Texas House Bill 595 (Waiting Periods for Handgun Purchases)

Texas State Representative Yvonne Davis (Dallas) has issued two very anti gun pieces of legislation for the 2007 Texas Legislature. The company that I work for is located right smack dab in the center of Ms. Davis's district. This is a high crime area. A good percentage of the violent crime that occurs in Dallas occurs in Representative Davis's district. Our company pays multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars in both state and city taxes. On top of taxes, we pay multiple thousands of dollars each year complying with state environmental and safety regulations and Dallas city codes. This company provides a significant source of revenue to the City of Dallas and the State of Texas. You would think that we would get some sort of a return on investment. As we are in an industrial area, the occasional car thief picks our one open parking lot to strip and leave stolen vehicles. When we report finding a stolen vehicle in our parking lot, the police refuse to even come out and give it a look. We have to go through the car and try to determine who the owner is and give them a call. Last year some thieves cut through three different fences and broke into our yard equipment shed. They ended up stealing over $8000.00 in yard equipment. The police once again refused to come out and investigate, they just took our statement over the phone. We did find a policeman's card stuck in the front door one morning, so maybe we just had the misfortune to be closed when they stopped by. We are, after all, only a 20 hour a day operation. Crime in many different aspects can be observed daily in the mini mart parking lots and on the streets of Ms. Davis's district. What is her answer? Why an anti gun bill of course.

Relating to requiring a waiting period for the purchase or sale of a handgun; creating an offense.

Author: Yvonne Davis

Co-Authors and Sponsors: None

SECTION 1. Chapter 46, Penal Code, is amended by adding Section 46.061 to read as follows:

Sec. 46.061. WAITING PERIOD FOR PURCHASE OR SALE OF HANDGUN.

(a) A person commits an offense if the person:

(1) purchases more than one handgun, or sells more than one handgun to the same person, within a 30-day period;

I generally attend three or so gun shows a month, plus the occasional visit to a gun or pawn shop. What difference does it make if I purchase one handgun each visit, or one every six months? How does this bill fall under the Bill of Rights, specifically the Second Amendment (...the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.) Limiting my ability to purchase more than one handgun a month is most definitely "infringing" upon my right to keep and bear arms. It is also just plain ignorant. I have more than one handgun. If I purchase two or twenty more next week, my ability to wreck havoc, if I were so inclined, would not be affect in the least. The very first part of this proposed law is not just unconstitutional, it is ignorant and will accomplish nothing except hamper a law abiding citizen's ability to freely purchase handguns.

(2) purchases a handgun without first completing and delivering to the seller a handgun purchase form as prescribed by the Department of Public Safety; or...

rut ro

(3) sells a handgun to any person without first:

(A) submitting to the Department of Public Safety a handgun purchase form completed and delivered to the seller by the purchaser; and

(B) receiving notice from the Department of Public Safety that the purchaser did not purchase another handgun within the 30-day period preceding the date of the form.

(b) For purposes of this section:

(1) a handgun purchase form is complete if:

(A) the form is signed and dated; and

(B) the other information requested by the form is substantially complete; and

(2) a purchase or sale may be made in exchange for cash, goods, services, or other remuneration.

Heavy sigh...

If you are a Texan, please re-read (3) above. Read it, and the text preceding it, very carefully...

Did you catch it? This bill makes it a state jail felony to be involved in a private transaction involving a handgun without first filling out DPS paperwork, and getting approval from DPS. This should really piss you off.

The remainder of the bill exempts "The Only Ones" from this limitation, including the paperwork. The bill also assigns DPS the responsibility of implementing, maintaining and enforcing this program. Of course, to make this program work, DPS has to maintain records of each and every handgun purchase. The bill says nothing about additional funding for DPS.

I have an idea for Ms. Davis. Instead of saddling DPS with a paperwork nightmare, and stomping all over the constitution, why don't you look into programs that help the local police force do a better job of fighting crime? Why don't you investigate ways to break up the gangs and lock up the violent drug cartels? Why don't you attempt to do something real instead of coming up with this B.S., insignificant, worthless, do nothing piece of legislation? Oh... yeah, you are correct. Actually getting to the heart of the matter is hard work and may disenfranchise some of your constituents. Ma'am, the hard work is work well worth while, and in the long run will have a positive effect on the community you serve.

I know that this bill does not stand much of a chance of getting out of committee. But bills like it will be introduced again and again, each time gaining a little bit more support until one day it will become an issue. Write you representative now, let them know that anti freedom bills such as this one are unacceptable and should not even be considered for debate.