imported post
cloudcroft wrote:
Apparently he is not "pro-gun" enough, mostly just talk. If he were so pro-gun, we'd HAVE OC in Texas by now!
I think most/all of us here -- were we Governor of Texas -- would have made itone of our must-do goals from Day One of taking office.
But then for decades now, Republicans (even Republican Presidents) have done so little -- compared to what they COULD have done when holdingthe majority -- so maybe it's par for the course...so don't expect much.
-- John D.
Most politicians are somewhat cautious in deed, though perhaps not in word. Let's face it -- until OpenCarry.org burst onto the scene in Texas with the petition and bill during the last legislative session, the topic of open carry for sidearmswas a non-issue in Texas. Sad, but true. If you polled most voters -- let alone the average public -- I doubt open carry would be in their top 20 most important issues. Thus, smart politicians try to cater to the highest priorities of the electorate. The fact is that we are activists on this issue but that places us in a small minority.
Let's be fair to the governor. He's signed every pro-gun bill put before him. I can't post citations right now, but it is my opinion that he would have signed campus carry and parking lot carry. Those were the two highest profile gun bill during the last session. Even when open carry came up, Perry didn't oppose it. If I recall his statement correctly, it was something non-commital like "that's interesting and we'll work with the Legislature on that".
I believe that if open carry had enough support that a bill passed the Legislature, he'd sign it. Thus, what are we really criticizing him for? Not loudly promoting an open carry bill last session? Rememer that we had many CHL-holders, the Campus Carry people, and TSRA that opposed open carry for their own reasons. We're going to knock him for not stumping for an idea that didn't even have 1 sponsor in either house? Don't get me wrong, I WANT open carry, but I'm just looking at the politics of the matter and I recognize that the dynamics weren't favorable.
I haven't decided who I will support in the primary yet. Medina seems to be a libertarian and the more votes that she gets, the more the eventual Republican nominee will pay attention to some of those issues. She certainly is making the establishment take notice. That's a good thing. That said, let's be fair to Governor Perry. Whether or not he's the man going forward, I think that we can hardly complain about his actions in office as it relates to RKBA.
SA-TX