Rep. Joe Driver (R-113) and the Open Carry Issue
February 19th, 2009 . by TexasFredRep. Joe Driver (R-113) and the Open Carry Issue
Last week I sent an email message to my Texas State representative, Joe Driver (R-113), requesting that he get on board with the *open carry* campaign that is really gaining strength here in Texas.
Today I got a response from Rep. Driver, he said NO. He believes that open carry is a dangerous thing and could/would present more problems than it would solve.
I informed Mr. Driver that I was appreciative of his quick response and I also made him aware that he had just lost MY vote, and the vote of my wife and quite likely at least 10 of my immediate neighbors will drop support for him once this is posted. I hope so.
Personally, I don’t begrudge Rep. Driver HIS beliefs, but he is NOT in the Texas State House to vote HIS beliefs, he is there to vote the wishes of his constituents, We, The People that got out and voted, and sent him to the State House! If the majority of his District is against the Open Carry law then for him to NOT support it is the way this thing will fall, but if his constituents DO, and he votes against it, then he is no better than any other politician!
I will NOT support any elected official that will not support, 100%, the LEGAL gun owners of this nation, and even though Mr. Driver did support concealed carry, he has now let the LEGAL and safe gun owners of this district down.
If you are a Texan and wish to weigh in on this fight, by all means do so! If Joe Driver is your Representative let him know how YOU feel. If he’s not your Representative use the widget in the sidebar and contact the appropriate person and raise all manners of hell!
Current Elected Office Contact Information
Contact Rep. Joe Driver via Web Form.
Website: www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist113
Austin Office: 4S.06 Capitol Building,
Texas 78768-2910
Phone: (512) 463-0574
Fax: (512) 463-1481
Garland Office: (more district offices)
201 South Glenbrook Drive
Garland, Texas 75040
Phone: (972) 276-1556
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Fred, Rep. Joe, and any others that care to read this.
For more then thirty years I have lived in two open carry states. Yes, there are minor restrictions that I can live with, and certain cities have “Home Rule” status. Never have I even once seen a problem with open carry. I have seen it used on three different occasions used to protect myself, and Police Officers by every day citizens.
There is only one single true reason that ANY politician is against normal everyday people having weapons. That, is because they are afraid that their actions might be cause for someone to use a weapon on them.
Why are you afraid Representative? Are you in fact a criminal?
As a former Police Officer, I see people that I have arrested all the time. Some of these people are petty criminals and others are hard core criminials. I have a “Concealed Weapons Permit” and plan to keep my weapon(s) on me at all time to protect my family as well as myself. As a Disabled Veteran, there is no way I could literally fight to protect them. It may something simple to some of the people that want to do away with our 2nd Amendment Rights, but they obviously have never been face to face with a “Real Criminal”. God Bless us all.
I have talked to far too many former and current officers, they feel exactly the way I do, in fact, my opinion was formed from talking to officers. They would rather see it and KNOW it’s there than to have to wonder.
Maybe Rep. Driver needs to come home and talk to the cops around Rowlett and Garland… Might be a real education for him…
Well if I lived in Texas Fred he’d lose my votes too, they do forget who they’re sent up there to work for as you aptly claim
“NOT in the Texas State House to vote HIS beliefs, he is there to vote the wishes of his constituents”
But it seems Republican congressman now seated after the ‘06 bloodbath feel safe so they want to make sure they too are invited to the Obama White House parties and get together like Arlen Specter is. And the refusal of that will lead to the draconian anti 2nd amendment laws they are trying to pass here in Illinois.
Being the “toast of the liberal town” and “republican of the month” on the daily Kos and the Capitol News letter is just too hard for many in the beltway to turn away. Everybody loves that adulation and love that “McCain RINO conservatives” who poke the eyes of republicans and other conservatives, just like your representative apparently likes to do as well.
The only rep left in Illinois worth a darn who’s not on the liberal take payroll, including the ghost of Obama is mine, Rep. Mark Kirk. A solid congressman who opposed the stimulus package down the line (because we don’t need it or want in our district) and stands up for our constituency here in the heart of liberal Illinois. He’s also a former vet and just an all around good conservative.
