SB 354 is being debated in commity live here 4:00pm.

[Texas1911]

AWESOME wrap up at the end.

 

[ghostscout]

what happened at the end?

 

[matefrio]

ya, had to drop off what happened at the end?

 

[Texas1911]

Wentworth pretty much stepped in and answered all the claims from the hours and hours of anti's arguing the same verbal diarrhea. They really had some stupid arguments and alot of repeat that was wearing on the committee. Towards the end the chair was cracking jokes and was visibly and verbally wanting to make it stop.

This one guy got up there and went off on some tangent, about 3 minutes in he was about 1000 yards away from left field, and towards the end, even he was lost. The chair was like, "thanks, and stay well" or something to that effect. The kid was a dollar short of a happy meal in the mental department, and at one time he even was listing the medications he was on.

What I gathered out of the arguments from the anti's was essentially this:

1) Faculty has a serious power complex and seems to be extremely afraid of the ramifications of students carrying and getting frustrated or angry.

2) Students, Police, and Faculty have legitimate claims about the confusion of identifying the shooter in an active shooter situation.

3) Students believe that they are not in danger, and are safe.

My answers to the above are...

1) There is nothing to stop someone from killing a teacher if they are determined to do so. It is illegal to murder someone, it is illegal to brandish your weapon, and it is illegal to threaten someone with a weapon. This has been proven a number of times in mass shootings throughout the United States.

2) This represents the biggest hurdle in any armed conflict, be it combat, public shootings, or campus shootings. If I am at Walmart and engage an active shooter, the police are going to have a hard time differentiating me from the true threat at that immediate time. Specific training for the police and carry holders would suffice in my opinion. There simply is no perfect solution to this problem, but I feel it is a minute issue in the grand scheme of things. The primary reason is that police officers are read-ably identifiable for the most part, and upon issuance of commands the vast majority of CHL holders would comply. There will always present a situation in armed conflict where good people are going to be injured or die as a result of blue-on-blue or assumptions. It is a small risk worth taking in the broad picture.

3) Students don't know the risks until it is in front of them. You might feel safe, but I've known too many rape victims, and too many victims of violent crime in the Austin area that can attest to "feeling safe" and being safe. Hell, I've been approached by transients and no good people downtown on pretty normal frequency. Had I been alone, 5'2", and female ... who's to know if it would have turned out the same. I even had a guy come up to me and say, "What's that on your shirt?" ... to which I replied, "Texas Gun Talk" ... his reply, he changed course and walked away and muttered "Oh! ... that's cool". His entire demeanor changed when the word "Gun" came out.

 

[mdehoogh]

It was left pending. The mic/feed were kind of acting up on me towards the end and I wasn't able to hear it very well. I know I heard one guy (in the senate) pushing for an amendment that allowed each campus to choose for themselves. I could have sworn I heard someone say "5 ayes and no nayes" but there are 7 members in the committee so I'm certain I misunderstood something. Whitemire then said something like "senate stands in recess".

Perhaps someone else who saw it can clarify what the final consensus was.

 

[Texan2]

The Senate's website hasnt been updated yet.

 

[MR Redneck]

I didnt get the see any of it but, from what im gathering it sounds like the right people are supporting it.
It doesnt matter what the anti's think as long as the Senate supports the bill. After all, it's their vote that counts.

 

[London]

Didn't catch this, but I'm looking forward to reading the transcripts!

 

[ghostscout]

I even had a guy come up to me and say, "What's that on your shirt?" ... to which I replied, "Texas Gun Talk" ... his reply, he changed course and walked away and muttered "Oh! ... that's cool". His entire demeanor changed when the word "Gun" came out.

Yeah, this has been true for me. Anytime I wear a military/gun shirt people tend to stay away or when I get asked about it and say the word "gun" their reply is usually "OH, ok." Like when I was in line the other day at the grocery store and I was wearing my "I (picture of a SAW249) terrorists" and the lady at the counter asks me what it said/meant and I said "it means I shoot terrorists," her response with a smile, was "oh, like on your video games?"
"NO, in real life." After that she didnt say anything to me, didnt even tell me my total for my items and didnt ask for my payment. Just stood there with a dumbfounded look on her face.

 

[Bithabus]

I hope Whitmire doesn't kill this.

 

[luke1249]

Does anyone know where the transcript for this is? Or preferably the original video, if they keep copies online.

 

[matefrio]

Texas State Senate - RealMedia Video Archives

 

[jordanmills]

Someone needs to change the legis site to use a standard video format. This realplayer lock-in is idiotic.

 

[SiscoKid]

I surely hope that the legislature remembers the VOTERS on this. You know, the ones who are home or on the job, who pay the taxes, and know a bit more about the issue than a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears gun-hating punks.

I emailed my state rep on this, even got an acknowledgment.

 

[mdehoogh]

SB354 has just been scheduled for another public hearing tomorrow.

 

[matefrio]

I wonder if someone gripped that the first was run unfairly tilted to the folks that didn't support the bill.

 

[Bithabus]

I wonder if someone gripped that the first was run unfairly tilted to the folks that didn't support the bill.

Or more pantywaists demanded a chance to talk about their feelings.

 

[London]

I can't get these videos to work for the life of me. Is there a transcript anywhere?

 

[mdehoogh]

I can't get these videos to work for the life of me. Is there a transcript anywhere?

I couldn't find a transcript on the archive page. I had trouble playing the .ram file with VLC initially but after downloading Real Player, it played fine and with very few 'hiccups'.

Also, it says that the hearing scheduled for tomorrow is being held at Whitmire's desk in the main senate chamber. Perhaps it will just be a simple vote to pass it out of committee. The Texas State Senate: Committee Hearings and Events

 

[London]

Realplayer is a no go for me.