Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

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EnyoTX
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Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

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Post by EnyoTX »

Opinion piece by Tony Leal in the Houston Chronicle: A Texas Ranger calls for gun sense
For the past 34 years, I’ve carried a gun as part of my work to defend the U.S. Constitution.

My deep respect for the rights we all share has been shaped during more than 25 years in the Texas Department of Public Safety, including serving as chief of the Texas Rangers, and now as president of my own private security firm.

Despite having risked my life defending our constitutional rights — including the right to legally possess firearms - I now stand convinced that we must change our country’s gun laws for the good of us all: We, the people.

This is not a position I take lightly. My father was a Marine and a supervisor with the Texas Department of Corrections who carried a gun. I spent countless days as a kid in South Texas hunting with my rancher uncles, who still openly carry weapons to protect themselves and their property.

My brother recently retired after a long, proud career as a police officer. My son is a Marine veteran who defended our country in Iraq. He’s now a Texas Ranger and carries a gun every day to protect fellow Texans.

I know the important role legal firearms play in our society, but I’ve also been there for scenes like we all saw following the recent killings at Santa Fe High School.

I was at the scene during the shootout and fire in Waco that killed nearly 80 people.

I was in Fort Davis for the Republic of Texas standoff, which ended with their surrender and the death of one of their followers. We found enough bombs and ammunition to support an army.

I was in Atascosa County nearly 20 years ago when three officers were murdered and two others were shot by a man who had several high-powered rifles. He killed himself as we were closing in.

I have seen with my own eyes the destruction caused by dangerous, man-killing weapons, including guns with high-capacity magazines. Who can reasonably argue that someone needs a magazine that holds 30 rounds of ammunition for hunting deer?

Our laws reasonably agree that you are free to own a pistol to protect your home, and a rifle and shotgun to hunt. I’m saying we need changes to the law that would prevent unqualified people from having access to military-grade weapons designed for killing multiple adversaries in combat.

If you want to possess a more dangerous weapon, a man-killing weapon, then we should demand that you have a proper license. Such a license may include requirements for training, drug testing and continuing education.

If you do something adverse to the safety of others, like being chronically intoxicated or committing domestic violence, then you should lose your license because we, the people, cannot trust you. We must prevent these weapons from ending up in the hands of people who are bent on taking lives.

Events like Santa Fe and last year’s church shooting in Sutherland Springs are devastating to the surviving families, their communities and society in general. No one should have to go through that.

Since last year, Texas has seen four mass killings that claimed 49 lives and injured more than 40 others. It is heartbreaking and chilling how routine these tragedies have become despite our shared outrage. That is why now is the time for us to stand up and reclaim our rights and privileges as guaranteed by the Constitution.

My decision to support stricter standards for gun possession is not publicly shared by many people who I know and love. A lot of those who agree with me are afraid to say so for various reasons. Regardless, I can no longer endorse the status quo, which makes access to a dangerous weapon easier than applying for a driver’s license.

Through the years, our country has matured and evolved in many ways. That includes changes to our laws that have been demanded by we, the people, by clarifying ambiguity, conforming to present truths, and following what we know to be right.

When the law no longer protects our right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” decency demands that we responsibly challenge the status quo by making much-needed changes.
Amazing how many leftist gun control tropes he managed to deploy in his piece: "you don't need X to hunt deer", "easier than getting a driver's license", "high-powered rifles", etc. Like most leftists, he's also unaware that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is in the Declaration of Independence and not the Constitution.

"Because government agents killed dozens of people at Waco you should give up your guns" is certainly a novel gun control argument.
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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

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Post by puma guy »

I deeply respect and fully support law enforcement from top to bottom. I am just flabbergasted this guy was at the top and should know the laws and rights we are assured along with the full extent and meaning of the 2nd Amendment. He's an idiot. Sorry! If the Mods want me to eliminate my comment on him I will.
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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

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Post by BBYC »

The Second Amendment is about hunting.

It's about hunting those who violate our rights.
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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

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A member of the Art Acevedo school of law enforcement. It is surprising though how many high ups in law enforcement and military have the same philosophy. In the military there is the Peter principle and you get to be high up by.... you know. The people I know in law enforcement respect the 2A. But they are local and not the big political high ups. As long as they can carry whatever they want they don't care about you and me.
And this guy has never been hog hunting in Texas. Need big power and lots of it.

