New push for 2010

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What is being done to push open carry in Texas for 2010? I have recently discovered OCDO and have started to become vary active in support of open carry. I have been emailing and calling my state Reps and passing out links to the petition. I have even donated $$ to the cause. However, I have noticed that little to nothing seems to be up to date. I seems there was a big push for 2009 and now nothing. Has everyone given up?

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Actually, it is because the Texas legislature will not meet again until 2011 (every other year), so most people are not too active during the off year. While continued activity would produce the best results, it is hard to keep people motivated for two years. As 2011 approaches, you will see a steady increase in activity.

Doc

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Well said Doc. Got any good ideas what we can do in the meantime?

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Is there someplace we can get OC yard signs. If we start now by 2011 we could have a great number of OC signs out visible; just like a mini bill-board.

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Ah, I wasn't aware of the 2 year cycle. Thanks for the heads up.
I agree we need to keep pushing and getting the idea out there. I think a big part of getting open carry passed is getting the sheeple used to the idea of it. Freedom and liberty are scary concepts to the brain washed masses. Also, it would be a good idea to get a head start on fund raising for ad campaigns.

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Mordare wrote:

Ah, I wasn't aware of the 2 year cycle. Thanks for the heads up.
I agree we need to keep pushing and getting the idea out there. I think a big part of getting open carry passed is getting the sheeple used to the idea of it. Freedom and liberty are scary concepts to the brain washed masses. Also, it would be a good idea to get a head start on fund raising for ad campaigns.

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I agree that we need to keep the push on, but the biggest problem is the hand full of legislators we have that need a new profession. We have several so-called pro-gun, NRA member, hunters that like to sell out to the corporate big-wigs and special interest rather than vote for the people they represent. For example, one senator single handedly prevented the passage of the campus carry bill by using his position as committee chairman to NOT call the bill for vote, thereby stalling the bill long enough to prevent a full vote on the floor. He did this despite high public and legislative support for it, but he is in the pocket of Texas Tech administration and he did what they wanted rather than what the people of Texas wanted. This has to stop and we need to put these guys on the unemployment line.

Doc

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Makes sense Doc. Both my reps for my district are Dems. But, you can trust that I'm working hard to replace them. In the meantime I have been sending them pro gun emails and calling them about conservative issues. Pissing off libs has become one of my greatest pleasures in life.

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Threethings to remember;

1.Texas State Rifle Association is not, I repeat, NOT open carry friendly.

2. Mike Guzman with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus admittedlytorpedoed it in 2009.I'm fairly certain that TSRA had a hand in it as well.

3. If you come up with an idea to help, one of the moderators here may rip it away and give it to someone else to lead without warning. I won't be helping at all, so don't ask.

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rodbender wrote:

Threethings to remember;

1.Texas State Rifle Association is not, I repeat, NOT open carry friendly.

2. Mike Guzman with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus admittedlytorpedoed it in 2009.I'm fairly certain that TSRA had a hand in it as well.

3. If you come up with an idea to help, one of the moderators here may rip it away and give it to someone else to lead without warning. I won't be helping at all, so don't ask.

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Sounds like TSRA should be the first objective then. It seems to me that they are probably more threatened by this site than the idea of open carry. Or, their wallets are more threatened anyways. Might come down to a beat them or join them kinda thing if thats the case. As for Mike Guzman with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, if they aren't playing by the rules then why are we?

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Mordare wrote:

rodbender wrote:

Threethings to remember;

1.Texas State Rifle Association is not, I repeat, NOT open carry friendly.

2. Mike Guzman with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus admittedlytorpedoed it in 2009.I'm fairly certain that TSRA had a hand in it as well.

3. If you come up with an idea to help, one of the moderators here may rip it away and give it to someone else to lead without warning. I won't be helping at all, so don't ask.

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Sounds like TSRA should be the first objective then. It seems to me that they are probably more threatened by this site than the idea of open carry. Or, their wallets are more threatened anyways. Might come down to a beat them or join them kinda thing if thats the case. As for Mike Guzman with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, if they aren't playing by the rules then why are we?

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As for the TSRA's position on open carry, it is not that they are against it as it is how they determine what to support at a given time. I talk to Mrs. Tripp (TSRA Legislative Director)regularly and she is for OC, but at the time, these simply wasn't not the needed support in the legislature and pushing for it threatened to undermine other pro-gun bills that were within reach for passing. While many feel that is not enough reason to not support the OC push,most agree that it is better to make some headway than none. It is true that there are many TSRA heads and old-timers that do not see OC as a need or even a good thing and certainly not as a priority, but the main cause for TSRA's lack of support for OC was the current attitude of the legislature toward the idea. Having a long history of dealing with the Texas legislature on both gun and non-gun related issues, I can assure you that you need to pick your fights carefully when you have more than one issue up for consideration. Where most OC movements only have that issue on their plate, the TSRA has numerous issues each session and, as such, has more to lose if the legislature turns adim eye. At the same time, the more pro-OC people we get to join TSRA and push for OC support, the better the chance we can get them to support it. So, join rather than quit and make your voice heard.

