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December 18, 2000 We may have a President who supports the Second Amendment, but there are still those who would like nothing better than to see the right to bear arms limited as drastically as possible. This fact is clearly demonstrated with the filing of house bill number 367, submitted by Representative Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen). HB 367 defines a gun show to mean "a place or an event, other than a permanent retail store, at which three or more individuals assemble to display firearms…and a fee is charged for the privilege of displaying the firearms…or a fee is charged for admission to the area where the firearms or components are displayed." The bill then goes on to prohibit the sale of guns at such a show to any person who is not licensed to carry a concealed weapon. The only exception to this rule would be if the purchaser agreed to undergo an instant criminal background check. Failure to comply with this law is classified as a third degree felony. This bill is nothing more than an attempt to implement criminal background checks at gun shows; a measure that would in large part place an undue regulatory burden on amateur gun-show merchants. Professional, licensed dealers must already comply with federal law mandating background checks at gun shows, so the brunt of this legislation will fall on small-time or casual gun show dealers who sell outside the major gun show circuits on an infrequent basis. In addition, many Texans who own and purchase guns do not have concealed handgun permits, so the rule mandating background checks could well drive these small-time sellers out of the market. Once again, Texan's second amendment rights are under attack via more regulation. Please ask your representative to lend no support to HB 367. For more information on gun show laws, please visit the following
website: McCuistion TV Needs a Few Good Audience Members McCuistion TV has issued and invitation to Texas Eagle Forum members to attend two interactive, audience-panelist dialogues that set the stage for exploration of significant issues. You are invited to share your unique opinions, observations and experience "on the air" with host Dennis McCuistion and expert panelists from all sides of the issue. The dialogues address the following issues:
Please RSVP by calling (972) 255-2599, or via e-mail at mccuistion@mccuistion.com. Both dialogues will be taped at the KERA Channel 13 studio at 3000 Harry Hines Blvd. McCuistion airs weekly on Channel 2, Sundays at 1:00 PM and 11:00 PM TEA Calls for Nominations to State Textbook Review Panels The Texas Education Agency is gathering nominations for membership on the 2001 State Textbook Review Panels. Members of these panels will have a great deal of influence over the types of textbooks that will be used in Texas public schools for years to come. The agency is looking for educators, parents, business men and women, and others who will be able to play an active role in recommending materials for state adoption. The committees will meet in the summer of 2001 in Austin on a date to be announced. All nominations are due no later than February 2, 2001. You can download nomination forms by clicking on the hyperlink below: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/Textbooks/forms/nomform00.rtf If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Leroy Newman at the TEA. Mr. Newman's contact information is as follows: Mr. Leroy Newman Listening to the rhetoric being tossed around at the present moment by political pundits and "experts" on public opinion, one would think that the Republican Party suffered at best a crushing setback in Election 2000. Talk of "concession" and "bipartisanship" has been filling the airwaves, while some commentators have openly wondered if President-elect Bush will be able to accomplish anything at all over the next four years. Tom Daschle and Dick Gephardt have been busy telling everyone who cares to listen that the Republicans better toe the bipartisan line, and then there was Democrat strategist Bill Cadell on MSNBC's Hardball saying that the Republicans didn't really win anything after all. Wait a minute!!! With Dick Cheney's tie-breaking vote in the Senate, Republican's now have numerical superiority in both the executive and legislative branch for the first time since the Eisenhower administration. After waiting nearly half a century for this moment, the Republican leadership is now being pressured to behave nicely, like all good bipartisans should. Make no mistake, however, bipartisanship per Daschle and Gephardt means only one thing-hewing to a Democratic policy line. Herein lies the difficulty with all of this talk about bipartisanship; it can be defined to mean anything at all since no one really knows what a bipartisan policy agenda looks like-and no one will ever know, because bipartisanship is a mirage. The word by itself means nothing special. The prefix "bi-" simply indicates two of something, while the root "partisan" indicates one who takes sides. Thus, a demand for bipartisanship comes down to a demand that two groups of side-taking people agree on something and move ahead. All fine and well, except that the act of agreeing with the other side usually produces winners and losers, and politics is all about winning-which is exactly what the Republicans did! Unfortunately for Mr. Daschle and Mr. Gephardt, true bipartisanship for the next two years means (a) the Republicans setting the agenda, and (b) the Democrats compromising with the Republicans in order to get ANY of their priorities on the table. One man who understands this dynamic all too well is Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX). In a Washington Times article by Ralph Hallow and John Godfrey, DeLay notes that "Democrats are trying to dictate the Bush agenda by defining bipartisanship." He then states, "They're more or less saying it's the goal of a successful Bush administration, and of course Gephardt and Daschle are saying we have to buy into their partisanship-then we'll be 'bipartisan.'" DeLay then mentions issues such as ending the marriage-penalty tax, repealing the death tax, passing a partial-birth abortion ban as the starting ground for forging true bipartisanship in the new Congress. DeLay adds a final rebuke, wondering aloud if the Democratic leadership would change their strategy from one of "obstructionism to one of cooperation." Now there is a man who understands how the game is played! At the end of the day, the Republicans must avoid being bullied by liberal Democrats who are simply unwilling to go quietly into the night. In particular, conservative members of the Republicans Party need to assert themselves at this crucial hour, because the temptation of power inevitable leads to the Left. They must understand that calls for bipartisanship are demands for them to abandon their agenda, and must not be deceived by the promise of greater acceptance by the "mainstream" media. Above all, these conservative members must differentiate between civility and compromise. Civility and decorum are always appropriate in the political arena, and can be demonstrated without abandoning one's core beliefs. Unfortunately, many Americans mistake calls for bipartisanship with calls for civility. Winners must be gracious, but they are still the winners. Winners, in turn, must be civil and firm at the same time because the world is full of those who would like to snatch a bipartisan victory from the jaws of electoral defeat. Please contact us if you would like to request information, or place a friend on our e-mail list. Phone: 972-250-0734
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