As is so often the case, Sept. 1 is the day when Texas' new laws go into effect. You can grab the press release, in PDF format, from the Department of Public Transportation's Web site. That covers the major, need-to-know stuff, not everything, but you get the idea.
Of course, if you think that I'm happy about most of the changes listed on that press release, you're probably a newcomer to this blog.
Apparently, thanks to the Department of Homeland (in)Security's recent "ZOMG! Terrorists!" documents, which were released to law-enforcement agencies all over the United States, it's now cool to pull over a guy whose truck sports a Gadsden-flag bumper sticker, tell him that his choice of vehicle decoration is an extremist kind of thing, and hold him while you look into his background.
Gee...the last time I checked, the "Don't tread on me" flag was a symbol of America, much like Old Glory in her various incarnations. The last time I checked, terrorists don't exactly embrace the symbols of the nations they're trying to destroy...I mean, come on - when was the last time you saw Muhammad McBomberson wearing an American-flag tee shirt underneath his bomb vest?
I was also under the impression that all Americans still had our First-amendment rights to freedom of speech and of expression (among the other rights outlined in that particular Amendment).
Yeah...I'll be buying these bumper stickers by the case, just to prove a point.
Would anybody care to tell me why our media is not widely, rabidly reporting the fact that Military Police were sent into Samson, Alabama following a civilian's murder spree?
You see, good citizens, the military cannot legally do this sort of thing. Oh, no. They cannot just waltz into a community and do their thing, because that violates federal law.
Even so, the personnel were there, and now people are wondering why.
Why isn't this all over the news? Shouldn't this be the lead story? Shouldn't every major newspaper and TV-news program in the nation cover this? You would think that, because the mainstream media is so awesome at tearing into our military, they'd be all over this. But...they aren't.
Weird.
So...this event is covered in a very-limited fashion, even though it's definitely newsworthy. Fortunately, we don't have to rely on the MSM to give us information. We have Teh Intarwebz, dangit!
(And, to be clear: I love our military. Don't even think that I'm blaming the personnel who were on the ground in Alabama for this. I just despise the thought of the military being used in a manner that violates our current laws, that's all.)
The other night, Youngest Bro and his girlfriend went out for dinner. They got pizza, but didn’t eat the whole thing. The leftovers stayed in the back seat of YB’s car, along with their bread sticks, while they went into Walmart to do whatever it is that you do in Walmart when you’re out on a date.
When YB and The Girlfriend went back to the car afterward, they noticed that one of the car’s doors was slightly ajar. Further investigation revealed that the door was open because a pizza thief had opened it, swiped all of their leftover food, and left – all before they returned to the car.
The good news is that The Girlfriend’s purse was not on the floorboard, where she normally leaves the thing when she goes into a store. That night, for whatever reason, she decided to secure the purse in YB’s trunk before going into Walmart. Good for her.
The family and I agree that, if the person who swiped the pizza and breadsticks was hungry, then it’s a sad situation indeed. If that’s the case, our prayer is that the individual is able to find a job, or whatever he or she needs to obtain food without lurking in parking lots, hoping to get lucky. We’ve been hungry before, and don’t want to see other people in the same situation.
On the other hand: if the theft was one of those random, jerky things that delinquents do when they’re bored, we all hope that the sack of crap gets diarrhea for a week straight, with a burning bunghole that doesn’t quit.
The next day, my oldest brother called home to tell us that, the night before, he had stopped at Walmart – the one in his entirely-different part of the state – because he saw a car catch on fire in the lot. He jumped out of his truck to be sure that everyone in the vehicle had gotten out okay. In the middle of doing this random, decent thing, OB heard the distinct sound of his pickup leaving the location.
He turned around to see it being driven off. Because he, not thinking about anything but the people in the vehicle that had just caught on fire, didn’t turn off the engine and take the keys with him. I wouldn’t have either, I don’t think.
The good news is that the police found the truck a few miles away, unharmed. The bad news is that they couldn’t find the keys. OB’s keychain had his truck and apartment keys on it. His insurance card, in the glove box, has his address printed right on the front. So, he’s having both his truck and apartment locks changed.
This is just weird, though, folks, because both of these things happened on the same night, in different parts of Texas, but to the same family. Weirdness. Is it a full moon? Halloween? Or just another one of those weird spells that happen to some people?
Edna Jester, an 89-year-old Ohio resident, was arrested because she refused to return a football that landed in her yard.
This was not the first time that a neighborhood kid's ball ended up on her property. She'd kept balls before, in fact. The kids there should have known this, and acted accordingly.
Instead of doing the intelligent thing and playing as far away from Jester's house as possible, a group of kids - one of them being in junior high, which means that he's definitely old enough to know better - played in the street, too close to Jester's house.
She kept their football when it landed in her yard. She was gardening. I imagine that she was tired of wondering if incoming toys would crush her flowers, or damage her plants.
