Gun rights in Texas are being subjected to a subtle attack.
A safe storage campaign was recently snuck into a massive spending bill that is set to arrive on Governor Greg Abbott’s desk. This presents an awkward challenge for the sitting Governor Greg Abbott.
This gun control provision is essentially a $1 million public safety campaign on gun storage. Abbot can still technically veto this spending program through the use of his line-item veto power.
Pro-gun groups like Texas Gun Rights called on its members to demand that Governor Greg Abbott used his line-item veto to take down this backdoor gun control program. Safe storage laws have been a relatively popular gun control proposal implemented in numerous states. At first glance, this appears to be reasonable. Who doesn’t believe in the safe storage of firearms?
But there’s more to the story than meets the eye. Dr. John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center points out that firearm storage mandates “effectively disarm citizens in a time of urgency.” In a study for the Journal of Law and Economics, Lott uncovered that over 300 more murders and close to 4,000 more rapes occurred each year in the states that mandated firearms storage.
In effect, these laws make it harder for people to defend themselves in high-pressure situations where every second is precious. A firearm storage mandate could put a person under attack at major risk if they cannot quickly access their firearm.
2019 has been a disappointing year for pro-gun activists in the Lone Star State. Pro-gun Constitutional Carry legislation was killed during the session, putting any hope of Texas becoming the 18th Constitutional Carry state in the nation to rest. Texas still has a relatively pro-gun environment, but its political class remains complacent and does not take the next step in restoring gun rights by passing Constitutional Carry.
Now, Texans have to fend off a milquetoast gun control scheme from a supposedly “pro-gun” legislature. Texas gun owners don’t need taxpayer-funded virtue signaling to learn gun safety.
Civic organizations such as gun clubs have taught millions of Americans gun safety for decades, all without government mandates. Let’s give civil society a chance for once. A robust civil society that solves social problems is what allowed America to become the most prosperous nation on earth.
How about we go back to basics, shall we?
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