Not all the news is bad.

Travis County Commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to reverse course on a proposal that would have banned gun shows from county facilities.

The county is going to honor the existing contract, which is for nine more shows at the Travis County Exposition and Heritage Center.

“I take very seriously the idea of abiding by the law. State law prevents this court from doing much of anything on this issue,” Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt said.

“I take very seriously the idea of abiding by the law.” That’s a quote for you. But:

…she would like to see gun shows require background checks for all purchases.

That’s nice, Commissioner Eckhardt. I’d like a freaking pony.

Federal law exempts private transactions from having a background check, something licensed sellers are required to do.

That’s the closest the Statesman has come to getting it right in their reporting on this subject.

The county will also meet with the gun show operator, Saxet Gun Shows, about the matter.

So probably if Saxet comes back for a contract renewal, the commissioners will pressure them to agree on a “no sales except through a FFL” provision.

Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe said county staffers would bring any other proposed events at the Expo Center with “unusually high safety risks” for commissioners’ approval. Previously, county staffers would not need to seek commissioners’ approval for events at the Expo Center.

Awesome! Since the county staffers are going to bring “any other proposed events at the Expo Center with ‘unusually high safety risks’ for commissioners’ approval”, I suggest they start with the Republic of Texas biker rally. I mean no offense to Jay G. or any of my other motorcycle riding friends out there: I don’t ride myself right now, but I love you guys. But if we’re talking about “unusually high safety risks”, there were at least three deaths during last year’s ROT rally, and another three the year before. I’d think that qualifies.

Anyway, we’ve won the battle, but the war isn’t over yet. You need to be contacting your Congressperson. I’ve added pages with contact information for the Texas Senate and House delegations. The lovely and talented Erin Palette has pointed out Ruger’s automated letter generator, so you can even do it with a couple of clicks of the bunny. If you have time, though, I recommend you hand compose and either fax or email your rep; most of the sites I visited while I was pulling that list together warned that physical mail is delayed up to two weeks. Anthrax, don’t you know?

If you live outside of Texas, or don’t know who your people are: find your House member here. Find your senators here.

2 Responses to “Not all the news is bad.”

  1. […] General Greg Abbott and the NRA-ILA a large share of credit for derailing this very bad idea, as do Dwight and all the other gun owners who stood up and made their voices […]

  2. […] The good guys won the battle […]