In the wake of recent shootings in Odessa, El Paso, Sutherland Springs, and Plano, many Texas gun control proponents have demanded that state leadership “do something” in the hopes of preventing future tragedies. However, these demands often redound to a clear violation of an explicit right enumerated both in the United States and Texas constitutions—the individual right to keep and bear arms for lawful self-defense—while failing to empirically demonstrate the positive change the proposed policy changes seek to achieve. Nonetheless, some legislative proposals and executive actions floated in the wake of these tragedies may improve public safety and responsible firearm ownership through the explicit targeting of more pervasive types of firearm violence.
Housed in Dignity
I recently learned the story of a 70-year-old woman who had spent her entire life in public housing. She was one of several generations in her family to live entirely in government housing. When someone can spend a lifetime in the same poverty-based system, “compassion” begins to look less like true help and more like...