me to look at viewpoints such as yours as anything but ignorant; I was ignorant on this matter, so it helps me recognize ignorance when I see it. Mr. Rivers, if you’re willing to engage in open, calm, and rational discourse on this matter, I’m happy to speak with you.