Things keep getting better and better in Texas

At the beginning of the month, I mentioned that Texas had been having a good few weeks for gun rights. First the Castle Doctrine bill was passed into law. Shortly thereafter, Governor Perry signed a law stating that gun rights cannot be suspended in an emergency. It would seem rather obvious that Constitutional rights would not be subject to suspension due to unpleasant weather, and that disarming peaceable citizens in times of danger and unrest is exactly the wrong thing to do, but the illegal confiscations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina illustrate the need for additional protection for gun owners.

Governor Perry even had the courage to publicly state the real lesson of the Virginia Tech massacre--that victim disarmament zones are a mass murderer's dream come true. We'll see next year if the freedom lovers in the Texas legislature are able to parlay Governor Perry's vision into an end to victim disarmament zones.

But gun rights in Texas were not finished advancing. This past week, Governor Perry signed a law protecting the confidentiality of concealed carry licensees. As JR, of A Keyboard and a .45, tells us, Texas law was already pretty good in that regard. Now, with the passage of HB 991, it's even better.

Finally, the legislature has passed (and Governor Perry is expected to sign) HB 1815. This bill would ensure that there is absolutely zero doubt that a concealed carry license is not required for merely carry a firearm in one's vehicle. That had been the intent of the law as already written, but certain jurisdictions have refused to acknowledge that. Such abuses will now end.

I'm still working on my idea of getting Illinois (or at least the parts of it outside the Chicago area) annexed by Texas--haven't been able to stir up much interest in the idea yet.