You would think a guy with these credentials would know how many officers feel, and he certainly NEEDS to know how the voters feel…
CURRENT CIVIC & LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE:
New Beginnings Center Advisory Board
Member Garland Chamber of Commerce
Member Rowlett Chamber of Commerce
Member Sachse Chamber of Commerce
Noon Exchange Club
Greater Garland Republicans Club Lifetime Member
Garland Citizens Police Academy Alumni
National Rifle Association Lifetime Member
Texas State Rifle Association Lifetime Member
North Texas Exes Lifetime Member
Leadership Garland Alumni
Chairman, Committee on Law Enforcement
Member, House Committee on Environmental Regulation
http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist113/bio/driver.htm
Yes, you certainly would, but there’s a new sheriff in town and he’s a ….Obama.
Ray almost said the *N* word!!
To Texas Legislature Representative Mr. Joe Driver:
YOU WERE VOTED INTO YOUR PRESENT JOB,,AND THAT WAS TO CARRY THE VOICE ONLY OF THE PEOPLE WITHIN YOUR VOTER’S DISTRICT.
YOU ARE THERE EXPRESSLY FOR DOING THIS.
YOU ARE NOT THERE TO VOTE YOUR OWN FEELINGS.
YOU ARE THE WATER BOY, NOT THE WATER.
IF YOU VOTE YOUR OWN BELIEFS, AND NOT THOSE OF YOUR
COLLECTIVE DISTRICT, THEN YOU WILL BE REMOVED BY BY THE SAME PEOPLE WHO ELECTED YOU INTO THIS OFFICE.
IT SEEMS THAT YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN THIS.
SINCERELY PRESENTED,,,,,MR CHUCK
I have to agree with Mr. Chuck.
Too many of these people, once they are in office, forget the basic fact they they are elected to do what WE want, not the other way around.
Let’s see if I have this right -
By the good Representative’s reasoning, that open carry would CREATE problems rather than SOLVE or AVERT them, as asserted by the good Texas Fred and his informal poll of LEOs, then it stands to reason (according to Mr. Driver) that REMOVING squad cars from visible use would SOLVE or AVERT more problems than they currently solve.
I can only deduce from this that Mr. Driver believes the police are doing more HARM than GOOD by making their presence known.
I am sure that the criminal element in Texas is awaiting the word from Mr. Driver that all police departments are to immediately remove their patrol cars from the view of the general public.
Mr. Driver, this is ridiculous. In study after study, it has been shown that conceal carry, open carry, and the right to bear arms has REDUCED criminal activity across the board. How did you come to the FEEWING that an open carry rule would CREATE problems? Because you, yourself, would be offended by how many people are willing to protect themselves in a constitutional manner?
Mr. Driver, you are a liberal, whiny, putz.
No offense to the Putz family of East Gary, Indiana.
Nothing beats people who are willing to be open and honest. If you got someone considering doing a vial act and they look around and see multiple open carry citizens the former ideas will flee quickly. If not, the idea wont stand up long.
The gun is simply a tool that can be used for good or bad. The good far out number the bad but the bad often have no fear. Open carry is the simplest method of purging the bad from your society. A simply policy such as this will result in a far better and safer Texas.
Thanks for keeping this issue front and center. We all need to be contacting our elected representatives on this one!
[...] following is from Texas Fred If you are a Texan, if you are a gun owner, even if you’re NOT a Texan, you need to read [...]
As a Texan and an honest, logical man, this kind of stupidity drives me crazy! Joe, get a grip man. Your belief that open carry would pose a threat to public safety, or to LEOs is VERY easily testable. More than forty states currently have open carry laws on their books, most of them for many years now. None have experienced any problems with either public safety issues, LEO safety, or anything else, with the exception of a few eastern seaboard states where LEOs have illegally stopped someone carrying openly. In those cases the issue was easily resolved by contacting the watch commander for clarification of the law. There is certainly no reason to think that Texas would be any different than all these other states in this regard. This same false and thoroughly discredited argument/belief was trotted out when we passed the CHL law more than a decade ago. You’ll notice the utter absence of shoot-outs and blood in the streets as was predicted by those who fear an armed public then. Your opposition to this bill smacks of either ignorance of the available data (which has just been corrected - you can easily confirm what I’ve said here) or a political agenda that is simply anti-civil rights and anti-2nd Amendment rights. If you continue to oppose such a reasonable bill, we will all be forced to conclude the latter and vote accordingly next time you’re on the ballot.