I'm giving Senate Testimony on Tuesday

[karl]

Thanks all for the input. I'll post a draft later this evening.

Will you be carrying while testifying?

I plan to be. It doesn't seem right to be fighting for this cause and not be.

[RHenriksen]

Who is Alice?

That does sound "bossy". You should be able to say what you want. I understand giving guidance but the way that read irritated me.

Alice is good people, she's moving at 90 mph while the legislature is in session. I listened to an awful lot of the HB750 testimony, and I agree w. her advice. You don't want to be one of the fingernails-on-a-blackboard people testifying; leave that to the antis.

[Thomas]

Cool, congrats, and make us proud!

I called up a few of the representatives' offices and asked the person answering to pass this along to the representatives:

Most if not all of these points have been brought up before. I'm not really hearing anything new. I wish someone would just mention that Texas is and should be a leader among states. We should have been the first state to allow CHLs to carry in campus buildings. Instead of some other state that proves it's okay, by now, Texas should be proving to the rest of the U.S. that it's okay. Second Amendment issues and everything else aside; This is about self defense and guns, an ideology of Texas. Only time will tell for certain if this is worth it, shouldn't Texas have that time? If we're going to be proud about being Texans, let's darn well be Texans.

[Cobra Medic]

The reason is that politicians get their backs up when "mere" citizens lecture them about the Constitution.

Like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.



If the public hearing is only for telling personal stories, when is the time to tell legislators that infringing RKBA is wrong (constitutionally and morally) and ask them to do the right thing?

[Rex B]

RPB got it right. Model your testimony after his. Plenty of other people will cover the generalities and wave a copy of the Bill of Rights. Don't be one of them.

And pay attention to Alice Tripp. She's sharp, and she is on the lead in this fight. She knows what they need to hear to make the decision we seek.
Don't waste your opportunity to make a difference.

[RPB]

They REALLY listened to the girl who has scars from an assault .... but the long repeating Woods rap-artists talking (droning on and on about) generic poop, feelings, polls, etc, they tuned out, shuffled papers, yawned, left for a break, whispered amongst themselves...

The Committee members body language was pretty obvious.

It's relevant that you drive through neighborhoods etc etc... tell about you ... (The other side also says they believe in the Second Amendment, so cover other stuff, how it affects you, your kids who are or will be students,etc)

[fickman]

I agree about going into specifics of your story. I'd avoid references to Virginia Tech. . . I think our argument is stronger when we avoid vigilantism or heroism and focus on individual personal defense to save one's life.

EX (this is accurately mine):
I was a grad student at North Texas in 2005 and had a CHL, but couldn't carry on campus. I work full time during the day and took night classes to earn my MBA. The campus is sprawling, poorly lit in areas, parking is sparse and inconveniently located a long way from the classrooms, and my classes (2 nights/week) didn't dismiss until 9:30 pm. Even the police call boxes are blocks away from each other. I normally had an uneasy feeling walking alone in the dark to my car. And I'm a relatively large-sized male. . . I can only imagine how vulnerable some of my female friends felt. My fears were confirmed justified on Halloween night. The next day, I read in the paper about how another student had been robbed and assaulted at gun point by a group of four young men. On campus. Around 10:00 pm. In a location near my path to my vehicle - where I could not legally carry my firearm to protect myself. They baited him by asking for directions - near the school library - in the center of campus. They pulled a gun, took his wallet and watch, and proceeded to punch him several times in the face.

Presumably the same group of attackers found another victim later that night - a few miles from campus. They took a pedestrian hostage in their vehicle at gun point, robbed him, beat him up, and threw him out several blocks away.

To my knowledge, these attackers were never arrested or charged for their crimes.

I guess I'm lucky that they didn't choose me that night. The victims are lucky that their attackers let them live. They were defenseless - all of us were. In an area where only the bad guys will carry guns.

[WildBill]

I agree about going into specifics of your story. I'd avoid references to Virginia Tech. . . I think our argument is stronger when we avoid vigilantism or heroism and focus on individual personal defense to save one's life.

EX (this is accurately mine):I guess I'm lucky that they didn't choose me that night. The victims are lucky that their attackers let them live. They were defenseless - all of us were. In an area where only the bad guys will carry guns.

Very well written story "about you" and "giving a face" to your testimony. You give a very specific example and make it personal, but also shows you care about your fellow students who aren't a physically strong and able to protect themselves.
Two Thumbs Up!

[baldeagle]

I received this from Alice Tripp after sending her my email.

Thanks very much. I wish you lived closer I'd ask you to testify tomorrow in the Senate Committee but we'll have other good folks.

Alice

[RPB]

I received this from Alice Tripp after sending her my email.

Thanks very much. I wish you lived closer I'd ask you to testify tomorrow in the Senate Committee but we'll have other good folks.

Alice

Well. I think TxSccc was copying them to pass out as written testimony, assuming they are accepting written like the House did.

See viewtopic.php?f=90&t=43332&p=523550&hil ... cc#p523550" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[karl]

My name is Karl Thompson and I am a student at the University of Houston. Today you consider a bill that is very important to me, Senate Bill 354. My curriculum has me attending classes in the evening, not typical of most of the students on campus. Because of this I feel I am more vulnerable to safety issues that not all students are not faced with, crimes that target individuals.

The provided Clery Act statistics for my campus present a large number of robberies and aggravated assaults, crimes that are typically committed when the victim is isolated and alone. The current state of affairs provides me with no effective means to protect myself from violent criminals that choose to target defenseless students such as myself. On a daily basis I walk nearby locations where students have been held and robbed at gunpoint, even kidnapped in broad daylight. No laws or police officers deter these criminals. Those same laws, however, keep me as a law-abiding citizen from carrying my handgun on campus for self-defense.

So I ask you now, members of this committee, to support honest students like myself and vote for Senate Bill 354.


-----------------------

I still need to put some more of myself into it. I'll work some more in the morning before I leave and get this sucker memorized.

[RHenriksen]

Karl, that's a solid foundation, and I think the length (or brevity) is also very good. I'd avoid padding it out much further.

I've been interested to see that the representatives on the House committee were open to humor. You might consider something along the lines of, "I have had my CHL and carried daily for X years. In all that time, I have somehow managed to avoid shooting anyone over:

A parking space
Not moving quickly enough at a green light
Getting my change wrong at the register

In addition, my firarm has consistently failed to leap out of its holster and fire indiscriminately at malls, churches, and the like. If guns cause crime, mine must be defective."

[gigag04]

I wish you well today!