As you know, two NRA-backed bills have been filed in the Texas House, House Bill 681 by state Representative Tim Kleinschmidt (R-Lexington), and House Bill 750 by state Representative Joe Driver (R-Garland). HB 681 would prohibit employers from enforcing policies against the storage of lawfully-owned firearms in employees' private motor vehicles parked at work and HB 750 would allow Concealed Handgun Licenses to protect themselves on public college and university campuses.
Thanks to your phone calls and e-mails, HB 681 now has more than 50 co-authors and HB 750 more than 60! Our goal is to get at least a majority of the House (75 members) to sign onto each bill, so we are almost there!
To find out whether your state Representative has signed onto these bills, visit www.house.state.tx.us/research/ and insert the bill number. If your House member has signed onto both bills, please be sure to thank him or her for doing so. If not, please contact them next week and urge them to sign on as a co-author to both HB 681 and HB 750. Contact information for House members can be found at http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/.
It is important for NRA members to help encourage state Representatives to cosponsor this bill. Last session, both measures passed the Texas Senate, only to fail to receive a vote by the full House because of internal scheduling delays and procedural stall tactics on the voter I.D. bill. The leaders and rank-and-file members of the Texas House need to know where you stand - and that inaction on either measure in 2011 is not acceptable.