Texas legislative session

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Wild Bill 1896

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There are just a couple of weeks left in this session. HB1862 has to get out of committee in the senate, pass the senate, and be signed in both houses. Polite notes of support might help.
 
Another "scary weapons" bill. It originally contained a long list of scary weapons (including a switchblade) making them a 3rd degree felony to possess, transfer, etc. Switchblad has since been removed but it still contains "knuckles" and a few others. It has passed the house and sits in the Criminal Justice committee in the Senate. If no revisions are made and the senate passes it, it goes to Governor for signature. If any amendments are made, it must return to the house for reconciliation (to work out the differences). The best chance of stopping this bill is to call any of the Criminal Justice committee members and voice your objections. If you live in the district of the Committee chair, he can even prevent it from coming up for a vote. Unfortunately, the committee chair, Senator John Whitmire (D)(512) 463-0115 is from Houston, is a democrat (as is the bill's author Dutton) so good luck with that. So counting Whitmire out, the best course of action might be to call Joan Huffman (R), Vice Chair (512) 463-0117. The OTHER MEMBERS might be worth calling too. The bill is a worthless bill as there are already other laws covering all of the aforementioned "weapons". The bill's author is Dutton, a democrat looking for some good press outlawing evil weapons. Here is the text of the law (<--URL link) as it stands now.
 
jasonp said:
Another "scary weapons" bill. ... The best chance of stopping this bill
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With all due respect, your understanding of this bill is totally INCORRECT!

The bill LEGALIZES the possession of switchblade knives in Texas. That's all it does, which is a pretty darn good thing.

What you are reading is the already existing state law with the changes striking the switchblade language noted.

Our lobbyist will respond in more detail this evening.

Please call to SUPPORT this bill and rid Texas of the absurd and irrational ban on automatics!
 
I am confused......this bill deals only with "switchblades"? I saw a line about spring knives too.....which is scary because a lot of knives have springs in them.
 
I am more concerned with the laws regarding other knives, do all of the other laws regarding length, etc remain the same?
 
Earnie/Jason -

The only change this bill makes is to make switchblades LEGAL. It's purpose is to get rid of some of that "scary knife" law. Everything else in Texas knife law remains the same.

Another bill, HB 1299, was a pre-emption law that would prevent cities from passing laws that were MORE restrictive than state law. It made it to the calendar but was the last item on it and the House never got that far before they quit / ran out of time. Hopefully, this bill will be re-introduced next session, along with others beneficial to knife owners/users.
 
Thanks for clearing that up! The bill about setting restrictive local laws is the one that is most interesting to me. I have to choose carefully when I go so SA because of their prohibitive laws! If its a state law, then individual cities should not be able to make their own bans.
 
Yep. But the problem is that bill (the pre-emption bill) failed to clear the house, so unless there is some way that the lobbyists and House sponsors can figure out a way for it to be added to a Senate bill as an amendment, the pre-emption bill will be dead until next session.
 
Ahh, I see. It is the original law that has existed since...well forever and the removal of the the "switchblade" is the actual amendment being proposed? I hadn't even looked at the original law. If that's the case, then I reverse my original opinion lol. I hadn't considered that the could be an actual amendment to the long standing Texas prohibition on "switchblades". That's why I wrote about there already being laws in place lol. I've always thought it I ronic that you could go to Wal Mart and buy a Glock 21 but not a switchblade. I must eat some crow here and give an attaboy to a democrat....I just threw up a little :)
Thanks for the clarification critter. I've been dealing with legislative issues here in Texas for some time and the twists and turns and back door deals can make your head spin. Since there is such a short time left, tell your lobbyist (assuming it gets stuck in committee) to see if he can get it stuck on as a rider on some funding bill as a last resort. I'm sure he already knows that but we had to suggest it to our lobbyist a couple of times so he'd push it. Some legislators are hesitant to do it but it's worth a shot.
 
HB1862, the bill to repeal the antiquated law banning the possession of switchblade knives in Texas, has yet to be scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. It is critical that HB1862 be heard and voted on by this Saturday, May 18th, or it will die.

CALL and EMAIL Chairman Sen. John Whitmire TODAY and ask him to please schedule HB1862 for a hearing and please vote YES on HB1862 before Saturday's deadline.

Senator John Whitmire: 512-463-0115 john.whitmire@senate.state.tx.us

When you call and email, keep it polite, short and to the point. Simply ask Chairman Whitmire to please schedule the hearing and vote YES on HB1862. That's all you need to say and write.
 
jasonp said:
Ahh, I see. It is the original law that has existed since...well forever and the removal of the the "switchblade" is the actual amendment being proposed? I hadn't even looked at the original law. If that's the case, then I reverse my original opinion lol. I hadn't considered that the could be an actual amendment to the long standing Texas prohibition on "switchblades". That's why I wrote about there already being laws in place lol. I've always thought it I ronic that you could go to Wal Mart and buy a Glock 21 but not a switchblade. I must eat some crow here and give an attaboy to a democrat....I just threw up a little :)
Thanks for the clarification critter. I've been dealing with legislative issues here in Texas for some time and the twists and turns and back door deals can make your head spin. Since there is such a short time left, tell your lobbyist (assuming it gets stuck in committee) to see if he can get it stuck on as a rider on some funding bill as a last resort. I'm sure he already knows that but we had to suggest it to our lobbyist a couple of times so he'd push it. Some legislators are hesitant to do it but it's worth a shot.
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You guys have all figured it out. HB1862 is a GOOD knife bill. It needs to pass. It removes the ban on SWB knives in TX. If it is not heard by Saturday it will be dead so PLEASE call and email asap to try to convince the chairman to hear it and vote YES. There is NO reason to assume he is opposed to it but they have a lot of bills to consider by Saturday so be polite and ask for a hearing asap!

Thank you so much for your interest in this important bill. Also please contribute to Knife Rights the ONLY organization actively fighting for your right to own knives every day! It costs a lot of money to send me to Austin for every hearing and bill so please take a few minutes and enter our raffle www.kniferights.org

Todd Rathner
 
According to the state legislature's site, HB1862 is scheduled for a hearing tomorrow, the 16th.

I've asked my state representative to try to attach HB1299 to another bill as an amendment. I thought it was worth a shot.
 
Wild Bill 1896 said:
According to the state legislature's site, HB1862 is scheduled for a hearing tomorrow, the 16th.
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Todd, our Knife Rights lobbyist, has been working hard on this bill and is now back in Austin to testify and lobby legislators one on one.

Your emails and calls do make a difference and are a big help when he talks to legislators.
 
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I called and spoke with the Chairman's legislative person. I called a couple of the other one's but since I'm in a different district, they just log your support and don't care to hear your details of reasons that you support it. I did call two senators that I know personally (and have donated decent sums) and asked for their support of it. They said they would support it if it comes to the floor. keep your fingers corssed
 
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Wild Bill 1896 said:
Left pending in committee.

Now what?
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Our bill got held yesterday as a result of a conflict between the sponsor and the Chairman over an unrelated matter have nothing to do with our bill, it has just become a pawn in what is an escalating battle. Todd is in Austin working on it.
 
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