With over 17 million people in the state of Texas owning over 68 million firearms, it is apparent that Texas has one of the largest populations of gun owners in the country. Texans, more than the citizens of most other states, enjoy exercising their 2nd amendment rights. However, Texas senator Rodney Ellis has proposed a bill to the senate that will prevent the ownership of firearms possessing certain features, most of them cosmetic, that will place them under the new title of “Assault Weapons”. This bill is nearly identical to the federal bill that was passed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994, and was allowed to expire on September 30th 2004 after studies had shown it to be ineffective.
I can only imagine two purposes for Senator Ellis to introduce this bill. The first of which, is to try and prevent crimes that are commited with these types of weapons. However, studies during and after the 1994 assault weapons ban, show that prior to the ban, less than 2% of all crimes commited, were commited with an “assault weapon”. During the ban, this number did not change significantly in the ten years of the ban. The other possibility, is that Senator Ellis is trying to pave the way for a total ban of all firearms in Texas. This is a serious and dangerous possibility. In our nation's capital, Washington DC, it has been illegal since 1976 to possess in one's home, any type of firearm that is unlocked and fully assembled. Today, Washington DC is the murder capital of the world.
Your constitutional rights are at stake in this matter, and we should not let them go without a fight. I urge you to become informed, and educate yourself not just on this matter, but on all matters that will affect us as a nation. Don't let your opinion go unheard, write to your representatives and tell them how you feel on this matter and others. Thank you.
