But I'll be honest -- he goes a little bit too far for me when he supports concealed carry in bars, and requiring churches to permit guns on their premises.

Gov. Rick Perry said Monday that Texans who are legally licensed should be able to carry their concealed handguns anywhere, including churches, bars, courthouses and college campuses.

"I think it makes sense for Texans to be able to protect themselves from deranged individuals, whether they're in church, or whether on a college campus or wherever they are," he said.

"The idea that you're going to exempt them from a particular place is nonsense to me."

Perry commented to reporters after he and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt had met privately with educators, mental health experts and law enforcement officials to discuss the recent shootings at Virginia Tech University. Leavitt and other Cabinet officials are traveling around the country to discuss school and community safety practices in preparation for a report to President Bush.

The governor's remarks aren't likely to result in widespread changes in Texas gun laws, particularly this late in a legislative session that must adjourn by May 28.

The reality is that the current law allows so many entities to ban guns that the state becomes a crazy-quilt patchwork of of where one can and cannot carry a gun with a permit. Perry's proposal would fix that -- including permitting guns to be carried by teachers in schools, which I view as a good thing. It would also prevent any Texas college or university from becoming a gun-free hunting ground for a future shooter. And saying that governmental sub-entities can ban what the state explicitly has permitted an individual to do is absurd.

But I draw the line at bars an churches. I'm uncomfortable with that mix of guns and firearms -- it just seems a step too far, and even in the old West there was often a requirement that guns be checked at the saloon door. And as for churches, I see a religious freedom issue that troubles me deeply, as it should any lover of the First Amendment.

Posted by: Greg at 10:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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