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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

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Post by K.Mooneyham »

I have nothing but respect for the Texas Rangers. Since I was a kid, I always considered them to be the closest thing to "uncorruptables" in our state. But, that man's rant really sticks in my craw. Pointing out a few extreme events to paint millions of owners of semi-automatic rifle owners as somehow extra-dangerous is sickening. And, with people like that in charge of an organization like the Rangers, how can we be sure they aren't going to do the bidding of people like Bloomberg, or Shannon Watts, or other "gun-grabbers". He's the exact sort that makes people hesitate to fully trust law-enforcement...and it's a shame he gets to put the vast majority of good officers in a bad light with his dirty politics.
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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

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rotor wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 1:07 pm A member of the Art Acevedo school of law enforcement. It is surprising though how many high ups in law enforcement and military have the same philosophy. In the military there is the Peter principle and you get to be high up by.... you know. The people I know in law enforcement respect the 2A. But they are local and not the big political high ups. As long as they can carry whatever they want they don't care about you and me.
And this guy has never been hog hunting in Texas. Need big power and lots of it.
:iagree:
I just finished our city's Citizen Police Academy training and every officer we had the honor of meeting, engaging with and participating in their presentations were all 2nd Amendment supporters, including the Chief. I chuckle when I hear military style weapons. They are too obtuse to realize the AR15 was a civilian weapon modified for military use and the civilian rifle is in now way a military style weapon. I think the M14 was the last personal weapon designed expressly by and for military use.
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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

#7

Post by Abraham »

puma guy & BBYC,

Spot on observations.

The thing I find odd is how many LEO's have a certain "aristocratic attitude" towards allowing mere citizens to defend themselves with firearms.

My level of respect for those like him and Art A. in Houston has taken a huge nosedive.

You Mr. LEO are not necessarily there when/if/ever I need you to intercede when a criminal is about to do harm to me or my family, or should I simply roll over and be a victim because your patrician vs. plebeian attitude ought to be observed, i.e., only 'you' can be trusted with a firearm...see youtube videos arguing against your 'only law enforcement nobility' get to safely carry firearms' attitude?

Sorry, your anal sphincter attitude (and like minded pals) is wearing might thin...

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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

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Post by twomillenium »

Well, it is obvious that he did not check with me on what was right or he would not have stated what he did.
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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

#9

Post by bblhd672 »

EnyoTX wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 12:37 pm Opinion piece by Tony Leal, OATHBREAKER, in the Houston Chronicle

"Because government agents killed dozens of people at Waco you should give up your guns" is certainly a novel gun control argument.
Former Ranger Leal has a lot of disgusting things to say, but using his presence at the mass murder of women and children by government agents to promote further disarming of citizens is at the top of the list.
The left lies about everything. Truth is a liberal value, and truth is a conservative value, but it has never been a left-wing value. People on the left say whatever advances their immediate agenda. Power is their moral lodestar; therefore, truth is always subservient to it. - Dennis Prager

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EnyoTX
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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

#10

Post by EnyoTX »

rotor wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 1:07 pm A member of the Art Acevedo school of law enforcement.
For a long time Acevedo was pushing vague "common sense gun reform". But recently he got very specific on Twitter by expressing support for the following:
  • Ban on "assault weapons"
  • Ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds
  • Ban on Internet ammo sales
These are exactly what you would expect from a leftist who fled California. Banning magazines used by the vast majority of handgun owners is an extremist position in Texas. You'd think journalists would point that out. Instead they conceal his extremist positions and portray him as some kind of moderate. Acevedo is entitled to his opinions, but he and his friends in the media should be honest about the fact that he's just another California Democrat who wants to turn Texas into California.

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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

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Post by MaduroBU »

Law enforcement officers have no legal duty to protect us. That's presuming that they could do so in any practical scenario, which they could not.

Defense of oneself and one's family remains the responsibility of the individual.

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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

#12

Post by ninjabread »

BBYC wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 12:52 pm The Second Amendment is about hunting.

It's about hunting those who violate our rights.
:thumbs2: And there's no closed season and no bag limits.
This is my opinion. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

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Post by The Annoyed Man »

I was at the scene during the shootout and fire in Waco that killed nearly 80 people.
Oh.... now THERE’S a ringing endorsement for his world view. :roll:

I wonder where he would have stood if Ruby Ridge had been in Texas.
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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

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The Annoyed Man wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 7:17 pm
I was at the scene during the shootout and fire in Waco that killed nearly 80 people.
Oh.... now THERE’S a ringing endorsement for his world view. :roll:

I wonder where he would have stood if Ruby Ridge had been in Texas.
Horiuchi's spotter?
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Re: Former chief of the Texas Rangers thinks 2A is about hunting

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puma guy wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 12:45 pm I deeply respect and fully support law enforcement from top to bottom. I am just flabbergasted this guy was at the top and should know the laws and rights we are assured along with the full extent and meaning of the 2nd Amendment. He's an idiot. Sorry! If the Mods want me to eliminate my comment on him I will.
I agree :iagree: He is an ...
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