Texas House Speaker Calls In State Troopers To Intimidate Gun Rights Activist

[Swordsmyth]

Constitutional Carry appears to be dead in Texas, and now the free speech of a gun rights organization hangs in the balance.
On March 27, Texas state troopers were sent to Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s home in Lake Jackson, Texas in light of concerns that a gun rights activist was heading there to canvass and inform voters of Bonnen’s questionable leadership.
The activist in question is Chris McNutt, the Executive Director of Texas Gun Rights.
McNutt had already canvassed the districts of State Representatives Four Price and Dustin Burrows, two of Bonnen’s chief lieutenants in the State House.


After a successful canvassing effort and social media campaign targeting these districts, Bonnen felt the heat and decided to send DPS to intimidate the gun rights activist when he dropped by his district.
According to a recent report from Texas Gun Rights, rumors around the Texas State Capitol are suggesting that Bonnen is considering an investigation of the pro-gun group.
Should Bonnen go through with this investigation, Texas Gun Right’s free speech rights could be potentially at risk.
Derek Willis, the Senior Editor of Lone Star Gun Rights, saw this incident as a revelation of Bonnen’s pro-establishment tendencies.

The gun rights activist said, “Bonnen has finally admitted publicly that he believes Constitutional Carry is a bad policy. We have applied pressure to get him to prioritize HB357, and he is using the act of placing flyers on people’s doors as an excuse to kill it.”
Willis then added:

He knows we will hold him responsible, so in an act of desperation, he is using grassroots advocates as a scapegoat. Unfortunately for him, all this does is expose his corruption and prove he intended on killing it from day one.
​

A few days after this incident with DPS took place, Chris McNutt broke the silence on the Texas Gun Rights Facebook page in a video.
McNutt denounced Bonnen’s tactics saying “Instead of taking accountability for his own actions. for blocking Constitutional Carry, he [Bonnen] would rather find a scapegoat to avoid the heat of his own pro-gun constituents.”


Texas’s Constitutional Carry bill, HB 357, has been a rallying point for pro-gun activists during the 2019 legislative session.
However, it has encountered numerous roadblocks thanks to the leadership of establishment Republicans like Speaker Dennis Bonnen.
BLP reported how Bonnen appointed anti-gun Democrat Poncho Nevarez to the Homeland Security Committee, where all gun rights legislation is usually heard.
With these facts considered, Constitutional Carry appears to be on its last legs during the 2019 session.
The “Beto” mania of 2018 saw a troubling set of trends that flipped urban centers throughout the state blue.
In fact, gun rights activists lost a major champion in former State Representative Matt Rinaldi during this election cycle.
As migration trends start to change the demographics of Texas, the politics will likely follow suit.
Soon scenarios like the one that occurred in Florida in 2018, where then Republican Governor Rick Scott signed gun control into law, could potentially become a reality in Texas.
In sum, gun rights activists will have their hands full in the 2020 election cycle.

https://bigleaguepolitics.com/texas...e-troopers-to-intimidate-gun-rights-activist/
[MENTION=33245]TheTexan[/MENTION]

 

[TheTexan]

Constitutional Carry appears to be dead in Texas, and now the free speech of a gun rights organization hangs in the balance.
On March 27, Texas state troopers were sent to Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s home in Lake Jackson, Texas in light of concerns that a gun rights activist was heading there to canvass and inform voters of Bonnen’s questionable leadership.
The activist in question is Chris McNutt, the Executive Director of Texas Gun Rights.
McNutt had already canvassed the districts of State Representatives Four Price and Dustin Burrows, two of Bonnen’s chief lieutenants in the State House.


After a successful canvassing effort and social media campaign targeting these districts, Bonnen felt the heat and decided to send DPS to intimidate the gun rights activist when he dropped by his district.
According to a recent report from Texas Gun Rights, rumors around the Texas State Capitol are suggesting that Bonnen is considering an investigation of the pro-gun group.
Should Bonnen go through with this investigation, Texas Gun Right’s free speech rights could be potentially at risk.
Derek Willis, the Senior Editor of Lone Star Gun Rights, saw this incident as a revelation of Bonnen’s pro-establishment tendencies.

