TexasCHLforum.com

Thanks for the good words guys. You are welcome to use it. I'd suggest making some changes to my wordings if you can so it wouldn't look too much like a "form" letter.

My letter to my state Representative:

Dear Representative Laudenberg,

I write to solict your support in voting against HB 595 authored by Representative Yvonne Davis of Dallas.

HB 595 seeks to limit the Second Amendment rights of Texas citizens by limiting the purchase of firearms to one (1) per 30 day period.

Individuals wishing to secure a firearm for personal protection or other legal use would be required to complete a form and submit it to the DPS to secure ''permission'' to buy. DPS would have to verify that the person had not purchased a firearm in the previous thirty (30) day period and sent the applicant a document permitting them to buy a firearm. Once a dealer sells a firearm, the sale and the purchasers name must be reported back to DPS.

What purpose does this bill serve other than to infringe on the rights of law abiding citizens? It will not keep guns out of the hands of criminals. It will not prevent crime. What business it of the state or anyone else how many firearms a law abiding citizen buys or owns?

The logistics of administering this proposed bill would be nightmareish at best. Tax dollars should be spent on meaningful programs not something like this.

Jersey City, New Jersey recently passed an ordinance that was similar to the bill proposed by Rep. Davis. The stated purpose was to prevent crime. However, a New Jersey Superior Court judge has ruled the ordiance invalid, declaring it violated equal protection and was ''arbritary and capricious''.

I appreciate your service to the citizens of Rockwall and Rockwall County. I would appreciate your review of this restrictive bill and your vote against it.

Sincerely,

Charles is correct. This bill would be almost impossible to administer. DPS will be required to submit a fiscal note estimating the agency's costs to administer this program. The costs would be astronomical for DPS and the bill provides for no fees to off-set any costs. That could happen! Imagine having to pay a fee of $50 - $100 to buy a gun. What about turn-around time? Its taking 2 months or longer to process a CHL- but again that could be her intent. I think the DPS fiscal note will help kill this bill. The legislature is tight with its money and will be very reluctant to divert funds from other pet agencies or projects to provide the funding necessary to create the Bureaucracy needed to administer this nightmare of a bill.

I can tell you that DPS will not want any part of administering this program. Each session, the legislature loads DPS down with new requirements and programs to administer and either does not provide any funding - mandating that DPS find the personnel in its currrent FTE employee cap (Full Time Equivalent) or provides some insufficent amount of funding that starts a program, but not enough to do the job in an efficent manner. They don't want any more mandated programs.