As forMr. Guzman, I do not feel his actions had that much to do with the failure of the OC push, but I do feel the OC push had a lot to do with the strong support for the campus carry bill. I spoke to numerous legislatures during the session and I found virtually no support for OC. At the same time, all but a hand full were in support of the campus carry bill, and it would have passed had the committee chairman not sat on it in order to prevent it from moving on in time for a full vote. The votes were there, it just never made it to the floor before session ended. Mr. Guzman had his job and Mrs. Tripp has hers and whoever heads the OC push has theirs. That is why I belong to and support more than one organization. It took many years to pass concealed carry and OC will not happen in one session either, but I do believe it will happen in time. We just have to stay vigilant. Lets start now for 2011.

As for the stolen idea thing, well, I am at a loss on that one. You will have to fill me in sometime, rodbender.:?

Doc

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There was an open carry bill drafted. Mike Guzman actually said that he did everything in his power to kill it before it was introduced. As far as it having little supprt, that is true. We were simply hoping to get it introduced to bring it to their attention. The efforts of Mike Guzman (I will not call him Mr.) saw to it that it did not get introduced.

Alice Tripp said publicly that she did not support it. She's had plenty of time to come up with a politician's answer for it. She's hoping that we don't remember her words. Charles Cotton is no friend of open carry either. You can see what he has to say about it at

http://www.texaschlforum.com/

As for the stolen idea.........well I won't elaborate but ask Mike or John. If they want to elaborate they can. Mike is the one that actually did it, then tried to schmooz it over with "I didn't know" when it was rightin front of himon his own forum. He had to know.

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rodbender wrote:

There was an open carry bill drafted. Mike Guzman actually said that he did everything in his power to kill it before it was introduced. As far as it having little support, that is true. We were simply hoping to get it introduced to bring it to their attention. The efforts of Mike Guzman (I will not call him Mr.) saw to it that it did not get introduced.

Alice Tripp said publicly that she did not support it. She's had plenty of time to come up with a politician's answer for it. She's hoping that we don't remember her words. Charles Cotton is no friend of open carry either. You can see what he has to say about it at

schmooz it over with "I didn't know" when it was rightin front of himon his own forum. He had to know.

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That is interesting. I never heard that about him actively trying to kill the OC bill. I did hear rumors to that effect but not that he admitted to it. I do know that he publicly stated that he did not support the OC push, opting for concealed carry, but never that he actively worked to kill the bill. If that is true, I would have issue with him over that. I do not see the purpose of working against any bill that does not directly oppose your piece of legislation. If one side feel supporting the other sidesbill would detract from their own chances, thenthey cansimply choose not to promote the other sides bill without hurting the their ownchances, but to actively work againstother sides billis foolish. These were two different bill with different merits and did not directly affect each other. Each provided a different right and could easily coexist.

As for Mrs. Tripp, you are correct that she personally does not support OC, but it is because she feel it is not a viable option at this point and that pushing for it would severely detract from the organization's ability to pass other legislation. At the same time, she has stated on numerous occasionsthat she is a paidemployeeof the TSRA and its membership and that she will gladly promotewhatever issueor position the membership wants her to carry to Austin. If the membership can convince the TSRA leadership to push for OC, then she will gladly push for OC.

There lies the problem, we, the membership, need to inundate the TSRA with demands that they support OC. We need to make it a point to vote people in that will listen to the members rather than dictating the direction of the organization. As with our legislators, we need to remove those who think it is their duty or right todecide what is best for us and the organization.

Doc

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You can find a note written to a member of OCDO from mike Guzman at:

http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=24203&forum_id=51&highlight=Guzman

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rodbender wrote:

You can find a note written to a member of OCDO from mike Guzman at:

http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=24203&forum_id=51&highlight=Guzman

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Oh yes, I remember that post. Personally, I think he was referring to his attempts to convince the promoters of the OC bill not to introduce it, rather than indicating he actively working behind the scene to kill it. I disagree with him that its introduction would have hurt the campus carry bills chances, in fact, I think the push to introduce an OC bill served to bolster support for the campus bill. Manylegislators saw it as a better concession and felt that by supporting the campus bill they could remove some heat for not supportingan OC bill. Then again, I could be wrong. Either way, I don't think it mattered as there was simply not enough support in the legislature to warrant introducing it at that time. We need to work on the legislator first, then intro the bill when the support is there, otherwise, we are just wasting time. Good info though.