The gun rights activist said, “Bonnen has finally admitted publicly that he believes Constitutional Carry is a bad policy. We have applied pressure to get him to prioritize HB357, and he is using the act of placing flyers on people’s doors as an excuse to kill it.”
Willis then added:

He knows we will hold him responsible, so in an act of desperation, he is using grassroots advocates as a scapegoat. Unfortunately for him, all this does is expose his corruption and prove he intended on killing it from day one.
​

A few days after this incident with DPS took place, Chris McNutt broke the silence on the Texas Gun Rights Facebook page in a video.
McNutt denounced Bonnen’s tactics saying “Instead of taking accountability for his own actions. for blocking Constitutional Carry, he [Bonnen] would rather find a scapegoat to avoid the heat of his own pro-gun constituents.”


Texas’s Constitutional Carry bill, HB 357, has been a rallying point for pro-gun activists during the 2019 legislative session.
However, it has encountered numerous roadblocks thanks to the leadership of establishment Republicans like Speaker Dennis Bonnen.
BLP reported how Bonnen appointed anti-gun Democrat Poncho Nevarez to the Homeland Security Committee, where all gun rights legislation is usually heard.
With these facts considered, Constitutional Carry appears to be on its last legs during the 2019 session.
The “Beto” mania of 2018 saw a troubling set of trends that flipped urban centers throughout the state blue.
In fact, gun rights activists lost a major champion in former State Representative Matt Rinaldi during this election cycle.
As migration trends start to change the demographics of Texas, the politics will likely follow suit.
Soon scenarios like the one that occurred in Florida in 2018, where then Republican Governor Rick Scott signed gun control into law, could potentially become a reality in Texas.
In sum, gun rights activists will have their hands full in the 2020 election cycle.

https://bigleaguepolitics.com/texas...e-troopers-to-intimidate-gun-rights-activist/
[MENTION=33245]TheTexan[/MENTION]

It's really a shame that one of our strongest supporters of the 2nd amendment has to put up with that kind of harassment.

I'll be giving Dennis a call first thing in the morning to let him know he has my complete support, as always.

The gun rights activist said, “Bonnen has finally admitted publicly that he believes Constitutional Carry is a bad policy

These 2nd amendment extremists make all of us look bad.

 

[brushfire]

Only recently has TX been starting to live up to their firearms reputation.

Once upon a time, in TX, one could legally discharge a firearm from a vehicle, while having open alcohol in said vehicle.

I have confidence that with more people opting to open carry, that constitutional carry will not be too far out. Press on, TX...

 

[Matt Collins]

It's really a shame that one of our strongest supporters of the 2nd amendment has to put up with that kind of harassment.

I'll be giving Dennis a call first thing in the morning to let him know he has my complete support, as always.



These 2nd amendment extremists make all of us look bad.

You're joking, right?

 

[unknown]

You're joking, right?

Yes.

 

[TheTexan]

You're joking, right?

I don't joke about gun licenses. It's a sensitive subject for me because I've been held at gunpoint by someone who definitely didn't have a license (he was black). I had no idea whether or not he was going to shoot me or even if he knew how to handle a gun safely.

If he were to have had a valid license to carry a handgun, I would have felt much safer through that entire process.

So imagine my horror when I heard Texas was considering removing licenses altogether?? Did these people just want people to die?

Suffice it to say that I could not allow that to happen.

 

[ATruepatriot]

I don't joke about gun licenses. It's a sensitive subject for me because I've been held at gunpoint by someone who definitely didn't have a license (he was black). I had no idea whether or not he was going to shoot me or even if he knew how to handle a gun safely.

If he were to have had a valid license to carry a handgun, I would have felt much safer through that entire process.

So imagine my horror when I heard Texas was considering removing licenses altogether?? Did these people just want people to die?

Suffice it to say that I could not allow that to happen.

Are you being sarcastic here? I helped give safety classes for concealed carry permits for awhile, and I can tell you with great confidence that 60 percent of the people who pass the course requirements are still in no way safer than an equal percentage of those who do not take safety classes. You can be just as unsafe around someone who has a license as someone without. There is absolutely no difference between licensed or not when it comes to safe handling. We had dozens who passed the state requirements yet as they walked away with their certificate all we could do is shake our heads and say "he's going to shoot somebody by accident someday".

