imported post
Gator5713 wrote:
Just for reference purposes.... What is the total adult population of Texas? Or at least those registered to vote? I seriously doubt that we will get a majority percentage of those to actually sign the petition, but it might be kinda ne=ice to know what percentage we do have!
We have roughly one tenth of one percent. The projected population of the State of Texas as of 2008, according to the Department of State Health Services, is roughly 24.2 million. I do not know if that is legal full-time residents or if it includes part-time residents (6 months here, 6 in Virginia or wherever) and/or illegals.
In terms of adult population, we're doing slightly better; in 2006 (most recent year with hard data) there were 16 million adults (21+) out of 23.5 million total residents. Projecting the same mix of adults and children, there'd be 16.5 million, giving us .15% in favor of OC. Hey, I'll take those numbers any day; that's 15 OCers per 100,000, while the State of Texas on the whole has about the same number of sworn officers on the payroll. Divide thatby four and you have roughlythe number of beat cops on the street at any given time, so if everyone who's signed the petition would OC at all times if given the chance, you're quintupling the chances a crime can be stopped.
On the other hand, compare 25,000OC supporterswith roughly 10 times that number who are CHL holders. You can infer that only 10% of CHL holders, who are themselves only 1% of the Texas population, support OC. You could doublespeak and twist that very easily to say that even among the staunchest supporters of the right to carry, only 1 in 10 wants to open carry.