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New Texas Law Makes It Easy For Criminals To Openly Carry Handguns

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Nation’s Loosest Open Carry Handgun Law Takes Effect In Its Second-Largest State

With Americans already on edge over the very real threat of mass shootings, Texas just compounded those fears for many of its citizens by allowing nearly one million people in the Lone Star State to carry handguns in plain sight. 

On Jan. 1, Texas became the largest state to legalize the “open carry” of handguns. Houston, meanwhile, is now the nation’s largest city where open carry is legal, and along with Dallas and San Antonio, it joins only Philadelphia and Phoenix in the top 10. 

Some suggest the new law is much ado about nothing, pointing to the fact that 45 states already allow some form of open carry. Presumably these same folks believe the “status quo” — a horrific epidemic of gun violence in which the US averaged one mass shooting per day in 2015 — is something worth preserving. 

But for Texas, which was home to three of the eight deadliest gun violence incidents of the year, the law is hardly the status quo. Pushed through by GOP legislators at the behest of pro-gun lobbyists and constituents, the law is vaguely worded with apparently little concern for its unintended — and likely deadly — consequences. 

The law directly applies only to the 850,000 people in Texas who have concealed handgun licenses, as well as those with recognized permits from other states. However, it’s unclear whether police can legally approach those who are openly carrying handguns and request to see their documentation. Naturally, this could embolden criminals and people with little or no firearms training, giving them cover if they choose to pack heat in plain sight.  

Posted by 1 Million Moms Against Gun Control on Friday, August 9, 2013

“We’ve changed things here a lot and we’ve not thought this through,” Charley Wilkison, executive director of the state’s largest law enforcement officers’ union, told the Associated Press. “People will drive without a license and we can sure count on them to carry a weapon without training or license.”

Even if police do approach gun holders and ask to see their permits, experts say those who refuse to produce them have committed no crime and can’t be arrested. In practice, police say they’ll be reluctant to inquire about permits due to the fear of harassment lawsuits — a legitimate one given that gun “enthusiasts” who already believe the new law is too restrictive say they’re anxious to challenge it in court.  

“We’re going to assume they’re a license holder, probably,” Austin Police Department training commander Andy Michael told the AP. 

The law allows businesses and private universities to opt out, and many have announced plans to do so. However, people can now legally and openly carry handguns into the lobbies of police stations and other public buildings in Texas, leading to “panic” among employees at places like Dallas City Hall. 

“People have died across the country, and residents and city employees want to know: When should we be worried?,” city spokeswoman Sana Syed told The Dallas Morning News. “There is no barometer for knowing which person is in their right mind to have a weapon like that.”

Unlike open carry statutes in other states, the Texas law doesn’t allow cities to opt out, something Democrats in the Legislature pushed for. 

“As a result of this shortsightedness, Texas is now home to the largest cities in the United States that have open carry laws with no local restrictions,” state Rep. Rafael Anchia, a Dallas Democrat, said in a statement this week, calling the law the “most extreme” in the nation. “I don’t want strange men walking down my street brandishing guns while my daughters are riding bikes or playing outside. My neighbors and constituents don’t want that, either.”

As one of Anchia’s neighbors, I can certainly vouch for that statement, and the law will undoubtedly fuel a spike in emergency calls from alarmed citizens. 

Law enforcement officials say it could also result in those who openly carry handguns becoming targets for violence, or endangering lives by trying to play hero when crimes occur. If you’re a police officer arriving at the scene of a shooting, how do you differentiate between suspects and civilians? How do you even begin to control a crime scene when everyone has a weapon? 

While these chaotic scenarios are hypothetical, another grave consequence of the new Texas law is more certain.

“Any time you introduce more guns into any environment, empirical data has shown, you have more accidental shootings,” Police Chief Mike McClelland told The Houston Chronicle. “You have more suicides, more children shoot themselves.”

 

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Image by Paul Weaver via Flickr and a CC license 

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Fox News Host Suggests Trump ‘Force’ Court to Throw Him in Jail – by Quoting Him

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April 19, 2024

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The Fox News host who targeted a juror serving on Donald Trump’s criminal New York trial is now suggesting the ex-president should violate his gag order and “force” the court to throw him in jail, by quoting the Fox News host.

Jesse Watters came under fire earlier this week for profiling juror number two, sharing possibly identifying information published by a myriad of reporters but then using that information to pass judgment on her ability to serve.

“I’m not so sure about juror number two,” Watters concluded on Fox News.

Jurors, at the judge’s direction, were to remain anonymous, for their protection and the protection of the trial.

The judge excused her, after she said she felt she was not able to be impartial because friends and family were calling her asking if she had been chosen to serve on the Trump trial, after the media blitz.

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan admonished the press for reporting the information, but some news outlets appeared to ignore his warning.

Watters on Wednesday “did a segment with a jury consultant, revealing details about people who had been seated on the jury and questioning whether some were ‘stealth liberals’ who would be out to convict Trump,” the Associated Press reported.

READ MORE: Gaetz: ‘Corrupt’ Republicans Could ‘Take a Bribe’ and Throw House to Dems, Blocking Trump Run

Trump later posted Watters’ quote on his Truth Social platform, leading some, including New York prosecutors, to ask the judge to cite him for allegedly breaking his gag order.

Judge Merchan ordered Trump to not mention witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff, or the family members of prosecutors and court staff, CNN has reported.

New York prosecutors told Juge Merchan Trump has violated the gag order at least ten times.

“Prosecutor Christopher Conroy described the ‘most disturbing’ example as a social media message Trump posted on Wednesday evening quoting a Fox News host as saying, ‘They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury,'” Politico reports.

That host was Jesse Watters.

RELATED: ‘Afraid and Intimidated’: Trump Trial Juror Targeted by Fox News Dismissed

Friday afternoon, Watters appeared to egg Trump on, urging the ex-president to violate the gag order.

“I would make them put me in jail,” Watters said on Fox News. “I would have a tweet about something perhaps I said on ‘The Five’ or ‘Jesse Watters Primetime,’ and I would force them to throw me in jail.”

Watch Watters’ remark below or at this link.

 

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Gaetz: ‘Corrupt’ Republicans Could ‘Take a Bribe’ and Throw House to Dems, Blocking Trump Run

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18 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) says some of his fellow House Republicans would “take a bribe” to throw the razor-thin GOP majority to the Democrats if a far-right faction calls up a motion to oust Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, allowing Democrats to hand the gavel to the Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries. he warned if that happens, Democrats would immediately declare Trump ineligible to be President, pack the U.S. Supreme Court, and pass numerous laws like the American Rescue Plan.

“I do believe in a one seat majority there could be one or two or three of my colleagues who would take a bribe in one form or another in order to deprive the Republicans of a majority at all,” Gaetz said Friday on his podcast (video below.)

He added, “the risk that one or two of my corrupt Republican colleagues might take a bribe, take a walk, feign an ailment and flip this thing to the Democrats is a risk that is too high for me at this time.”

Gaetz’s fellow far-right Florida Republican member of Congress, Anna Paulina Luna, told listeners, “I heard that when, if and when the motion vacate is introduced, that there will be immediate resignations of a couple of more moderate members of Congress. And in the event that that happens, that ultimately means it does go to a Democrat speaker.”

RELATED: Jeffries Vows Democrats Will Ensure Ukraine Aid Passes as Johnson Defectors Grow

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) last month filed a “motion to vacate,” which she can use at any time to force a vote to oust the GOP Speaker, Mike Johnson. U.S. Rep. Tim Massie (R-KY) and just today, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has signed on as co-sponsors.

Congressman Gaetz told listeners if Democrats do take the House through a force vote to remove Johnson, Democrats would “be declaring Donald Trump an insurrectionist and setting up a barrier to him being able to become the president United States.”

“That’ll be their leadoff hitter, and then the chaser to that shot will be a massive spending package that looks a lot more like the American Rescue Plan. They will blow past every concept of every cap ever imagined. You’ll be looking at Universal Basic Income, you could be looking at packing the Supreme Court.”

Watch a short clip of Gaetz’s remarks below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Stop Bringing Up Nazis and Hitler’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Smacked Down by Democrats

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Jeffries Vows Democrats Will Ensure Ukraine Aid Passes as Johnson Defectors Grow

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21 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed Friday the majority of Democrats will support Republicans’ Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and Gaza foreign aid legislation as Republican Speaker Mike Johnson lost support of another member of his conference to a faction determined to oust him.

“Democrats will provide a majority of our majority as it relates to funding Israel, humanitarian assistance, Ukraine, and our allies in the Indo Pacific,” Minority Leader Jeffries said. “It remains to be seen what Republicans will do in terms of meeting the national security needs of the American people, but it was important for House Democrats to ensure that the national security bills are going to be considered.”

Despite Republicans having a one-vote majority, more Democrats on Friday voted to move the critical and long-awaited foreign aid bills forward than did Republicans.

READ MORE: ‘Stop Bringing Up Nazis and Hitler’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Smacked Down by Democrats

The 316-94 vote included 165 Democrats and 151 Republicans voting yes, and 55 Republicans and 39 Democrats voting no.

Axios’ Juliegrace Brufke posted the list of Republicans voting against their party’s legislation.

Calling it a “rare” moment in modern congressional history to have to rely on opposition party votes to pass legislation, BBC News reports Speaker Johnson’s “hold on power is tenuous, and the legislators who oppose him – and his bid to provide aid to Ukraine – occupy some key positions within the House’s power structure.”

Amid the procedural vote to move the foreign aid funding bills forward, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, a far-right Republican of Arizona, announced he is joining Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Congressman Tim Massie (R-KY) in formally announcing their will vote to oust Speaker Johnson.

Gosar, like Greene, is reportedly a Christian nationalist. In 2022 CNN reported his “lengthy ties to White nationalists, [a] pro-Nazi blogger and far-right fringe received little pushback for years.”

RELATED: ‘Repercussions’: Democrats and Republicans Stand Against ‘Pro-Putin’ House GOP Faction

“We’ve been very honest in our assessment of the situation from the beginning,” Jeffries on Friday also declared. “At the appropriate time as House Democrats, we will have a conversation about how to deal with any hypothetical motion to vacate.”

“Moscow Marjorie Taylor Greene, Massie, and Gosar are quite a group. But central to our conversation is to make sure that the national security legislation in totality is passed by the House of Representatives.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

 

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