 

[TheTexan]

Are you being sarcastic here? I helped give safety classes for concealed carry permits for awhile, and I can tell you with great confidence that 60 percent of the people who pass the course requirements are still in no way safer than an equal percentage of those who do not take safety classes. You can be just as unsafe around someone who has a license as someone without. There is absolutely no difference between licensed or not when it comes to safe handling. We had dozens who passed the state requirements yet as they walked away with their certificate all we could do is shake our heads and say "he's going to shoot somebody by accident someday".

In Texas its a well-known statistic that people who have a valid carry license are much less likely to commit gun crimes than those who do not.

So instead of getting rid of licenses, we should be encouraging everyone to get a license. If we were help at-risk youth in poor neighborhoods get a license, then instead of becoming a drug dealer or gang member, he could be a doctor or a lawyer or even President some day.

The statistics show that if everyone had a carry license, crime would drop dramatically.

 

[ATruepatriot]

In Texas its a well-known statistic that people who have a valid carry license are much less likely to commit gun crimes than those who do not.

So instead of getting rid of licenses, we should be encouraging everyone to get a license. If we were help at-risk youth in poor neighborhoods get a license, then instead of becoming a drug dealer or gang member, he could be a doctor or a lawyer or even President some day.

The statistics show that if everyone had a carry license, crime would drop dramatically.

I know all about crime dropping when everyone has a right to carry open and concealed both with and without a permit, Arizona. Here you don't know if that snake has fangs or not so you best just leave it alone. This has been the best deterrent against crime possible that I have seen yet in my years. Constitutional carry reduces crime even more than if everyone was licensed.

A criminal is going to carry a firearm license or not. Law abiding citizens should have right to the same advantage.

 

[Danke]

I don't joke about gun licenses. It's a sensitive subject for me because I've been held at gunpoint by someone who definitely didn't have a license (he was black). I had no idea whether or not he was going to shoot me or even if he knew how to handle a gun safely.

If he were to have had a valid license to carry a handgun, I would have felt much safer through that entire process.

So imagine my horror when I heard Texas was considering removing licenses altogether?? Did these people just want people to die?

Suffice it to say that I could not allow that to happen.

Maybe he was just hunting....Texans.

 

[TheTexan]

Maybe he was just hunting....Texans.

Most Texans are quite large, he would have needed a big-game license to do that.

 

[oyarde]

Most Texans are quite large, he would have needed a big-game license to do that.

Quick Draw McGraw may have been a texan but pretty sure his sidekick , Baba Looey was a Mexican . The bloodhound , Snuffles was of mysterious origin ( possibly an untrustworthy Georgian ). I think only Quick Draw had a gun permit .

 

[Swordsmyth]

Are you being sarcastic here? I helped give safety classes for concealed carry permits for awhile, and I can tell you with great confidence that 60 percent of the people who pass the course requirements are still in no way safer than an equal percentage of those who do not take safety classes. You can be just as unsafe around someone who has a license as someone without. There is absolutely no difference between licensed or not when it comes to safe handling. We had dozens who passed the state requirements yet as they walked away with their certificate all we could do is shake our heads and say "he's going to shoot somebody by accident someday".

The Texican is almost always sarcastic, it's a humor account.

 

[ATruepatriot]

The Texican is almost always sarcastic, it's a humor account.

I'm catching on...

 

[Swordsmyth]

Texas State Rep. Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford) shocked his pro-Constitution constituents by siding with anti-gun Republican House leadership to throw grassroots gun rights activists under the bus.
“Recently, I have seen and been made aware of some of the most concerning behavior I have witnessed in my time as a legislator. I am saddened by the acts of a few individuals who have stolen the conversation about legislation that I deeply care about,” Stickland said in a Facebook video chastizing gun rights advocates of Texas.
Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton) killed Stickman’s ‘Constitutional Carry’ bill after protesters fliered the door of his home. Apparently considering himself to be royalty, Bonnen saw this civic activism to be an egregious, intolerable act akin to an ISIS attack.
“I could no longer watch as legislators and their families are incessantly harassed by fanatical gun-rights activists who think laws preventing criminals from carrying a gun should be repealed,” said the sanctimonious Bonnen in a written comment, according to The Statesman.


