Repoman
New member
imported post
I sent the following email to Alice Tripp, Mrs. Tripp is the head of the Legislative PAC for the TSRA. I actually did receive a response, and needless to say, I will be withdrawing my membership from the TSRA.
Dear Eric Thank you for your email and thank you for your thoughts. First of all let me tell you that TSRA already has a full legislative agenda and most of it carried over from the last legislative session. The #1 issue is to allow gun owners to have their legally owned possessions (their firearms) in their personal locked vehicles on their employer's parking lot without fear of being fired. This will be the third session this issue will be taken on and nothing comes before it. Why should a CHL with training and a background check be left without protection for the biggest part of the day? The #2 issues is a commitment we made to college and university students (Students for Concealed Carry on Campus) in the spring of 2007 after Virginia Tech to work to allow adult students and faculty with a CHL to carry on campus in places currently off limits. As an example let me tell you there were 12 violent on-campus rapes reportedat the University of Texas in 2007.God knows how manywent un-reported. Opencarry went away in Texas post-Civil Warwhen the prohibition was put into statute and has stayed that way since the late 1870s.It took nearly 10 years for Texans to pass concealed carry, 5 sessions, and during that time the Legislature debated whether to include open carry in the license. After debate and after public testimony, they chose to limit the license to concealed. Last sessionTSRA passed legislation finally clarifyingthatany eligible adult can have a loaded handgun in theirpersonal vehicle for protection. Your car became an extension of your home and this is without a license.You may remember that as the "travelers" law.Session after session the legislature tried to define "traveling" and finally we just gave up and went to a different section of the law, PC 46.02 instead of PC 46.15.The courts had urged theLegislature to make this clarification since the 1880 also, when there were no cars andno roads. We found people who had been arrested just trying to get home with a recently purchased handgun. So let me be clear.No state has ever passed stand-alone open carry legislation, ever.Asmall number of states have permissive open carry.This was historically in their law or in theirstates' constitution. This"movement" isn't like concealed carry where NRA worked with state associations and one by one passed legislation. NRA is not working on open carry and at present neither is TSRA for all the reasons and commitments stated above. Last session, TSRA managed to pass 8 or the 9 bills we worked on. The one "that got away" was the parking lot issue.It pits pro-gun Texans againstthe entire business community. Again, thanks for your email. Sincerely Alice Tripp Legislative Director & Lobbyist Texas State Rifle Association
At least she could have spelled my name correctly.
I sent the following email to Alice Tripp, Mrs. Tripp is the head of the Legislative PAC for the TSRA. I actually did receive a response, and needless to say, I will be withdrawing my membership from the TSRA.
My name is Erik Hansen, member #A 168427. I realize that I have been a member for a short period of time but I am a life time NRA member. I am writing you in response to a rumor that is going around that TSRA will not support open carry in Texas should it come to the attention of law makers. Supposedly the reason is that TSRA is afraid of loosing members should TSRA endorse such a bill. I can tell you as not only a TSRA and NRA member, but also a member of www.opencarry.org that should TSRA choose to not support such a bill I will retract any and all support for your organization as well as dissuade other people from joining your ranks. I am sure there is no truth to the rumor I would however like to know the official position from TSRA, in writing. Thank you, Erik R. Hansen
I then received this reply at 8:20 a.m. today 12/26/2008:
Dear Eric Thank you for your email and thank you for your thoughts. First of all let me tell you that TSRA already has a full legislative agenda and most of it carried over from the last legislative session. The #1 issue is to allow gun owners to have their legally owned possessions (their firearms) in their personal locked vehicles on their employer's parking lot without fear of being fired. This will be the third session this issue will be taken on and nothing comes before it. Why should a CHL with training and a background check be left without protection for the biggest part of the day? The #2 issues is a commitment we made to college and university students (Students for Concealed Carry on Campus) in the spring of 2007 after Virginia Tech to work to allow adult students and faculty with a CHL to carry on campus in places currently off limits. As an example let me tell you there were 12 violent on-campus rapes reportedat the University of Texas in 2007.God knows how manywent un-reported. Opencarry went away in Texas post-Civil Warwhen the prohibition was put into statute and has stayed that way since the late 1870s.It took nearly 10 years for Texans to pass concealed carry, 5 sessions, and during that time the Legislature debated whether to include open carry in the license. After debate and after public testimony, they chose to limit the license to concealed. Last sessionTSRA passed legislation finally clarifyingthatany eligible adult can have a loaded handgun in theirpersonal vehicle for protection. Your car became an extension of your home and this is without a license.You may remember that as the "travelers" law.Session after session the legislature tried to define "traveling" and finally we just gave up and went to a different section of the law, PC 46.02 instead of PC 46.15.The courts had urged theLegislature to make this clarification since the 1880 also, when there were no cars andno roads. We found people who had been arrested just trying to get home with a recently purchased handgun. So let me be clear.No state has ever passed stand-alone open carry legislation, ever.Asmall number of states have permissive open carry.This was historically in their law or in theirstates' constitution. This"movement" isn't like concealed carry where NRA worked with state associations and one by one passed legislation. NRA is not working on open carry and at present neither is TSRA for all the reasons and commitments stated above. Last session, TSRA managed to pass 8 or the 9 bills we worked on. The one "that got away" was the parking lot issue.It pits pro-gun Texans againstthe entire business community. Again, thanks for your email. Sincerely Alice Tripp Legislative Director & Lobbyist Texas State Rifle Association
At least she could have spelled my name correctly.