gun control and tow trucks

To carry or not to carry?

The Houston city council recently passed a motion rescinding the restriction that has been in place since 1995 which prohibited the carrying of concealed weapons on the busses or metro.

This was in respnse to the state legislature's recent vote to allow licensed owners to carry concelaed handguns in most public places. One wonders if hand gun prohibitions will become the same sort of patchwork debate that smoking in public, semi public, and private places has become in Texas. Shold they ban hand guns in restaurants, bars, private work places, federal work places shools, and or hospitals? Will hand gun check counters become as frequent as coat check counters and will there now be groups of hand gun carriers gathering outside in designated handgun areas to be allowed to carry?

But to take it back to the Houston Metro, which is at the core of the debate. According to the article, the 1995 restriction never really affected the number of concealed weapons being carried on the metro, it just made it a misdimeanor to be caught waving it about or using it in public. The removal of the right to carry handguns didn't significantly increase the amount of crime and theft on the metro either, nor did it increase the amount of security the metro felt obliged to offer its riders so the change in policy, wherein riders will now be allowed to pack heat under the new Texas right to carry law is not expected to show any significant changes in the crime statistics either.

The difference is now that the cane wielding wheel chair driving geezers will now be allowed to add a gun holster to their accoutrements. All it means is that there is now one more opportunity for the citizens of Houston to be conservative and pc by riding the metro and thus helping to eliminate traffic congestion and air pollution, while still being able to carry a concealed weapon and practice self defense.

Target practice anyone?

Tow Truck Felonies

Houston has some pretty horrendous traffic problems. The expressways and toll roads are universally congested, under construction and already unable to carry the amount of traffic Houston's explosive growth has caused. One of the most frequent problems is stalled vehicles blocking traffic. Of course if there were less construction, there might be breakdown lanes where such stalled vehicles could pull off safely out of the flow of traffic so the drivers could call AAA for assistance or a tow. At this point in time, this option is not available.

In January, the mayor of Houston, in an attempt to remedy this situation, mandated that every vehicle stalled on the highways and byways would be towed immediatly, no waiting for the tow truck the driver called. All stalled vehicles were to be towed to a place off the roadway of the tow truck drivers' choosing. The mandatory, payable immediatly in cash, fees range from $50 to $175. After protest from many drivers that they did not carry that kind of cash on them and so would be held to ransom for the questionable priviliege of having their vehicle towed by the city, the act was amended to allow the drivers to pay a deposit or use a credit card payment.

The city has let out the tow contracts to a number of tow truck firms with fleets and locations "large enough and numerous to efficiently handle the problem of towing stalled vehicles off of Houstons roadways." This has led to protest from the smaller tow truck operators who are losing out on lucrative city contracts for towing because they only have limited numbers of tow trucks and locations. The city has responded by lowering the mandatory towing fee to $40 to $150 so that the big companies won't "make too much profit", and by reminding the smaller operators that the vehicles being towed are being taken to large lots and not repair facilities which means that the vehicle owner still will have to make arrangements to have the stalled car towed to a repair facilitiy. Small tow owners will be encouraged to provide this service so the big guys can be free to prowl the highways looking for hapless stalled vehicles.

The most recent wrinkle on the grand scheme is the discovery that many of the tow truck drivers, especially in the larger firms, are released convicted felons. I know I now feel so much safer driving knowing that if my car breaks down, the chances are that it will be towed to a location of the convicted felons choosing and I will then be charged more cash than I have on me.

Maybe the Texas right to carry law isn't such a bad idea after all.