PolL: Open-carry v. campus-carry

[Charles L. Cotton]

Anyone who has been around for even one prior Texas Legislative Session has probably read discussions about using political capital to pass or sometimes block legislation. I have previously pointed out that every time we file more than one high profile and/or controversial bill, it provides an opportunity for a Senator or Representative to vote for one and not for another, then argue, "well, I voted for your _______ bill!"

With that background, if you could see one and only one of the two bills pass, which would you choose? Please don't tell us we can pass both, or we should try to pass both; that's not the purpose of this poll or thread. I'm trying to gauge our Members priority ranking between campus-carry and open-carry. This poll will be open for 30 days.

Chas.

[sfemti33]

Campus carry. Voted.

[Maxwell]

Campus carry vote recorded.

[joelamosobadiah]

Ultimately for me it's about the right to self defense. Open carry doesn't increase that right. Campus carry does so I definitely have to go with campus carry.

[E.Marquez]

I voted Open carry, as it is more applicable to ME in my daily life... But I concede that, Campus Carry does more to advance our concealed carry options, which is also important to me.. Guess that makes me a fence sitter.

[nightmare]

I'm not in favor of restricting RKBA but that's not an option in this poll so I voted for less restrictions on my rights.

[77346]

As the father of two teenage girls than will be off to college in a couple of years, I voted for Campus Carry. It's not about my rights but theirs.

[longhorn86]

Campus carry

[Wodathunkit]

Campus carry, but I won't be upset if you get open carry passed!

[Jumping Frog]

I voted open carry because I have not stepped foot on a college campus in a long time. But open carry could affect my everyday life.

I'd be happy with either.

However, I'd really be happier following the line of thought you started some months ago: Moving CHL's from PC §46.15(b) to PC §46.15(a), making both Sec. 46.02 and 46.03 non-applicable to CHL's. Then next session do something about making PC §46.035 only applicable to licensed (or unlicensed) open carry and thus set it up so that licensed concealed carry is legal anywhere a police officer can carry.

I'd totally be willing to forget about open carry this session if it took two sessions to set it up correctly so that open carry was permitted in some circumstance while licensed concealed carry was expanded into the above locations and essentially converted into a concealed weapons permit instead of concealed handguns (since 46.02 would be non-applicable).

[MeMelYup]

I voted open carry because I have stepped foot on a college campus in a long time. But open carry could affect my everyday life.

How.
I voted campus carry. Get campus first because if open carry we're to be pushed, it would cause confusion. If open and campus carry were pushed together a lot of more people would claim they don't FEEL safe with all the guns they could see. They would claim the students would not need openly carried guns in the safe college atmosphere. Lets do the baby step with concealed carry on college campuses and maybe something about 46.02, 46.03, 46.035. We have the CHL statistics to use for campus carry, only other states statistics for open carry.

[canvasbck]

I voted Open Carry because I'm affected by it and not by Campus Carry. I also voted that way because in my totally unqualified opinion, I think that Open Carry is more "doable" than campus carry. A reintroduction of campus carry is likely to mobilize the same "save the children" oposition groups as it did last session. Lawmakers stated that they were flooded with phone calls in oposition to campus carry (my only source for this is statements that were made on this forum, I believe by Charles) .

Given the recent success in Oklahoma and the fact that Texas is only one of 6 states that does not allow it, I think that open carry will be kind of a ho-hum effort by our oposition.

Passing of open carry also has a chance at mainstreaming the carry of firearms by responsible citizens, if it's actually used by more than a handfull of folks. As long as we have to continue hiding what we are doing, then the public will never get educated to the crime reducing element of citizins carrying weapons. I know that there is a decided tactical to carry concealed vs carrying open, but there is a political advantage to a large number of Texas citizens carrying openly. I'm not referring to the idiots who are all over youtube baiting cops and refusing to provide ID, I'm refering to normal folks going about their normal everyday business while open carrying. If passed, I would probably open carry while in very low risk locations but would concealed carry while in locations that I did not know the risks or felt at all uncomfortable. I would NEVER be one of those idiots parking at a gas station and open carrying while walking a couple of miles down a roadway, those idiots give the rest of us a bad name.

[Vol Texan]

Campus carry. I'm never on one, but I like opening more venues. First campus, then amusement parks / rodeos / etc., then my daughter's school. Finally, just make it so we can carry everywhere a LEO can. Baby steps are better than none at all.

[The Annoyed Man]

I voted Campus carry for a couple of reasons....

1. In terms of the total CHL population, I think it is the more pressing issue. Charles did specify in his question, if we could only get one bill passed in 2013, which would it be. I'm basing my answer on two things which I believe to be true, although I admit that I cannot prove them:
   
   
   1. I believe that the number of CHLs who are currently negatively affected by the lack of campus carry most likely outnumbers those CHLs for whom OC is their highest priority.
      
      
   2. I believe that the number of people who are currently negatively affected by a lack of campus carry almost certainly outnumbers those people who have no CHL and are waiting for OC to pass before they start carrying.
   
   
2. I believe that if the state cannot get campus carry passed, it almost certainly will not be able to pass OC. I will admit that I am far less certain about this last one than I am the three things. It may be true that CC cannot get passed until OC passes. After all, that is the sequence it went down in up in Colorado and over in Arizona,

However, these things said, like canvasbck, OC affects me more directly than CC. I can promise that if neither bill passes in this legislature, then I would reverse my position in 2015 and want to see OC be given priority.....only because I'm getting older, and I'd like to see the full expression of the RKBA before I die.

[Charles L. Cotton]

However, I'd really be happier following the line of thought you started some months ago: Moving CHL's from PC §46.15(b) to PC §46.15(a), making both Sec. 46.02 and 46.03 non-applicable to CHL's.

I drafted that bill and a Senator has it. We'll see if he's going to introduce it or not. Obviously, I hope so!

Chas.