Written by Jet Harris –

Texas House Bill HB1238 is set to make it out of committee and is likely to be passed – allowing every single person in Texas to carry a firearm without a permit.  Permits require a safety course and a background check, and that is something that the Texas House will soon vote to decide whether is necessary or not.

Of course, they will not vote to eliminate gun permits, they simply vote to make them unnecessary. They always vote to eliminate abortions, though, and refuse to pass legislation that makes them unnecessary. Maybe if we started giving out free firearms with abortions they’d treat women’s rights to their own bodies as important as their right to own guns?

Since Sutherland Springs (27 dead), Plano shooting (10 dead), El Paso Wal-Mart (23), Midland-Odessa (7) and Church of Christ (3), the GOP has decided to fight for less restriction on guns. In 2020, there were 19,223 American lives lost to gun violence. If guns prevented crime as ammosexuals claim, we’d have the fewest gun deaths on the planet. Spoiler: we don’t.

We went from licensed concealed carry to licensed open carry and now, the GOP wants permitless carry. Next, every single Texan with white skin and a Trump tattoo will be mandated to carry an assault rifle to the Whataburger to pick up a Dr. Pepper Shake (those are delicious, by the way- it’s like a Dr. Pepper float slushie). If this bill passes, any person can buy a gun at a gun show without a background check and carry the gun openly or concealed anywhere in the state without a permit.

I honestly wonder if these good old boy Republicans go through the news and select the most heinous crimes committed this year and have a brainstorming session where they determine how to make it easier for the next guy to pull off.

Today’s the 30^th anniversary of the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan with a gun bought from a pawnshop. The background checks that are in place today were strengthened after Reagan was shot. These gun laws never have any real teeth, though. Any bad guy with a brain just goes to a gun show and signs a waiver that promises on their honor that they’re really allowed to buy the gun.

Then, if this bill passes, they’ll be able to carry that gun anywhere guns are allowed, and the police won’t be able to ask them for a permit because a permit won’t be required. What happens next is like a “Choose Your Adventure” book, except instead of choosing your own adventure, what happens next depends on what color your skin is.

Any person of color openly carrying a gun can be shot by the police, and the police have a built-in get out of jail free card. A police officer has free reign to kill anyone they believe is a threat. I believe we all have enough evidence by 2021 to know what that means for a person of color carrying a gun, legal or no. Permitless carry puts Texans of color in extreme, immediate danger.

In fact, Biedermann, the Republican from Fredericksburg that introduced this bill says that it is necessary for Texans to be able to carry guns without permits because of the “riots and calls to defund the police.” He is basically letting everyone know that we need to defend ourselves against the existential threat that is Black Lives Matter – it’s not even a dog whistle at this point. The white men need their guns because the black people are trying to be their equals again. It’s a tale as old as Texas.

Wow.  Twice in one day we talk about Matt Gaetz; first this morning when we talked about him accurately calling “Big Dan” Rodimer a fake Texan.  Now, Axios is reporting that Gaetz is toying with leaving Congress to join Newsmax as a manure shoveler on television.  It fits.  Usually politicians don’t leave a cush job on Capitol Hill unless there is some problem.  What’s Gaetz problem?  Well, as I write this, news is breaking that Gaetz is being investigated in Florida for a sexual relationship with a 17 year old girl.  The investigation is part of a larger investigation into Gaetz pal Joel Greenberg who’s being investigated for sex trafficking of minors.  Well, being Trump allies, that all fits.  The interesting thing is that the investigation was opened months ago while Bill Barr was still AG.  Funny how Barr didn’t trumpet that one like he did the one into how the FBI conducted investigations of Trump before the 2016 election.

There’s been a lot of speculation about Gaetz over the years, especially when he revealed last year that he “adopted” a 12 year old boy from Cuba 6 years ago when he was 32 years old himself.  He kept that relationship secret until last summer when he revealed it in a surprise announcement.  Until then, he had called the boy his “helper” and a congressional page.

Newsmax, being super Trumpist, doesn’t seem to have any problem with pedophilia, but I’m curious if that the offer is going to come through now.

Jennifer Rubin has a good piece in the Washington Post today addressing the GOP’s ham handed election integrity Jim Crow 2.0 bill signed in a secret ceremony last week.  The bill, which is a solution in search of a problem, is one of the most cruel bills introduced this year intended not for security but to make it harder to vote.  Why make it harder to vote?  To trim off a few points by reducing turnout.  Ironically, one of the cruelest provisions in the bill may cause its undoing.  This provision makes it illegal to bring food or water to anyone standing in line.  Really?  Illegal to serve water to people standing in long lines (caused by Republicans, too)?  Rubin suggests, and I agree with her, that this provision, which has NOTHING to do with “election integrity” and everything to do with the Georgia GOP just being assholes.  There’s already a lawsuit filed to stop the bill, and hopefully it will be struck down because of this blatant attempt at voter suppression.  Fingers crossed.

I love watching dog agility contests, and this little Papillon, Gabby, is my all time favorite.  She brings joy in the way she runs this course.