What's the Scoop on Your Constitutional Carry, Texans?

[Ben]

This doesn't seem helpful. Has this bill been contentious in Texas?

https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-house-speaker-declares-constitutional-carry-bill-dead-after-gun-rights-activist-shows-up-at-his-home

[Hawkmoon]

Hmmm ...

“If politicians like Speaker Dennis Bonnen think they can show up at the doorsteps of Second Amendment supporters and make promises to earn votes in the election season, they shouldn't be surprised when we show up in their neighborhoods to insist they simply keep their promises in the legislative session," he said.

Despite his name, the man does have a point.

[WLJ]

He just used that as a convenient excuse. Be willing to bet good money he never actually intended to push the bill

[MechAg94]

Hmmm ...

Despite his name, the man does have a point.

Yeah but......

Have these people showed up at his office?  Have they gone to Austin to try to talk to him?  I would have liked to see them work with the TSRA lobbyist on who they need to contact to get action on the bill.  

I guess my other thought is if you are trying to get someone off the fence on your issue, don't push them off on the other side.  

[MechAg94]

https://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=143&t=95524
From Charles Cotton at TexasCHLforum.

"Constitutional Carry" was dead before the session began; it wasn't due to McNutt's stupidity. McNutt gave Bonnen and Nevarez cover to publicly blame his politically suicidal action for the demise of Stickland's bill.

All that said, this is what happens when the all-or-nothing extremists pull stunts like this. And no, I don't believe McNutt's Facebook version. The simple fact is he went to Bonnen's home. His presence was to send a message that "I know where you live." If he wanted to get a message to Bonnen, he would have gone to the Capitol. Apparently, he used to work for Stickland and Sen. Huffines, so he knows better than most how to get his flier to the Speaker.

Now, instead of being able to place blame where it belongs after the session, McNutt gave Bonnen cover. Luckily, it's only cover for "constitutional carry," not everything else he has done and failed to do.

Chas.

In January, Bonnen appointed Democrats to chair the two committees where most gun bills end up.  The two democrats were senior, but it was still a bad sign.  I figure there was some back room dealing going on to get support to pass something else.  The Gov and other Republicans were pushing hard for property tax reform this session so that may be it.

[Ben]

I was curious about what the bill's author thought of the stunt moreso than the Speaker. The Speaker might be a jackass, or he might be walking a tightrope on other issues, which maybe the above info implies.

Regardless, there's the right to do something, and there's the perception of it. Based on his stunt and his apparent blog rants, it sounds like he took the Dwight Schrute approach, which probably isn't the wisest course of action, whether what he did affected the bill or not. JMHO.

[Brad Johnson]

The idiot in question is Chris McNutt. He's ostensibly the exec director for Texas Gun Rights. In reality he's a dumbass, a spittle-spewing "All Or Nothing!" type who is exactly NOT the kind of person you'd want advocating for gun rights... or anything else. He's an anti-gunner's wet dream. His unbridled zealotry handed them a perfect example of "...why gun owners shouldn't be trusted". More than a few of use think he he needs to shut the hell up and let cooler heads do the talking.

Brad

[zxcvbob]

The idiot in question is Chris McNutt. He's ostensibly the exec director for Texas Gun Rights. In reality he's a dumbass, a spittle-spewing "All Or Nothing!" type who is exactly NOT the kind of person you'd want advocating for gun rights... or anything else. He's an anti-gunner's wet dream, their shining example of why gun owners shouldn't be trusted.

All that may be true.  But Bonnen was never going to advance that bill anyway; he was just waiting for an excuse (any excuse) to kill it.

[Brad Johnson]

All that may be true.  But Bonnen was never going to advance that bill anyway; he was just waiting for an excuse (any excuse) to kill it.

True, but that doesn't excuse Chris' dumbassery. It would have been far, far better if he'd done nothing at all. Now we have an added layer of both social and representorial doubt to deal with should the opportunity ever present itself (which it may never do, thanks to him).

Brad

[Perd Hapley]

So the "intimidation" was simply knocking on the man's door?

[MechAg94]

So the "intimidation" was simply knocking on the man's door?

There is disagreement on that or at least he claims nothing happened.  Apparently, there were already police at the house due to other online threats.