Doc

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DocNTexas wrote:

Oh yes, I remember that post. Personally, I think he was referring to his attempts to convince the promoters of the OC bill not to introduce it, rather than indicating he actively working behind the scene to kill it.Doc

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And the difference is.........What?

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rodbender wrote:

DocNTexas wrote:

Oh yes, I remember that post. Personally, I think he was referring to his attempts to convince the promoters of the OC bill not to introduce it, rather than indicating he actively working behind the scene to kill it.Doc

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And the difference is.........What?

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The difference is that talking to try to someone or a group in an attempt to convince them not to take an action is an acceptable method of addressing ones concerns or position, whereas, actively working behind their back to undermine their efforts is less than upstanding.

I support apersonsright to openly discuss their position, no matter if I agree with it or not, but as I pointed out before, if they use backdoor or underhanded methods to reach their goal, I lose respect for them.

I am not sure what he actually did, I am just expressing my take based on the limited info available. If he did as you said, I have a big problem with him, but I simply did notreach the same conclusion on his statement asyou did. Perhaps you are correct. I certainly can not say for sure that he did not, butI simply did not take it that way and have not seen anything that makes me think otherwise. If you have more evidence to that conclusion, I would love to see it. I admit that he did not support the OC position and I agree he tried to convince the OC bill supporters to NOT file it, because he feared it would hurt the chance of passing his bill, but thatwas his personal opinion and I support his right to his opinion. At the same time, expressing his opinion did not prevent the bill from being filed. If, he did something to undermine that ability, then that is different, but so far I have not seen anything to suggest that, and I do not think he has that kind of pull. His only offense is not supporting the bill, and that, again, is his right, just as it is our right to support what we choose.

I supported both of these bills, the OC bill and the campus carry bill. I spend a lot of time on college campuses, as do my daughters, so that bill is very important to me. At the same time, I enjoy the right to OC in other states I frequent and would love to see OC legalized in Texas. As I stated before, I do not see them as conflicting each other, but apparently he did. Either way, it really did not matter because the OC bill never had enough support to come to life in the first place.

That is all I am saying.

Doc

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Doc, Can you read? This is from the email he sent the poster on the other thread.

"Michael [highlight= #ffff88]Guzman[/highlight]
April 7 at 10:54am
No. I tried all I could to ensure the open carry bill wouldn't be introduced. It had no chance of passing and would have confused enough people to ensure that the campus carry bill would have died as well.

Its safe to say that the open carry folks aren't too fond of me although I do support open carry."

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Guzman took a politician's stance: he condemned efforts to introduce an OC bill, claiming it would hurt his campus carry bill. And then when his campus bill failed, he was able to blame it on the OC movement.

I took great umbrage when those of us who actually live in Texas were dismissed as "a bunch of outsiders from Virginia trying to interfere in Texas politics", just because we support OC and OCDO.

Mike is from Virginia, but OCDO isn't a "Virginia organization".

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KBCraig wrote:

Guzman took a politician's stance: he condemned efforts to introduce an OC bill, claiming it would hurt his campus carry bill. And then when his campus bill failed, he was able to blame it on the OC movement.

I took great umbrage when those of us who actually live in Texas were dismissed as "a bunch of outsiders from Virginia trying to interfere in Texas politics", just because we support OC and OCDO.

Mike is from Virginia, but OCDO isn't a "Virginia organization".

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Mike also owns a house in Killeen.

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rodbender wrote:

Doc, Can you read? This is from the email he sent the poster on the other thread.

"Michael [highlight= #ffff88]Guzman
April 7 at 10:54am
No. I tried all I could to ensure the open carry bill wouldn't be introduced. It had no chance of passing and would have confused enough people to ensure that the campus carry bill would have died as well.

Its safe to say that the open carry folks aren't too fond of me although I do support open carry."

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Yes, rodbender, I can. The question is, can you, becausethat is exactly what I said.

This statement says he tried to keep it from being introduced, but it does not say he took behind the scene actions to stop it. I noted that perhaps he DID do the thing you suggest, but this statement alone does not provide that proof, it merely supports speculation that he did.

I also agreed that his position was wrong as to the OC push detracting from his bill, pointing out thatIfelt it actually HELPED the campus bill.

So, stop being so defensive and abusive toward those who offer a different take on things. You are entitled to your opinion and I to mine.Ultimately, I am on your side regarding theOC issue, as well as, my opinion that Mr. Guzman was wrong in his view of the OC bill's effect on his bill. What I disagree with is some of your tactics in promoting your positions. Attacking people, belittling them and making disparaging remarks to and about them just because they have a difference of opinion is not productive and actually serves to drive support away from the cause.

So, if you truly support these issues, be nice and make polite, productive and encouraging statements in support of the cause. If, however, you are actually against these causes and are using the infiltrator method to disrupt support from within, then you are doing a good job.

Doc