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Lynyrd wrote:Did I want HB 560 to pass? Yes.
Did I think it ever have a chance? No.

HB 560 would have basically restored to citizen's the right to carry where LEO's have the authority to carry. The problem is that the vast majority of the voters see LEO's as being more responsible, trustworthy, and safer than LTC's when it comes to handguns. You can debate that on different points, but it is the public perception. When I talked about this bill with friends, the for and against sentiment was clearly LTC holders yes, non LTC holders no. The arguments against HB 560 included; LEO's have more training, LTC's might not be able to keep their gun from getting taken away from them but LEO's would, everybody can tell that the guy with a badge is a good guy but that doesn't work for LTC.

We all know that statistically LTC's are one of the most law abiding groups of the population. We also know that LTC's commit less crime per capita than LEO's. But making that comparison tends to denigrate LEO's, and is politically a non-starter. The statistics could be presented in a different way, but it would still be a hard sell. You could say that statistically LTC's are the most law abiding and safest group of the population, including LEO's.

The other problem I see with issues like HB 560, and the AG fines for signs fiasco, is that LTC's don't have a lobby. Face it, we don't. TSRA represents gun rights and their paid members, but they are not devoted specifically to issues affecting LTC holders. When legislation is proposed that specifically affects LTC's there is no paid lobby in Austin that I am aware of that works to get that legislation passed. Sure we have people like Mr. Cotton, and others, that work on pro 2A legislation of all kinds, and I am very grateful and respectful of their efforts. But there is not a person who can be introduced in Austin as representing the more than one million LTC holders of Texas. HB 560 was singularly an LTC issue. Fines for signs is an LTC issue. Constitutional carry is not.

There are over one million LTC holders in Texas now. Is that a big enough group to pay a lobbyist? I don't know. Would a paid lobbyist even help our cause? I don't know. But I do know that even among pro 2A Texans, non LTC holders are not terribly concerned or terribly sympathetic to these issues. And that my friends, is something our legislators know as well.