Written for The Texas Observer legislative blog "Floor Pass."
There was a pro-gun rally at the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon. Normally those events take place in front of the Capitol, but this one occurred in the basement, in Extension Room E.036 during a hearing of the House Select Committee on Federalism and Fiscal Responsibility.Tea partiers, Libertarians and Republicans showed up in force to testify in support of seven similar bills that would assert Texas’ state sovereignty or would void any new federal gun control laws within state boundaries. The bills themselves may not have much impact. State laws can’t invalidate federal laws—that’s usually considered unconstitutional—but that didn’t stop supporters of gun rights from putting on one the most entertaining hearings so far this session. Read more.