“Their goal is to eradicate sensible gun policies by allowing anyone to carry a gun without a license and proper training — making it impossible for law enforcement to distinguish between law-abiding gun owners and criminals,” Bonnen said, making it clear he is an enemy of the 2nd Amendment. “The fear and terror used to push this agenda has made it clear this is bad public policy.”
Additionally, Bonnen was caught lying about the story he told the press to paint his conservative constituents as threats to public safety. He initially claimed his wife was in the house at the time Texas Gun Rights’ Executive Director, Chris McNutt showed up with fliers.
“With that said, do I think this bad policy? Yes. So I’m not running from that,” Bonnen told the Houston Chronicle. “The bigger point is they can attack me all they want, but don’t go to my residence when you know there’s zero opportunity of my being there … don’t go where my two sons and my wife are and I am not.”
But it was later revealed in a Fort-Worth Star Telegram report that Bonnen’s wife, Kim, was not in the premises when McNutt showed up. Only a teenage son was inside Bonnen’s home at the time of the supposed incident.
Mrs. Bonnen even had the audacity to claim to be traumatized by McNutt’s choice of clothes claiming that “showing up with a T-shirt with a machine gun on it” was “freaking me out. … This cannot become how we advocate.”
McNutt believes that Bonnen is just making up a lame excuse for refusing to live up to his oath to the Constitution.
“If politicians like Speaker Dennis Bonnen think they can show up at the doorsteps of Second Amendment supporters and make promises to earn votes in the election season, they shouldn’t be surprised when we show up in their neighborhoods to insist they simply keep their promises in the legislative session,” McNutt said to the Dallas News.


“He is trying to paint the simple act of leaving a flyer on the doors of hundreds of his constituents and donors – asking them to contact their legislators to support a bill – is somehow an act of intimidation,” McNutt said in a video message posted on the Texas Gun Rights’ Facebook page.
Unfortunately, Stickland lacked the courage to stand for his supporters who pushed for his ‘Constitutional Carry’ legislation. Stickland followed the lead of the House Speaker in conjunction with the National Rifle Association and the Texas State Rifle Association to violate his oath to the Constitution and denigrate patriotic individuals for grassroots activism with misrepresentations.
“There is a right way and a wrong way to influence the legislative process… There is never a time or place to physically threaten an elected official with violence. It is never okay or helpful to your cause to curse out their staff. It’s never okay to target their homes or personal businesses when you know they are not in town,” Stickland said, giving orders to the peasants on how they may use their rights.
Stickland’s patriotic Facebook following smelled a rat and immediately took this slovenly legislator to task for his colossal betrayal.
“If this lawmaker had a shred of integrity, he would not allow the actions of a few affect his responsibility to do the right thing for the masses of gun owners in the state who did not show up at his home and did not send threatening messages,” FOX Business political analyst Jan Morgan wrote.


“He is coward lacking in integrity and looking for any excuse to shirk his responsibility to the people,” Morgan added. “He needs a good opponent in the next primary.”
“You used to be the best legislator in the country and now you are backtracking,” former Tennessee Campaign for Liberty activist Matt Collins wrote. “NEVER throw your allies under the bus and NEVER give the enemy cover. You should delete this video immediately and apologize.”
“While I have also been an avid supporter of you and your efforts to promote constitutional carry in Texas for years I can no longer support you or your efforts at this time,” constituent Jerry McWhorter wrote. “By making this video you have essentially shown an example of how red flag laws work by condemning an individual without proof of a crime. You just lost my vote in the next election.”
It doesn’t seem likely that an oathbreaker like Stickland, with his lack of a backbone and fealty to GOP establishment leadership, will ever achieve any results for Texas gun owners. Texas Republicans might be wise to consider a primary challenge against him in 2020.
Note: Stickland was contacted for a statement, but had not replied by the time of publication.


https://bigleaguepolitics.com/texas...texas-gun-rights-activists-by-video-scolding/

 

[Matt Collins]

LOL how did I get an honorable mention?

I like Stickland, I really do. I was the first person within the Paul organization to talk to him when he first decided to run back in 2011. He's a great guy and seriously the best legislator in the country. But he made a very bad decision when he posted that video.

 

[Matt Collins]

Here is an update:


https://www.gunpowdermagazine.com/e...tivist-physically-about-constitutional-carry/