Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Update on Mayor Bill White

I apologize for not catching this until today, but it appears that Houston Mayor Bill White, a Democratic primary candidate for the US Senate, resigned from Mayors Against Illegal Guns back in July, parting company with MAIG over its opposition to a proposal for concealed-carry reciprocity between participating states. White's campaign has stated that MAIG's focus has grown from the original effort to curb trafficking in stolen firearms.

Very interesting news, indeed. I'll try to keep a closer eye on this one.

Friday, September 18, 2009

I got this fundraising letter from Jerry Patterson...

If you don't know who Jerry Patterson is, he's a Republican who current serves as Texas Land Commissioner. This Marine veteran wrote our state CHL law during his tenure in the state Senate.

Now that Patterson is being challenged by Democrat Bill Burton for his job, his campaign sent out a letter dated September 8, 2009 warning of the dangers posed to the Second Amendment by liberal on Capitol Hill, including the newest Superme Court Justice:

Sonia Sotomayor ruled that the 2nd Amendment, as written by the founders of our great nation, only applies to the federal government and states do not have to respect the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

Eric Holder:

And Barack Obama's Attorney General has said that new gun control measures are on the way. Does that mean they'll try to interfere with Texas' right to carry law - the law that I wrote when I was in the Texas Senate?

and "Washington liberals" in general:

...who would dishonor our heritage and take away our guns...

Zakariah Johnson of American Hunters and Shooters Associaton provides a counterpoint to Patterson's assertions, making the argument that Sotomayor's ruling in Maloney v. Rice gives the Supreme Court an opportunity to reevaluate the case, which could result in Heller being explicitly applied to the states (as argued by Nordyke v. King in the Ninth Circuit).

As for AG Holder, he's already under pressure from no less than 65 House Democrats as well as the AHSA and the NRA to hold off on any new federal gun laws.

If Patterson wants to duke it out with Burton over the Second Amendment, that's fine, but maybe Patterson should cool his heels until Burton makes his own position on gun rights known.

As for Burton, his campaign is more than welcome to contact the Gun Owners Caucus of the Texas Democratic Party regarding his views on the Second Amendment. Don't be shy; I'd love to hear from you.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

A tragedy that could have been much, much worse

From News 8 Austin:

According to a press release Friday, San Marcos police do not anticipate filing charges against a resident who shot three Luling teenagers, killing two, after they broke into his home in Western San Marcos early Friday morning.

"At this time, we do not anticipate filing charges against the resident for firing the shots," San Marcos Police Chief, Howard Williams, said.

Instead, San Marcos police will be turning the case over to the Hays County District Attorney's office for review after San Marcos PD completes their investigation.


One of the teens involved in the home invasion was carrying a handgun as opposed to the pellet guns carried by two of his accomplices.

It is sad that two teenagers were killed, but at least the San Marcos resident had the means to defend himself against what was obviously deadly force in the hands of those with ill intent.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Time to gear up for 2010

It's been a bit quiet lately, but it's time to start preparing for the 2010 elections as well as the state convention in Corpus Christi.

I'm currently serving as a precinct chair in Dallas County, and I know of at least one other precinct chair who's part of the Gun Owners Caucus, but we could use a lot more pro-RKBA Democrats in this role.

Precinct chairs are the backbone of every countywide Democratic Party organization in Texas. The primary job of a precinct chair is to identify Democrats living in their precinct and help get them out to vote in the Democratic Primary and General Election. Another thing to remember is that precinct chairs also have the option of serving as an election judge - the individual who runs the voting booths on Election Day. However, the primary goal of every precinct chair is to increase the number of people voting Democratic in their precinct.

Check with your county party headquarters to see if your precinct has an active chair - if not, please consider throwing your hat into the ring. Your county party HQ should have all the details.

I'll discuss a few more ideas for 2010 as time goes by. Feel free to share any thoughts you might have.