This morning a radio news program* pointed to the difference between the recently enacted gun laws in Texas and California. The laws taking effect this year in Texas are much more friendly to gun owners than the new laws in California. Maybe both states are reflecting the attitude residents in those states have toward their neighbors.
In Texas concealed handgun license laws have been in place for several years, and statistics show that CHL holders as a group have a low incidence of law breaking. While there are some bad people out there, as a general rule there is no reason to distrust Texans who own or carry firearms. The idea that anyone who owns a gun is a mere traffic jam, missed cigarette break, or dirty look away from murdering someone is a misguided myth somehow incorporated into the liberal belief system.
The state of California has new laws which increase government's control over guns and gun owners. It seems that Californians don't trust each other enough to allow them to own deadly weapons. Is that distrust realistic? I don't know, but whether it is or isn't, it does suggest a dysfunction in societal relationships.
Anyway, today is day four of Texas' open carry law, and we would like to express a sarcastic "Thank you" to the morning paper for keeping us safe. They've been relentless in their scolding, preenish, lectures about gun responsibility and open carry. Every damn day it's a fresh set of opinion pieces saying the same thing. The streets would have run red with blood but for their nagging. As my mom used to say, don't break your arm patting yourself on the back.
And all of that distrust in California I talked about? Add certain media elements in Texas to that category. You know the folks at MRT.com are itching for an opportunity to photograph someone carrying a handgun openly here in Midland, Texas. Any wonder why CHL holders may be reluctant to carry openly?
*(Your browser has to accept the SoundCloud tracker in order to listen to or download the MP3 of that broadcast.)
Comments