TX: Legislature lowers License to Carry Fees, Governor Abbot Likely to Sign

SB 16 Reforms the fee structure of the license to carry in Texas. Texas has one of the highest shall issue license to carry fees in the United States. The current cost is $140 for the original license and renewal is $70.  The reform law reduces the original license to $40, and the renewal to the same $40.  People who are indigent have the initial fee reduced by half, to $20.  The renewal fee for the indigent will be $5. For people 60 years or older, the same $20 for an original and $5 for renewal, applies.

SB 16 passed the House 111 - 30. It passed the Senate 31 - 0. It was sent to Governor Abbot on Monday, 15 May, 2017.  Governor Abbot has been a strong Second Amendment supporter. It is expected that he will sign SB 16.

John Lott's research has confirmed the obvious. The higher the costs to obtain a concealed carry permit, (or in a few states, license to carry)  the lower the percentage of people who obtain the permit or license. From crimeresearch.org:

Each $10 increase in fees reduces the percent of adults with permits by about a half a percentage point.

This bill reduced the fee for a License to Carry in Texas by $100, a substantial amount. According to the research cited above, that should result in a 5% increase in the percentage of adults with LTCs in Texas.  The population estimate for Texas in 2017 is 28.4 million.   73.3% of which are 18 or older.  That is 20.8 million adults.

Texas showed 1,150, 754 active license holders at the end of 2016.  That is between 5% and 6% of adults in Texas. 5% of 20.8 million is another million active license holders.

Other consideration besides price can chill the acquisition of Concealed Handgun Licenses or Concealed Carry permits. Texas requires training by Texas certified instructors, and legible fingerprints.

It is reasonable to project that Texas will pass the 2 million mark for CHLs by 2027.

If Governor Abbot signs HB 16, the statute will go into effect on 1 September, 2017.

The number of people with concealed handgun permits in the United States was estimated at 14.5 million in the middle of 2016. The addition of another million permit holders in Texas will continue the rapid increase in permit holders. Ten states have more than 10% of the adult population with permits. Indiana has over 15% of adults with permits.

©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

NV: Armed Resident Shoots Neighbor who had Knife

The resident fired one shot, hitting the victim in the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

McGrath said a knife was found and the resident did not have a criminal record.

While detectives still had to fully question the resident, McGrath said, “the preliminary is it’s self defense.” The resident told police he believed the victim was a neighbor, but did not know the man or why he was in his home, McGrath said.
More Here

FL: Man Shoots Dog that Attacked his Cat

Williams defended the shooting, saying the dog got into his yard Friday on Butler Drive, and attacked his cat. "The cat was in the dog's mouth, and I shot the damn thing in the shoulder. I couldn't go for a head shot, because I would have killed the cat."

Williams says he had very little time to even think before pulling the trigger.
More Here

IN: Man who Threatened to Kill People, Killed by Armed Man

A spokesperson with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said Keith Banks, 31, was doing burnouts and doughnuts near small children. Many people called the police, but he left before police arrived.

Banks returned, threatening to shoot people because somebody called the police, neighbors said.

Banks started chasing another man and threatening to kill him. The second man pulled his handgun out and shot the man several times, then immediately contacted police.
More Here

OK: Armed Vet Holds Druged Home Invader for Police

“He kicked the front door of the residence and made it all the way it to the hallway to the bedroom,” Weir said.

The homeowner, a military veteran, pulled out a gun and protected his wife and children. He can be heard in his 911 call telling the suspect to get on the ground.

More Here

Followup IL: Two Charged after Carjackin Suspect Shot

Two men, one of whom was shot, have been charged after a carjacking turned violent and the victim opened fire Wednesday morning in the West Elsdon neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

Guillermo Parada, 25, and 22-year-old John Zuniga have both been charged with robbery while armed with a firearm, according to Chicago Police. Parada also faces one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

More Here

NC: Armed Customer Shoots suspect

SHEVILLE - A customer at an Old Haywood Road convenience store shot a would-be robber Friday night, the owner of the M&J Food Store said.

Police wouldn't comment Sunday or Monday on the owner's version of events but said they found a person near the West Asheville store with a gunshot wound. Officers said they plan to serve arrest warrants on a juvenile who is now in Mission Hospital.

More Here

CA: Robber with Fake Gun is Shot

A masked robber with a bogus gun messed with the wrong Fairfield smoke-shop clerk on Sunday — and now he’s in critical condition with a bullet hole in his chest, officials said.
More Here

Followup WA: Bushnell Found not Guilty, Will be Reinbursed for Attorney Fees

SPOKANE, Wash. - Edward Bushnell, who shot and killed someone while trying to stop a domestic violence incident, has been acquitted on all charges.

The jury found the defendant was acting as a good Samaritan.

If convicted as charged, Bushnell was looking at a 25 year prison term.

Bushnell says he's happy with the not guilty verdicts but will never be okay with taking someone else's life.

Bushnell hugged his attorney as a series of not guilty verdicts cleared him criminal liability in the fatal shooting of a man in East Central Spokane almost 2 years ago.

Bushnell saw a total stranger getting beaten by her boyfriend and when Bushnell tried to stop the attack, he was clubbed in the face.
More Here

NV: Man Borrows Gun to Shoot Pit Bull Attacking his Dog

A pit bull was shot and killed Saturday when a man walking his dogs, Tom Cope, jumped into action to protect his beloved pets.

