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Good candidates in Texas?
Gene B.
Member Posts: 892 ✭✭✭✭
Anybody know who some good progun congressmen, governors, etc. that I could vote for in Texas?
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Stand And Be Counted
Here is the article:
Added by howelljames on Wednesday, September 18, 2002 at 1:33 PM
"Looking out over the grassy terrain stretching to the banks of the Rio Grande, Democrat John Sharp placed his sights Sunday on the doves rising up to the sky - and on election to one of the state's most powerful offices in November.
It was no coincidence the two aims came together at Mr. Sharp's annual dove hunt for friends and political supporters at a South Texas ranch - just seven weeks before voters determine the outcome of his race for lieutenant governor against Republican David Dewhurst.
In Texas, most candidates, especially Democrats these days, know that an association with the state's cherished tradition of hunting - and firearms - can be a big asset.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tony Sanchez has been running one TV commercial statewide that shows him handling several shotguns and rifles as he proclaims: "We don't need more gun laws." His Web site includes a family picture of him and his sons on a hunting outing.
The following is the content of an insert in the article. The remainder of the article follows this:
"How they stand...
Republican Rick Perry and Democrat Tony Sanchez, candidates for governor, and Republican David Dewhurst and Democrat John Sharp, candidates for lieutenant governor:
What is your overall position on the regulation of guns?
All said they believe in the constitutional right of individuals to own firearms. All said that instead of more regulations, they wanted better enforcement of current laws.
Do you own guns?
Perry: Yes, hunting rifles, shotguns and handguns.
Sanchez: Yes, hunting rifles and shotguns.
Dewhurst: Yes, hunting rifles to handguns.
Sharp: Yes, "more than I probably need, but not as many as I want."
Do you have a state license to carry a concealed handgun?
Perry: No.
Sanchez: No.
Dewhurst: Has recently completed a licensing course.
Sharp: No.
Should cities be allowed to ban concealed weapons from being carried into public places, such as hospitals, parks and libraries?
Perry: No. Believes state law appropriately protects public safety.
Sanchez: Yes, as now permitted under current law.
Dewhurst: No. Said he supports most issues of local control, but not this one.
Sharp: No. Would oppose further restrictions on concealed-handgun licensees.
Should unlicensed sellers at gun shows be required to run criminal background checks?
Perry: Supports National Instant Check System at gun shows, but only if they are instantaneous, which would require a change in federal law.
Sanchez: No.
Dewhurst: No.
Sharp: Doesn't believe in further restrictions on occasional sellers and private collectors.
End of insert: remainder of article follows:
It has not been lost on Mr. Sanchez that the last Democratic governor of Texas, Ann Richards, lost her 1994 re-election bid to Republican George W. Bush in part because she angered gun owners by vetoing a concealed-handgun bill passed by the Legislature.
A year later, Mr. Bush signed the same bill into law, allowing Texans for the first time to get a state license to carry a concealed gun.
Gun rights groups, such as the 40,000-member Texas State Rifle Association, insist that in Texas they count Democrats and Republicans among their friends in the Legislature and Congress, ready to block efforts to restrict gun ownership.
Unlike states in the Northeast, "Texas is very much a bipartisan state when it comes to gun control," said James Dark, executive director of the rifle association. "We have friends on both sides of the aisle. And they all know we are a one-issue organization."
But the group is expected to endorse Republican Rick Perry in the governor's race, and its national affiliate, the National Rifle Association, already has endorsed Republican John Cornyn for the Senate over Democrat Ron Kirk.
There will be no endorsement in the lieutenant governor's matchup, in which both Mr. Dewhurst and Mr. Sharp have earned an A rating, said a spokesman for the Texas State Rifle Association.
GOP strategists contend that even in Texas, gun owners and gun rights advocates are turning more to Republicans because, they say, the national Democratic Party has become identified with restrictions on handguns and assault weapons.
Hunting in Texas
"In Texas, if you're a Democrat, you have to prove you're a liberal who can shoot," said Rob Allyn, a Dallas-based political consultant who is doing direct mail for the Dewhurst campaign. "It's important to be a hunter in Texas," he said, referring to the high gun ownership in the state. A recent Texas Poll indicated that more than half of those surveyed owned at least one firearm. The state also has a million licensed hunters.
Referring to Mr. Sharp's dove hunt, Mr. Allyn said, "He is just trying to show the state that, like Ann Richards, he's a liberal who can shoot."
Democratic consultants rejected that notion, arguing that many leading Democrats have deep roots in the state's hunting tradition and are very protective of the rights of gun owners.
