TX Gov. Perry: Allow concealed handguns everywhere.

[peejay 327]

Perry: Banning pistols isn't the answer

Governor says licensees should be free to take them anywhere for protection

By CLAY ROBISON

2007 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry said Monday that Texans who are legally licensed should be able to carry their concealed handguns 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 University. 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," Tommie Garza of Houston, executive director of Texans for Gun Safety, said of the governor's idea. "It 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 allowing guns in 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, 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 in their cars on company parking lots, but the TAB and many employers are trying to kill that legislation in the House.

Asked about carrying a pistol into a bar, Perry said, "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.

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.

Austin Bureau reporter Peggy Fikac contributed to this story.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4763469.html

[Niels Bohr 72]

A handgun is dangerous upon the user.

[Ban Hammer 14,269]

A handgun is dangerous upon the user.

[Otto 83]

He (Perry) says something smart now and then...

[peejay 327]

He (Perry) says something smart now and then...

Not very often though. Kinky would have been and is better than Perry ever will be. Maybe next go around?

[almaty 19]

He (Perry) says something smart now and then...

Not very often though. Kinky would have been and is better than Perry ever will be. Maybe next go around?

i 100% agree..kinky is the man...i wished i lived in texas, so i could have voted for him

[Robor007 0]

Yeah, school campuses, malls, courthouses, police stations, etc. What a stupid idea.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

In other news Virginia closed up the loophole that allowed a deranged man to purchase his 'weapons of personal destruction'. Proving perhaps that "control" doesn't equal ban.

[almaty 19]

such is texas...lone star beer and guns

[Otto 83]

Yeah, school campuses, malls, courthouses, police stations, etc. What a stupid idea.

Not such a stupid idea - several years ago a maniac rammed his truck into a restaurant, got out shooting and killed 21 (I believe) people - at least three patrons inside at the time held concealed weapon permits but because the establishment didn't permit handguns - they were powerless to stop the killing because their weapons were outside in their cars... it's not stupid if you or someone you love is in harm's way..

[Robor007 0]

Yeah, school campuses, malls, courthouses, police stations, etc. What a stupid idea.

Not such a stupid idea - several years ago a maniac rammed his truck into a restaurant, got out shooting and killed 21 (I believe) people - at least three patrons inside at the time held concealed weapon permits but because the establishment didn't permit handguns - they were powerless to stop the killing because their weapons were outside in their cars... it's not stupid if you or someone you love is in harm's way..

How about we take the gun away from the maniac instead?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Yeah, school campuses, malls, courthouses, police stations, etc. What a stupid idea.

Not such a stupid idea - several years ago a maniac rammed his truck into a restaurant, got out shooting and killed 21 (I believe) people - at least three patrons inside at the time held concealed weapon permits but because the establishment didn't permit handguns - they were powerless to stop the killing because their weapons were outside in their cars... it's not stupid if you or someone you love is in harm's way..

I have to say that as cynical as I might be - I can't imagine that what you just described constitutes a typical "Texas experience", and you're probably far far more likely to be hit by a truck crossing the street than you are to be gunned down by a maniac who just rammed his car through a restaurant. Seems to me more ought to be done about relatively predictable (and prolific) causes of death, rather than spending all this time and effort 'arming up' to deal with weird off-the-wall stuff.

Edited May 1, 2007 by erekose

[peejay 327]

Yeah, school campuses, malls, courthouses, police stations, etc. What a stupid idea.

Not such a stupid idea - several years ago a maniac rammed his truck into a restaurant, got out shooting and killed 21 (I believe) people - at least three patrons inside at the time held concealed weapon permits but because the establishment didn't permit handguns - they were powerless to stop the killing because their weapons were outside in their cars... it's not stupid if you or someone you love is in harm's way..

How about we take the gun away from the maniac instead?

Go ahead! Take that gun from that maniac! If you need some help...just call me on my cell. I'll zoom over as fast as I can.

Edited May 1, 2007 by peejay

[Robor007 0]

Yeah, school campuses, malls, courthouses, police stations, etc. What a stupid idea.

Not such a stupid idea - several years ago a maniac rammed his truck into a restaurant, got out shooting and killed 21 (I believe) people - at least three patrons inside at the time held concealed weapon permits but because the establishment didn't permit handguns - they were powerless to stop the killing because their weapons were outside in their cars... it's not stupid if you or someone you love is in harm's way..

How about we take the gun away from the maniac instead?

Go ahead! Take that gun from that maniac! If you need some help...just call me on my cell. I'll zoom over as fast as I can.

Sorry, I don't work in law enforcement.

[Scott & Lai 12]

Yeah, school campuses, malls, courthouses, police stations, etc. What a stupid idea.

Not such a stupid idea - several years ago a maniac rammed his truck into a restaurant, got out shooting and killed 21 (I believe) people - at least three patrons inside at the time held concealed weapon permits but because the establishment didn't permit handguns - they were powerless to stop the killing because their weapons were outside in their cars... it's not stupid if you or someone you love is in harm's way..

How about we take the gun away from the maniac instead?

Go ahead! Take that gun from that maniac! If you need some help...just call me on my cell. I'll zoom over as fast as I can.

Sorry, I don't work in law enforcement.

And law enforcement cannot be there quickly enough to take away the maniac's gun before he harms someone.