And I don't blame her for temporarily keeping the toy. That's how cranky neighbors have handled stray toys for almost as long as we've had kids, neighborhoods, and airborne toys. If your stuff landed in a neighbor's yard, and he or she kept the object, you knocked on the door and politely asked to get it back. The neighbor would eventually return your stuff. And if you were smart, you stayed away from that yard the next time you dragged out that toy - otherwise, it might not be your toy anymore.
The father of the jr.-high boy - the "adult" who called the police on Jester - needs to switch breakfast cereals. He's eating way too many Stupid-Os, as evidenced by this whole situation.
To the Dallas/Ft. Worth media:
If you are going to keep pointing out Russ Martin's now-revoked Concealed Handgun License, I suggest that you also report these facts related to both Texas CHLs in general and Martin's case in particular.
* Fewer than two percent of Texas CHLers commit violent crimes. If only the rest of the Texas population were so trustworthy and decent. If the rest of the people here were that law-abiding...that trustworthy...we would have a truly-amazing state to call home.
* Texans do not have to have any sort of license to possess firearms on property we personally control. I can take my handgun from my home to my driveway, get into my car, and drive to my business - all without my CHL. The gun can even accompany me into my establishment. But if I want to pop into the supermarket for a box of donuts while I'm traveling to my business, I need the CHL if I want to take the firearm in with me.
So: even if Martin had not been in possession of a CHL, he would have legally possessed the gun that was in his home. His CHL status did not enable or allow him this right.
* You cannot obtain a Texas CHL without undergoing a full background check. Both Texas and the Feds check out your criminal records, if any exist, and grant or deny your application based on what they find.
An interesting point to consider is that, here in Texas at least, a conviction of domestic violence disqualifies you for a CHL. If you're convicted of beating the snot out of your significant other/family member/roommate, then you don't get to carry a concealed handgun to the grocery store, church, et cetera.
* If Martin is convicted, then he's going to have a rough life - as it should be. If he's guilty of assaulting somebody without physical provocation, then he deserves to suffer the legal consequences of the criminal act. However, I say "if" because I believe that he deserves his day in court - just as any accused member of society does.
Concealed handgun licensees here in the Great State of Texas have been fighting for the right to carry on campus for...quite some time now. As of right now, our best hope is that Governor Perry will attempt to change things during our 2009 legislative session. This is one of the rare times in which I think that meeting every other year is a very bad thing. We're trying to be patient, but...it's getting harder.
With the recent shooting on a college campus in Tyler, Texas, we have no choice but to acknowledge that this type of thing can happen anywhere. Even here in Texas, where more than a quarter million of us are legally licensed to carry our concealed handguns in many public places (except, of course, school).
And then, the University of Texas at Arlington reported that there was an armed robbery on campus. There was also an incident involving a pellet gun.
So: we need concealed carry at Texas schools. Right now, only the criminals have weapons at school. By definition, criminals break laws. You can post all the "No Gun" signs you want, and you can pass all the "No guns at school" laws you want. The criminals are going to ignore all of this. Those of us who follow laws will obey...and by doing so, put ourselves at risk.
This ticks me off because I'm a UT-Arlington student. (I'm taking off this semester, but I'm returning in August.) I have to walk, by myself, across several parking lots. The campus is wide open to anybody who wishes to show up. Cooper Street, which basically runs right down the middle of the school, is a large and public road open to anybody who'd like to drive down it.
And though many of the people who live in the numerous houses near the campus are wonderful, law-abiding citizens...some of them are not. Not every person in the surrounding neighborhood is a good guy or gal. The criminals who live right off campus have very easy, free access to the unarmed students who are in the parking lots and on the streets.
There aren't enough campus police officers to personally escort every student all over the campus. Until or unless we each have armed escorts, we're responsible for protecting ourselves. But right now, legislation and school policies make this difficult. Very difficult.
Because, quite frankly, I have no delusion about what would happen if I were confronted by a criminal armed with a handgun. I have...pepper spray and a folding knife. Oh, yes, those are highly effective against handgun-wielding purse snatchers, rapists, school shooters and other, miscellaneous thugs.
This is not fair. I haven't done anything wrong, but the law puts me at a distinct disadvantage re: my own protection. The State of Texas licensed me to carry a loaded .45 at church, in Wal-Mart, and at the hobby shop. But I cannot carry that same gun to classes. I'm the same law-abiding citizen no matter where I go, but for some reason, I am not worthy of self protection when I'm attempting to better myself through higher education.
The Brady Campaign's "Drop out of school" solution would be a fine idea if it weren't for the fact that I have just as much right to attend college as an anti-gunner's kid does. I earned my seat at UT-Arlington. Wishing to defend and protect myself while I'm occupying that seat does not make me any less worthy of what I worked to earn.
