Saturday, May 21, 2011
Wentworth says campus-carry nearly dead, again
The removal of the measure from HB 1581 Friday was quickly hailed by opponents of campus-carry as a parliamentary victory that trumped politics. Supporters claimed it was a parliamentary sneak attack
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Reprinted from the Statesman
By Mike Ward
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Published: 10:48 p.m. Friday, May 20, 2011
Read the complete story
A controversial measure to allow concealed handguns in university campus buildings was declared nearly dead on Friday after the Texas House removed it from another bill and left it with no immediate way to pass.
Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, the Senate author of the so-called campus-carry measure, acknowledged its future looks bleak. He blamed House Speaker Joe Straus for the ambush, but Straus denied that.
The development came as a surprise to proponents because the bill seemed to have widespread support. It has twice passed the Republican-controlled Senate, and in the House, where the GOP has a supermajority, more than 80 of the 150 lawmakers had signed on as co-sponsors.
Still, there was considerable opposition outside the Legislature. College and university regents and presidents opposed the legislation, as did some student groups, professors, parents and anti-handgun activists.
If campus-carry does not pass, it will be among several GOP-supported issues that appear to be headed to a similar fate, including tougher immigration enforcement and a loser-pays rule on lawsuits.
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4 comments:
Lord, I hope this campus-carry bill doesn't pass! All we need is for a bunch of college students and teachers to be killed in "friendly crossfire" as they whip out their pistols to shoot at an intruder. What madness!
Yes, I agree! Those college students and teachers, especially the teachers can't be trusted to have enough sense to use lethal weapons responsibility. That's why they are in school in the first place rather than the Marines. Semper Fi
to Semper Fi:
Looks like you are/were in the Marines because you didn't stay in school long enough to learn to spell "responsibly!"
Texas Observer said:
"But today—as the Upper Chamber debated one of the session’s most controversial bills—we saw some unscripted debate and a rare public tiff between two senators.
The bill in question was Sen. Jeff Wentworth’s proposal to allow concealed handguns in college campus buildings. The San Antonio Republican brought the so-called “guns on campus” bill to the floor thinking he had the 21 votes needed for passage. But he left disappointed.
During the debate, Brownsville Democrat Eddie Lucio—an apparent supporter of the bill—got into a dispute with Wentworth, a rare publc fight between senators. Lucio claimed he was promised that Wentworth wouldn’t bring the bill to the floor until Monday—so Lucio would have a chance over the weekend to make sure certain language in the bill was OK with educators in his district. Lucio asked Wentworth to pull the bill down in good faith and wait till Monday. Wentworth didn’t see it that way. He twice told Lucio, “Let me refresh your memory.” He claimed he’d already satisfied Lucio’s concerns and intended to press ahead. This appeared to anger Lucio and several Democrats.
Without Lucio’s support, the bill lacked the 21 votes needed.
That was partly because Bryan Republican Steve Ogden—who represents Texas A&M—also opposes the bill. Ogden gave an eloquent explanation for his opposition. He said the majority of students and faculty at Texas A&M strongly opposes the bill. (In fact, many college students angrily testified against the bill in committee."
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