"If he [Mr. Allyn] is trying to imply this is something that Sharp and Sanchez engage in only at campaign time, he obviously doesn't know these candidates," said Kelly Fero, a veteran political strategist who is working for Mr. Sharp. "Both grew up in the outdoors, and their knowledge of fishing and hunting is very natural."
Mr. Fero said there is no partisanship in Texas when it comes to the rights of gun owners. And Texans quickly see through any candidates who misrepresent their views to curry favor with hunters and other gun rights backers, he asserted.
Views on gun limits
Responses from the four major party candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to Dallas Morning News issue questions found few differences among them on gun control.
All four - Mr. Perry, Mr. Sanchez, Mr. Dewhurst and Mr. Sharp - said they are opposed to such proposals as mandatory trigger locks for handguns and mandatory criminal background checks on people who buy firearms from unlicensed sellers at gun shows.
All of the candidates own multiple firearms, including Mr. Sharp, who said his gun collection includes 30 rifles and shotguns and a couple of pistols.
"I'm a proud owner and have been most of my life," Mr. Sharp said. "To quote Sen. Zell Miller [Democrat of Georgia], 'I probably have more than I need, but not as many as I want.'"
Asked about what is expected to be the leading gun-related proposal in next year's legislative session - a move to keep cities from banning concealed guns on public property - all but Mr. Sanchez supported the idea. The other three cited language in the state Constitution that gives lawmakers sole authority over wearing of firearms.
"I believe the Texas Constitution is clear on this point," Mr. Perry said. "The regulation of firearms is a state responsibility."
Mr. Dewhurst, the state land commissioner, agreed, saying, "I support local control of issues, but in this case I oppose circumventing existing state laws."
Mr. Sharp, the former state comptroller, said he also believes that firearm regulation is a state and not a local responsibility.
But Mr. Sanchez, a Laredo banker and oilman, said he does not want to see any new gun laws, including restrictions on cities, which now have authority to restrict concealed weapons in public areas.
"We have enough gun laws on the books in Texas now and don't need new ones," he said. "We just need to enforce the ones we have."
Such stances against gun regulations have been typical of most political hopefuls in Texas, particularly those seeking statewide office.
Tony Proffitt, a consultant who was the late Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock's top political aide for several years, said his old boss - a Democrat - was a member of the NRA and Texas State Rifle Association and once returned a campaign contribution from a group that was seeking new handgun restrictions in Texas.
"Hunting is part of the psyche of a lot of Texans, and if politicians mess with it, they do so at their own risk," Mr. Proffitt said.
John Shanks, chairman of the Texas Coalition to Prevent Firearm Injury, understands and accepts that political truism.
"A lot of noise is made about the gun issue hurting or helping candidates, and in places outside of Texas it has helped candidates win election," said Mr. Shanks, a former police officer from San Antonio who said his group wants to prevent gun violence, not ban guns.
"In Texas, though, I don't know of any candidates who are carrying the banner of gun violence prevention. There are plenty of them who support us, but they are not carrying the banner in their campaigns," he said. "We wish they would be a little more out front on this issue, but we respect their position. After all, they can't do any good if they don't get elected."
Concealed weapons
His organization will be among those working against the Texas State Rifle Association-backed bill to prohibit cities from banning concealed weapons on public property.
Seeking passage of the measure will be gun rights advocates such as Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, R-Lampasas, who argued that the state has a responsibility "to not allow local control to restrict any of our constitutional freedoms."
She maintained that cities are exerting that power now only because of a loophole in the 1995 right-to-carry law.
Ms. Hupp, who has a state license to carry a concealed handgun, said she will fight legislation to require background checks for people buying guns from unlicensed sellers at gun shows. A bill to do that failed in the last legislative session.
On the other side will be Rep. Debra Danburg, D-Houston, who also is one of the 250,000 Texans with a state license to carry a concealed handgun.
She has sponsored legislation to require background checks at gun shows and flea markets for several sessions, and she will do so again next year. Her motivation: too many unlicensed gun sellers doing business with felons who can't buy from licensed sellers because they must do background checks.
"I have been a strong supporter of background checks for years," she said, adding that she also will support the right of cities to ban concealed firearms on public property.
"Cities should be able to regulate guns, fireworks and other items that are deemed hazardous - on public property," Ms. Danburg said.
Staff writer Christy Hoppe contributed to this report.
Email tstutz@dallasnews.com
c2002 Belo Interactive
http://www.tmorg-forums.com/
He is very pro-gun and is licensed to carry.
He is also my doctor, and if he gets elected, I will have a MUCH harder time getting an appointment. My sacrifice, I suppose.
SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com, the best gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net