In the news again: Guns. The carrying of weapons.
Federal judge says Texas can’t ban 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying handguns.
- Federalism
- Civil Law
- Checks and Balances /Judicial Review
- Constitutional Law
- Statutory Law
- Second Amendment
- 14th Amendment: Equal Protection Clause
- Firearms restrictions
- Age limits
- Federalism
- Federal District Judge
- Elections
- Agenda Setting / Uvalde Shooting
- Advocacy Groups
Texas State Law Library: Gun Laws.
- Texas Penal Code.
Penal Code: TITLE 10. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, AND MORALS
CHAPTER 46. WEAPONS.
- Sec. 46.02. UNLAWFUL CARRYING WEAPONS.
TEX. GOV’T CODE §§ 411.172(a)(2), (g), (h), (i). Simply stated, although Texans over the age of 21 can carry a handgun (either openly or concealed) outside the home (with or without a license), law-abiding 18-to-20-year-olds Texans are prohibited from carrying a handgun for self-defense outside the home.
Second Amendment: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
For comparison: Texas Bill of Rights, Sec. 23. RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS. Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in the lawful defence of himself or the State; but the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime.
- Proposed amendment: remove last clause.
- District of Columbia v. Heller.
- McDonald v Chicago.
Fourteenth Amendment: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Equal Protection:
ScotusBlog: National Rifle Association of America v. McCraw (2014).
Issue: (1) Whether the Second Amendment right to bear arms for self-defense in case of confrontation includes the right to bear arms in public; (2) Whether that right to bear arms extends to responsible, law-abiding eighteen- to twenty-year-old adults; and (3) whether Texas’s ban on responsible, lawabiding eighteen- to twenty-year-old adults bearing handguns in public for self-defense violates the Second Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause.
Firearms Policy Coalition v Steven McGraw, Director of DPS.
- Firearms Policy Coalition.
- Steven McCraw.
- Texas Department of Public Safety.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
FORT WORTH DIVISION
- Website.
- U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman.(Wikipedia)
Texas Tribune: Families of the Uvalde shooting victims denounce Gov. Greg Abbott’s inaction on gun reform.
Wall Street Journal: Uvalde Massacre Prompts New Debate on Guns Among Residents.
Politico: What election night in Texas looked like after the mass shooting.
Bloomberg: Texas Governor’s Race Narrows After Uvalde Shooting, Poll Shows.
Texas Tribune: Confronted with mass shootings, Texas Republicans have repeatedly loosened gun laws.
Ken Paxton: Second Amendment.
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For future podcasts regarding local issues:
- Harris County commissioners approve $750M flood mitigation grant.
- Harris County budget director proposes $2.24B budget.
- Harris County commission presents school safety recommendations.
- Clifford Tatum approved as Harris County’s next elections administrator.
- Alvin ISD offers variety of free parent workshops for raising children.
- Clear Creek ISD focuses on safety in coming year.
- Record percentage of Texas teachers considering quitting, survey shows.
- Officials from Pearland, Friendswood, Alvin ISDs react to TEA accountability ratings.
- Pearland to create webpage showing council members' business deals, finance reports.
- METRO makes weekend use of high-occupancy vehicle, toll lanes permanent.
