Bartholomew Roberts
Moderator
http://www.msnbc.com/msn/471572.asp
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
"Felons had guns under Texas law
Report: Bill signed by Bush let arrestees conceal weapons
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 3 — More than 400 people were issued licenses to carry concealed guns in Texas despite prior convictions under a law Gov. George W. Bush, the Republican presidential nominee, signed in 1995, saying it would make the state “a safer place.”
'If there are no clues, no reasons to suspect a problem, then we don’t go knocking on doors.'
Maj. Lee Smith
Texas state police
THOSE PRIOR CONVICTIONS include rape, armed robbery and histories of violence, psychological disorders and drug or alcohol problems, the Los Angeles Times reported in Tuesday’s editions.
Some 215,000 Texans are licensed to carry concealed weapons. And more than 3,000 of them have been arrested for crimes that include double murder and drunken driving.
Texas will not release the names of problem licensees or details of their crimes. The screening and license enforcement process is closed to public scrutiny and exempt from open records laws. The state Department of Public Safety provides only lists with no names of those license holders subject to disciplinary action.
But the newspaper traced many of the most serious law violators through interviews, police reports, court records and other documents, as well as computer-assisted analyses of state and national databases.
LIMITED TIME FOR CHECKS
Texas authorities only have 60 days to conduct background checks and they routinely issue licenses before the process is completed. So far, retroactive revocation actions have been launched against the more than 400 people before officials got the out-of-state crime records, the newspaper reported.
Background checks do not routinely include interviews with the applicant or family and friends. State law requires only review of “local official records” and criminal history records.
“If there are no clues, no reasons to suspect a problem, then we don’t go knocking on doors,” said state police Maj. Lee Smith, whose troopers conduct the local checks.
Troopers do not routinely investigate an applicant’s mental or medical history beyond a search of local public records unless suspicious information is discovered.
David Gavin, DPS’s assistant chief of administration for the concealed handgun authority, said background checks are not as thorough as for those applicants seeking state trooper jobs. He said such inquiries would be costly and time-consuming.
“We feel we’re effectively using the resources we have available,” Gavin said.
He blamed some of the early problems on slow FBI response to a deluge of requests for out-of-state crime records in the early years of the program. He said state officials decided to issue licenses despite incomplete background checks to avoid causing delay “for the vast majority of good applicants” who were going to pass anyway. Gavin said his staff acted “in a quick and sure manner” to rescind permits when disqualifying information was discovered.
CRIMINAL PASTS UNCOVERED
But the newspaper’s investigation identified dozens of cases of criminal histories that should have been available in Texas courts and in the investigative files of police agencies.
Bush has said he would not seek a nationwide version of the Texas concealed gun law if elected, saying that should be left to states to decide.
When Bush signed the legislation during in his first term some gun proponents complained about some of its restrictions — particularly measures disqualifying applicants for such things as overdue taxes and child support.
At the signing ceremony, Bush declared the law a fulfillment of his campaign pledge and part of “an anti-crime package.”
The DPS was designated the state’s licensing authority. Officials set aside permit No. 1 for Bush and No. 11 for his wife Laura. Neither has applied for the license.
Two years later, Bush approved expanding the law to allow concealed weapons in churches, amusement parks and hospitals." [/quote]
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Isn't this amazing? We can't get any discussion of the 575,000 felons given a free pass from prosecution on gun crimes by the Clinton administration; but allow 400 out of 212,000 people to hold a CCW even for a short time and its a major issue.
I'd also like to see someone rephrase the Bush CCW law in the last paragraph as an issue of choice. The law Bush signed didn't allow carry in these places - it allowed these places to make that decision for themselves.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
"Felons had guns under Texas law
Report: Bill signed by Bush let arrestees conceal weapons
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 3 — More than 400 people were issued licenses to carry concealed guns in Texas despite prior convictions under a law Gov. George W. Bush, the Republican presidential nominee, signed in 1995, saying it would make the state “a safer place.”
'If there are no clues, no reasons to suspect a problem, then we don’t go knocking on doors.'
Maj. Lee Smith
Texas state police
THOSE PRIOR CONVICTIONS include rape, armed robbery and histories of violence, psychological disorders and drug or alcohol problems, the Los Angeles Times reported in Tuesday’s editions.
Some 215,000 Texans are licensed to carry concealed weapons. And more than 3,000 of them have been arrested for crimes that include double murder and drunken driving.
Texas will not release the names of problem licensees or details of their crimes. The screening and license enforcement process is closed to public scrutiny and exempt from open records laws. The state Department of Public Safety provides only lists with no names of those license holders subject to disciplinary action.
But the newspaper traced many of the most serious law violators through interviews, police reports, court records and other documents, as well as computer-assisted analyses of state and national databases.
LIMITED TIME FOR CHECKS
Texas authorities only have 60 days to conduct background checks and they routinely issue licenses before the process is completed. So far, retroactive revocation actions have been launched against the more than 400 people before officials got the out-of-state crime records, the newspaper reported.
Background checks do not routinely include interviews with the applicant or family and friends. State law requires only review of “local official records” and criminal history records.
“If there are no clues, no reasons to suspect a problem, then we don’t go knocking on doors,” said state police Maj. Lee Smith, whose troopers conduct the local checks.
Troopers do not routinely investigate an applicant’s mental or medical history beyond a search of local public records unless suspicious information is discovered.
David Gavin, DPS’s assistant chief of administration for the concealed handgun authority, said background checks are not as thorough as for those applicants seeking state trooper jobs. He said such inquiries would be costly and time-consuming.
“We feel we’re effectively using the resources we have available,” Gavin said.
He blamed some of the early problems on slow FBI response to a deluge of requests for out-of-state crime records in the early years of the program. He said state officials decided to issue licenses despite incomplete background checks to avoid causing delay “for the vast majority of good applicants” who were going to pass anyway. Gavin said his staff acted “in a quick and sure manner” to rescind permits when disqualifying information was discovered.
CRIMINAL PASTS UNCOVERED
But the newspaper’s investigation identified dozens of cases of criminal histories that should have been available in Texas courts and in the investigative files of police agencies.
Bush has said he would not seek a nationwide version of the Texas concealed gun law if elected, saying that should be left to states to decide.
When Bush signed the legislation during in his first term some gun proponents complained about some of its restrictions — particularly measures disqualifying applicants for such things as overdue taxes and child support.
At the signing ceremony, Bush declared the law a fulfillment of his campaign pledge and part of “an anti-crime package.”
The DPS was designated the state’s licensing authority. Officials set aside permit No. 1 for Bush and No. 11 for his wife Laura. Neither has applied for the license.
Two years later, Bush approved expanding the law to allow concealed weapons in churches, amusement parks and hospitals." [/quote]
-----------------------------------
Isn't this amazing? We can't get any discussion of the 575,000 felons given a free pass from prosecution on gun crimes by the Clinton administration; but allow 400 out of 212,000 people to hold a CCW even for a short time and its a major issue.
I'd also like to see someone rephrase the Bush CCW law in the last paragraph as an issue of choice. The law Bush signed didn't allow carry in these places - it allowed these places to make that decision for themselves.
