Ask any foreigner: Texas is the home of America’s gun culture. Culturally, sure. Legally? No way. The Lone Star State is way behind the firearms freedom curve when it comes to campus carry, age limits for handgun purchases, constitutional carry and more. Yes, about that “more.” It’s a little known fact that . . .

Texas judges are free to order firearms confiscation for residents accused — but not convicted — of domestic violence. These due-process denying court ordersĀ preceded the recent spread of equally unconstitutional Gun Violence Restraining Orders, now known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders, throughout anti-gun America.

wfaa.com proves the point:

Dallas Judge Roberto CaƱas, who mainly hears domestic violence cases, is making it his mission to take weapons off domestic violence suspects.

“I do believe it saves lives,” he said.

By law, a person who has a protective order out against them or who has been convicted of domestic violence has to surrender their weapons, but it’s up to judges to determine if a person only accused of domestic violence does the same.

“It gives peace of mind to the judges, at least it does for myself, and let the case run it’s course,” CaƱas said.

“Peace of mind to judges” is another way of saying that due process-free firearms confiscation for those accused of domestic violence covers the judge’s ass — should a person the accused use his or her firearm to murder his or her partner before they get their day inĀ court. Which is why creating GVROs or ERPOs is a virtual guarantee that subjects’ Second Amendment protections go bye-bye.

Setting aside Constitutional “niceties,” JudgeĀ CaƱas is a man on a mission:

In the past two years, CaƱas has seized 60 firearms but says there could be more if other judges did the same. Heā€™s created a bench card that outlines the law and what judges have to do. He’s giving those cards to Dallas County District Judges.

“It’s a way to quickly summarize how to use the program and how to have a gun surrender hearing,ā€ CaƱas sai.

What to do with all the weapons that are confiscated has been an issue.

“Weapons have to be double locked and double walled and that has been a problem,ā€ said Sheriff Lupe Valdez.

She said she’s securing a building that will be guarded to store the firearms.

ā€œWe are going to be able to do this and accommodate many more judges that want to do this,ā€ Valdez said.

You might not be surprised to learn that Judge CaƱas loves him some Democrats (and vice versa).

And now the good news: Constitutional Carry is alive and well in Texas, with HB1911 (yup) standing an excellent chance of passing through the legislature to land on Governor Abbott’s desk. Gunwise, Texas’ reality is finally catching up with the state’s reputation.

As for pre-trial or hearing firearms confiscation in Texas and elsewhere, given the political inadvisability of defending the gun rights of people accused of domestic abuse, it will probably take a Supreme Court decision to strike down the laws pissing on 2A. That’s gonna take a whileĀ . . .

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35 COMMENTS

    • Agreed.

      Unless you are in Tucson. Wankers.

      Parts of Flagstaff (Nut’n’crunchy)

      Or Sedona (Peacenik celestial progressives)

      And PHX is turning blue rather rapidly.

      šŸ™‚

  2. Yeah yeah yeah. It can, theoretically, happen to anyone, and it does violate the Constitution. Yet, in real life, if you aren’t a thugged out, white trash, wife beater, your odds just plummeted to infinitesimal.

    Find a better poster child for this cause than someone like the San Bernardino killer, and maybe then I’ll give a rat’s rear end.

    • So, in other words, “it probably won’t happen to me, so the rest of you can FOAD”. You people are genuinely despicable. If you are OK with the rights of others being trampled upon, you will eventually have your own taken away, and lack the moral authority to complain about it. They’re called principles, bro. Maybe learn about them

