Anti-Gun Activists Claim To Seek 'Common Ground' In Texas

AP Photo/Brennan Linsley

There are some places where I’m baffled people even propose gun control. It’s generally not going to pass in these places, after all. You know the kind of places I’m talking about, too. The pro-gun states that the anti-gun zealots haven’t gotten more than a toehold in despite millions of dollars spent backing their candidates.

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States like Texas.

However, anti-gunners still think they can push gun control in the Lone Star State.

Reaching common ground on common-sense gun laws is what Texas Gun Sense and lawmakers who joined them in the Texas Capitol Tuesday morning hope to achieve this legislative session.

Three Austin representatives — Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin), Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin), Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D-Austin) — and Rep. Alfonso “Poncho” Nevarez (D-Eagle Pass) stood and spoke alongside members of the nonprofit that says it advocates for “common-sense, evidence-based policies to reduce gun injuries and deaths.”

Texas legislature tackles gun rules

This session is sporting over 180 bills related to guns. The advocacy group deems over 30 of those as “key good bills;” 10 are from the Senate and over 20 are from the House. The list ranges from a variety of topics including “safe storage” to disarming domestic abusers.

Some of the bills Texas Gun Sense touts on its list as “good” are among those on the National Rifle Association’s list of bills it says restrict Second Amendment rights. That non-profit, which advocates for the right to own firearms, opposes two of Dallas Democrat Rep. Rafael Anchia’s bills that made it on the Texas Gun Sense list: HB 1163, which lets municipalities set their own open carry regulations; and HB 1169 which would not allow someone to sell a firearm at a gun show without using a licensed dealer.

The Texas State Rifle Association Political Action Committee, which similarly advocates for the right to own guns, also has a list of bills it supports in this legislative session. One overlap between it and Texas Gun Sense’s list are a series of bills (SB 203, SB 61 and HB 1445) that would eliminate taxes on firearm safety materials.

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Now, this is ideal. This is finding common ground. I applaud Texas Gun Sense for actually having sense for a change. We should make it as easy as possible for safety materials to be obtained.

Good for them.

The problem is far too often that the idea of “common ground” is just a code phrase from anti-gunners to demand more from us.

You see, anti-gunners often use the language of the reasonable. They talk about “common ground” and “compromise” to appear to be rational and reasonable. But what they’re doing is demanding we give up still more ground while not giving up anything. Oh, they can talk about how they wanted something but “gave up” that to us, but they didn’t. They gave up nothing. They’re just getting a little less than their ideal.

If I negotiate a salary, and I ask for $200,000 and settle for $150,000, did I lose anything? No. I didn’t get as much as I asked for.

That’s what gun control groups routinely do. They demand the moon, settle for a little less, then pretend it was a compromise.

Yet I ask gun control activists one thing. What are you willing to give up?

For me to be willing to compromise, I have to get something in return. For example, if you want a federal red flag law, I’m going to want it structured to defend due process, and I want national reciprocity in return. You see, I don’t want a red flag law, but I really want national reciprocity. This is the nature of compromise. I get something I want, you get something you want, but neither of us is really happy about the outcome.

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At least in Texas, there are a few points the two sides seem to be agreeing on. That’s good. Far too often, gun control activists who say they’re “seeking common ground” really are telling us we’re wrong.

But don’t expect this to last. A tiger doesn’t change his stripes and a gun grabber is still gonna grab. After all, just look at the other bills they’re backing.

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