"If I didn't intervene, my dog would die," Cope said.

He says he was taking his two dogs, Sergeant and Cotton, for their morning walk when the pit bull approached Sergeant, a German shepherd, in what looked like an attack mode.

"I didn't have time to react right away," Cope said. "He lunged, got my dog, got him on the neck and he didn't let go."

More Here

TX: Armed Woman shoots Suspect, Suspect left Child in Car

It happened in the 6300 block of Aspen Farm just before 2 p.m. Police say the man tried to get into the home through a window, but a woman inside met the alleged intruder and shot him.

The alleged intruder, later identified as 39-year-old James Carney of New Braunfels, died at a hospital. Police said Carney left a 7-year-old in the car during the attempted break-in.

More Here

OR: Man Shoots Dog, Part of Pack Attacking Mare

He said it all started right when he woke up. He said he heard an unfamiliar bark. When he followed the sound, he found three dogs attacking Tressa. He said he yelled at the dogs, but then they started coming for him.


"It's terrible that I had to shoot someone's dog, I mean, I love dogs but they need to not be chasing animals," Carpenter said. "I mean, I'd do the same thing to my dog if he was chasing livestock, I'd shoot him."

More Here

MO: Home invader Shot, killed, Occupant Wounded

Upon arrival, officers learned the shooting was a result of a home invasion. The suspect was shot by an occupant inside the home.

The suspect, only described as a black male, unknown age, was dead at the scene.
More Here

NV: Man Shoots Pit Bull who Attacked Man and Dogs

LAS VEGAS - Just days after a pit bull killed a baby girl in a neighborhood in the northwest part of the valley, another pit bull was killed Friday after allegedly going on the attack.

The neighbor jumped into action, shooting and killing a pit bull that was biting a man and his two dogs. It happened just before 7 a.m. in Centennial Hills near Deer Springs way and Oso Blanca Road.

Witnesses said the man and his neighbors tried everything from pulling and hitting the dog before making the decision to shoot and kill it. They feared that if they didn't subdue the dog, it would go after another person.

More Here

MO: Car Beats Gun, Manager Killed Attempting to detain Suspect

Jason Howland, manager of the Blind Tiger next door, said he saw Cavanaugh chase a man out the back door of the shop who appeared to be stealing about $20 worth of comic books.

Howland said Cavanaugh pulled out a handgun and was hit by the vehicle as the thief drove away.

“There was a lot of blood,” Howland said.
More Here

LA: Elderly Occupant Shoots, Kills, Threatening Suspect

A preliminary investigation indicated the suspect entered the home, would not leave and threatened to harm the elderly occupants of the residence. The OPSO reports, one of the occupants was able to secure a firearm and shot the suspect, who was fatally wounded and pronounced dead at the scene.

More Here

More on Suspect Shooting in FL: 82-Year-Old Shoots Suspect Fleeing from Police

“We heard the gunshots, we came outside, the guy was running across the roof,” said witness Rene Hernandez. “And then the gentleman was saying, ‘He’s here, he’s here.’ And that’s pretty much it after I lost sight of him, after he crossed the street.”

According to detectives, the 82-year-old man was startled by the sound of noise coming from his basement, where he was confronted by the suspect and pushed. Armed, the homeowner fired a single shot, wounding the young man in the buttocks.



More Here

OH: Mistaken Identity: Daughter shot, Wounded

The resident could see a shadowy figure, thinking it was an intruder, he fired a shot at the person.

The person in the kitchen turned out to be his daughter. She was transported to Akron City Hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
More Here

AZ: Man Shoots Alleged Assailant in Phoenix gas Station Rest Room

According to the Phoenix Police Department, witnesses reported seeing and hearing an altercation between two men in the bathroom of the gas station.

One of the men shot at the other during the altercation, witnesses told police. The shooter cooperated with the officers and alleged that the other man was physically assaulting him, police said.
More Here

GA: Knive Reform law Signed by Governor Deal

Governor Deal of Georgia signed a reform of the states's knife law to go along with the campus carry bill this year. The knife law reform was in HB 292. HB 292 had a number of gun law reforms included in it. Knife Rights supporter Senator Bill Heath was able to include the knife reform as part of the bill.

Before the law was signed, it was illegal to carry any knife with a blade that was more than five inches in length. With this reform, the limit has been increased to 12 inches.  12 inches includes most bowie type knives. From ga.gov:

(2) 'Knife' means a cutting instrument designed for the purpose of offense and defense consisting of a blade that is greater than five 12 inches in length which is fastened to a handle."

Why stop at 12 inches, and not simply eliminate the length restriction altogether? Because it was the increment that could get passed this year at this time. The restriction dated from the first restrictions on concealed weapons in Georgia, that were based on concerns about slavery and dueling.  A specific ban on the concealed carry of bowie knives was passed in 1837.

Knife Rights promoted, pushed and was the principle force behind the legislation. They have been rolling up an impressive string of victories. Year in, year out, they remove knife bans. They pass knife preemption laws that stop local governments from infringing on Second Amendment rights. They are making the right to bear knives the second front in the war to restore the Second Amendment.

 ©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch