Packin' heat on the Danger Train
The Chronicle is reporting that Metro will allow riders to carry licensed handguns on board its trains and buses:
Metro board members are expected to vote this afternoon to repeal the restriction, which has been in effect since 1995 after the Legislature voted to allow licensed owners to carry concealed handguns in most public places.
State Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who wrote the legislation as a state senator, has been a vocal critic of bans such as those adopted by Metro and many other government entities in Texas in response to the "right-to-carry" law.
He, the Texas State Rifle Association and four licensed Harris County gun owners sued Metro in 2003, seeking to overturn the ban. Now that Metro is dropping its policy, he said, he plans to challenge similar restrictions in other cities, probably starting with Austin's Capital Metro.
"They implemented these when there was collective hysteria from detractors, who said there would be blood in the streets and shootouts at every four-way stop," Patterson said. "None of that proved true."
[snip]
Patterson said the ban was essentially unenforceable and that many Metro riders already carry pistols.
"It was a prohibition against undetectable conduct because, by law, it is required for it to be concealed, to begin with," he said. "I have carried my handgun on Metro buses on at least three occasions because I knew it to be an unlawful restriction."
Metro doesn't even check to see if every passenger on the train has paid the fare, so it's not surprising Metro police haven't been checking for weapons.
I wonder if the "collective hysteria from detractors" included local media? Maybe we should keep our eyes peeled for a Chronicle editorial on this, although it is a local topic, so we'll need to give the editors at least a week to write one up.
("Danger Train" is what Kevin Whited has long called the light rail train on his PubliusTX blog.)
UPDATE: The Chronicle story now notes that the Metro board unanimously approved the policy change.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/27/05 07:26 AM | Print |
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