Florida man with firearms arrested near Bush ranch.

The article does not mention if there were handguns or long guns involved. If it was rifles, or shotguns, and the guy owned them legally in the state of Florida, then he is covered by the Firearm Owners Protection Act. He will be out by nightfall. Texas then better brace for the lawsuit.;)
 
A Florida man was in jail Sunday after driving a car containing firearms near President-elect George W. Bush's Crawford ranch Saturday evening.

The suspect, John Michael Hughes, 29, of Pensacola, Fla., was driving a car near Prairie Chapel Road and Rainey Road at about 6 p.m. Saturday, said Sheriff Larry Lynch.

He was arrested by Deputy Terry Fuller, who is assigned to Bush's security detail.

Lynch said Fuller was at the ranch that evening, but didn't know if Bush was there at the time. Bush's motorcade left Crawford Sunday morning to return to Austin.

The sheriff wouldn't go into the specifics of Hughes' arrest.

"All the details of that, we can't make public at this time," Lynch said.

Hughes apparently didn't take the entrance to Bush's ranch, Lynch said. No shots were fired and there were no reported injuries.

The number of guns retrieved from the vehicle is still being investigated.

Authorities said Hughes was alone. What he was doing in Crawford remains unknown, Lynch said.

"We don't know yet," the sheriff said. "Everything is still under investigation at this point."

Hughes was charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon, a Class A misdemeanor, and remained in the McLennan County Jail Sunday evening in lieu of $10,000 bond, officials said.

An employee at Bush's press office in Austin wouldn't answer any queries Sunday evening.
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So he was driving on a public road in a state that allows transport of firearms by car? And he was near Bush's ranch? Not on Bush's ranch, but near it.

You know, the Liar-in-Chief was in my town a while back, and the road to the shooting range goes right past the airport. I guess that puts me in league with Lee Harvey Oswald and John Hinckley. Move over, fellas...
 
And another thing...

"The number of guns retrieved from the vehicle is still being investigated."

"Let's see...one, two, four..no!..two...Darn!...one, two, five...wait...one...
 
quote:
"Hughes was charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon,a Class A misdemeanor, and remained in the McLennan County Jail Sunday evening in lieu of $10,000 bond, officials said."

The Class A misdemeanor charge tells me a handgun was involved. I believe that there are no laws against carrying long guns in Texas. (someone correct me if I am remembering this wrong.)
 
I thought - no joke - that you could drive in Texas with your handgun accessible as long as you didn't also have an open container of alcoholic beverage accessible. And vice versa.
 
And if he was enroute from Florida to elsewhere, he is covered under the "travelling" clause in Texas law. (unless it was repealled since July.) I think that the cops are just over reacting to protect Bush from all of his avowed enemies and from Gore's supporters.

They can be a bit over zealous. I was nearly in trouble when I reached into my pocket to photograph Reagan when he was out on the street in DC. The SS saw the camera before he actually drew his weapon. I can't say that I blame them.

Let's wait until all of the details are out. I remember that poor Jordainian engineer who was arrested and spent too long in a holding tank after the OK City bombing. He was practically convicted before we knew anymore than his nationality.
 
Gorthaur - The Texas law states that (if you do not have Concealed Handgun License) it is a legal defense to carry a handgun if you are "travelling". The law does not define "travelling". :confused: This means that if you get arrested you can use the travelling point as a defense in court. It's much better to have a CHL and take all the subjectiveness out of it. ;)
 
McNeill is correct, 'travelling' is a Defense to prosecution in Texas, and 'travelling' has never been defined. And we'd like to keep it that way, thanks.

Unlawful Carry of a Weapon is defined as having a 'handgun, illegal knife or club on or about your person'.

So, there had to be at least one pistol in the car within reach of the driver. Which kind of makes me wonder what the original stop was for.

This is a semi-joke folks, spoken by an ex-small town deputy, so take it in that light: If I were on duty at the Bush residence, and I saw a car with Florida plates and a Gore/Libermann bumpersticker drive around the area real slow -- after the recent gradoo in Florida with the squealing and squalling of the Gore camp -- I'd stop the car to discuss the weather with the driver, too.

And considering the screaming and pontificating about 'Nazi tactics' and 'stealing of elections by Bush' done by the likes of Jesse Jackson and his ilk, if the driver was armed, I'd probably throw his butt in jail for whatever misdemeanor offense I could dredge up.

Then I'd have him down to the County Judge ASAP, plea him out to Spitting on a Public Roadway, Crushing Bluebonnets, or whatever else he'd accept, take many, many photos to be given to Secret Service, DPS, Rangers and whomever else might be involved in Bush family security, and park his butt on a plane back to Florida with advice to stay well clear of the President-Elect and his family.

But that's just me.

LawDog
 
They'll check his ammunition. If the primers are dimpled, that indicates that he intended to shoot GW and he's obviously guilty :rolleyes:
 
More info is needed. But some TX agencies have been over zealous in recent times in busting folks for gun charges when they didn't like the dude for political/racial/hornery reasons.

So let's just see what happens.
 
Anyone on for a wager?

If he's an ordinary joe, traveling through, he'll get the book thrown at him. If he's a rabid democrat, grinding on the axe, he'll get a slap on the wrist...
 
Also must mean the guy doesn't have a Florida CCW permit, since reciprocity with Texas was passed recently.
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Cool. Is it still easy for a non-Floridian to get a Florida CCW? I don't have any reason to ever go to Florida, but if an out-of-state CCW from there is honored in other states....
 
I think LawDog got it right. Better to err on the side of caution.

If I were the guy in the car, and if I didn't know that I was near the Bush ranch (that's a stretch), I would still be very sympathetic to the officer given our recent national ordeal.
 
>>Cool. Is it still easy for a non-Floridian to get a Florida CCW? I don't have any reason to ever go to Florida, but if an out-of-state CCW from there is honored in other states....<<

Yes, you can get an out of state permit fairly easily. Just contact the Florida Department of State.
However be forewarned, some states reciprocity only extends to citizens of the state from which they have the permit.
 
We don't know all the facts. Remember, the police will with-hold information from the news until it is corroborated by a suspect or informant. Maybe this guy had a friend in Florida who "dropped a dime" on him. Maybe we'll find out later it was case of being too carefull. Time will tell.
 
Texas and "Travelling"

This is not defined by statute. It is defined by court precedent, going well back before the invention of the automobile.

The current body of precedent holds that "travelling" means out of home county, for an overnight stay.

During such travel, YOU are responsible for your safety. Once you arrive at your destination, your safety is held by state courts to be the duty of local law enforcement.

Technically, upon arriving at your destination city, you should unload the handgun and lock it in the trunk of your car.

I find it ironic that in the days of horseback travel, the danger was indeed mostly away from towns--but today, with the maximum danger being in the cities, the courts are working exactly backwards as regards safety.

Regards, Art
 
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