Besides: the anti-gunners still have the right to NOT carry guns. They have a choice. I do not.
The sooner we get campus carry, the happier I'll be.
I don't intend to trash law enforcement officers (LEOs) in this post. Most of them are the good guys and gals, and I respect the fact that they voluntarily do a dangerous job every day. You would have a hard time convincing me to, for example, walk up to a stranger's car at midnight - for any reason. But LEOs do just that - and other dangerous duties - every day. I appreciate the fact that these men and women are out there to do the best that they can for we citizens.
Now that this extremely-important point is out of the way:
9-1-1 can't save you. Or me. Or anybody else, for that matter.
Many American citizens will say that, if trouble comes a-knocking on their front doors, they will just call 9-1-1 and let Officer Friendly deal with the problem.
Crazy ex-husband trying to kick in the flimsy piece of wood that you call a door? Call 9-1-1 and a nice, big officer with a gun (and mace, and a baton, and handcuffs, and a flashlight, and a radio) will show up, post haste, to haul off the guy.
Awaken to strange noises downstairs - and it isn't coming from your cat? Call 9-1-1 and one or more LEOs will speed right to your house to haul off the would-be burglar in handcuffs.
Some stranger followed you home from the mall? Sit in the driveway and call 9-1-1 with your cell phone. The cops will be there shortly to ask your new stalker what he (or, sometimes, she) is doing on your property.
In theory, these are great ideas. It would be great if I lived in a society where a 9-1-1 call guaranteed a response time of one minute or less. I would be even happier if an LEO could show up in half that time: thirty seconds. If that response time were guaranteed to happen every single time I picked up my phone....
...well, I would still carry my handgun and my pocketknife. And I would still be prepared to deal with trouble on my own.
What's the average 9-1-1 response time in your area? Four minutes? Five minutes? Half an hour? Where I live, you will wait for at least three hours before a Sheriff's Deputy shows up. That was the response time when a neighbor called in an assault in progress (on himself). That was one-third of the response time when somebody decided that it would be cool to break into my truck and burn the thing to a pile of ashes and metal.
I live in the middle of nowhere. In exchange for the peace and quiet, I have agreed to do what I can to take care of myself. There is no way in the world that an LEO can be here in four, five minutes - not even if I already have half a dozen stab wounds and the bad guy's knife is raised for the final slice and dice. No matter how perilous, how dangerous, my situation, the police (or the Sheriff, in my case) cannot get here to save my rear end.
But you city dwellers and urban residents need to understand that you are in the same situation. You might have the world's finest police department two blocks from your home, but that is no guarantee that somebody will show up in time to help you.
There are two good reasons to absorb that and plan accordingly.
One: Even with a "short" response time, LEOs will probably show up too late to do anything. How long does it take for a bad guy to break your window? How long does it take for him to whack you upside the head with his (probably stolen) gun? How long does it take for him to grab your laptop or your car keys, or whatever else he wants, and take off? And what if he doesn't want to take off -what if he's on drugs, or otherwise out of his mind, and wants to kill you (or worse)?
All of these horrifying things can happen in under five minutes. Before the police can even show up, the bad guy has already done the damage. He's already in your house. He's already knocked you out, or shot you, or whacked you upside the head with a crowbar, or something. He already has your valuables - and he's already out the door.
Who cares if the police can catch him or not at that point? Even if you give a very good description...even if you have surveillance footage that you can give to the investigators...the damage has already been done. Your home has been invaded. You've been robbed and (probably) hurt.
Or maybe you're dead. Not all home invaders like to leave witnesses. Some actually break in because that's a good excuse to kill somebody. The valuables that they rip off are just bonuses to those super-crazy bad guys.
This assumes, however, that you were able to call the police in the first place. If the bad guy got the jump on you, you might not be conscious...or alive...to make the phone call. And even if he hasn't done anything to physically harm you just yet, he's not exactly going to hand you the cell phone and stand by while you call the cavalry. The bad guy does not want the police to show up: he will do just about anything to keep them away. He's a bad guy, after all. What does he care if he cracks your skull or fills you with bullet holes?
Two: LEOs are not obligated to respond to your 9-1-1 call. Many court rulings have upheld this gruesome reality. The fact is that, if the police can't get to your call, you're stuck. You cannot sue them if they don't show up in time to prevent the crime or even catch the bad guy. Not that a lawsuit will replace your sense of safety, or mend any wounds that you suffer, or bring you back to life if you're killed.
I'm not saying that the 9-1-1 operator will snort at you and say, "Up yours, pal," if you call. In most cases, the dispatcher will try to send somebody to help you. "Try" is the key word there. There is no guarantee that you will ever see a squad car in your driveway...ever.
Because of these two things, we have to be prepared to care for ourselves. We have to have a plan ahead of time - before something happens - and be ready to put that in effect should a bad guy insist on bringing trouble our way.