    • You realize we’re talking about people merely ACCUSED of domestic violence. As in, your ex-girlfriend/ex-wife/soon-to-be-ex/woman you are in an argument with just needs to accuse you of threatening her. In many divorce cases this is standard practice, regardless of whether any threat/violence actually occured. One needs only do a simply google search to find hundreds of documented cases in news stories, youtube videos, etc showing clear evidence of women fabricating these charges out of thing air. And these are just the cases where the accused is lucky enough to have incontrovertible evidence in their favor. 99.9% of these cases are literally he-said/she-said and never see the light of day. So a disgruntled romantic interest can decide to “get back at you” by leveling an accusaiton at you, one that she will never have to justify, or face any consequences for if disproven, and that will result in your constitutionally-protected civil rights being abrogated with no due process. I personally know of a few friends who have had such accusations leveled at them, and NONE of them are “thugged out, white trash, wife beater” types. In fact one is a deacon in his church, the kindest person I’ve ever met, an amazing father, and the most pacifist, turn the other cheek sort of guy I know. So no, your risk of being falsely accused of domestic violence does not plummet to zero just because you’re a good person. And even if it did, that doesn’t make it okay to deprive people’s civil rights without due process of law.

  3. Ummm ok let’s take a quick look here at the “Gun culture” capital:
    1. long standing major firearms manufacturers (just to put numbers on this 200+ employees and 30+ years on the same site)? Not so much, your losing to California, Minnesota and Connecticut… nice work.
    2. Open carry? LOL last time I looked printing is a crime.
    3. Constitutional carry? What’s that?
    4. Recognizing out of state permits? Nope my permits were void in Texas last I looked.

    So what exactly does Texas have other than CTD’s blog and a big PR budget? If I missed something or am using out of date data please let me know.

    • Yeah, no.

      We got fracking Magpul to move here and we’ve got F1, LaRue, Mossberg, and Hodge defense.

      Open carry 2 years ago and protection for accidental printing or exposure 4 years ago.

      Con carry is being debated and pushed for the 3rd time now.

      Texas Does Not Honor Permits from these States:
      District of Columbia, Guam, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Wisconsin, American Samoa, N. Mariana Islands

      Now, sing deep in the heart of Texas 3 times and 4 hail Mary’s

      • Which part of 200+ employees and 30+ years did you miss? Mossberg is still headquartered in Connecticut, Magpul just moved F1 was incorporated in 2012 and Hodge was founded in 2013… LaRue I’m going to have to give you that one.

        Carrying with a permit congrats you caught up to Minnesota circa 2000.

        Constitutional carry hey don’t feel bad it took ND like a decade too.

        As to the non-recognized permits… yeah your neighbors had that fix something like a decade ago, catch up its not a revolutionary concept guys.

    • West Virginia has some great use of force laws. So does Alabama and other Southern states.

      • Do you have the right to use force to protect property or for criminal mischief? A guy in San Antonio shot killed a hooker for running out with his money before smurfing him, and he walked.

        • I’m pretty sure Joe in San Antonio can shoot someone for committing criminal mischief, but only at night. Criminal mischief can be as minor as a Class C misdemeanor. Just like almost every traffic violation.

  5. Arizona is only considered a gun rights leader because of constitutional carry. Their CCW laws are terrible compared to Utah. In Utah: 1) signs do not have the force of law; 2) you can carry and have a drink at your local bar or restaurant; 3) you can carry on school grounds (as a resident), at the capital, essentially everywhere. The only advantage in Arizona is that you don’t need a permit – that advantage is nothing compared to carrying in Utah.

    • Let’s not forget the Utah CCW is recognized in more states than any other and we recently lowered the age of open carry to 18. It’s a shame Herbert keeps vetoing constitutional carry.

  10. As a Kansas resident I think we have some of the best gun rights in the country. Consitutional carry, ccl reciprocity with most states that also have concealed carry options, and as far as I’m aware no restrictions on firearm purchasing and ownership beyond the Federal stuff that everyone has to follow.

  11. Yes, Texas sucks, its hot and humid, property taxes are high, its full of people from everywhere that came here for a job and the police are hiding around every corner trying to “git-ya” for OC. We’re one step away from France. Ya’ll stay way.

    • Love like respect is earned… just because I call my house the cultural capital of the upper Midwest doesn’t make it so, no matter he w many people I scream it at.

  13. The average American’s view of Texas comes from movies, the Westerns. In reality the Texas of 1850 was the land of rice and cotton plantations and cattle ranches. Texas had, numerically, the largest slave population of any state. The big difference between Texas and Louisiana, to the extent there was one, was the influence, presence, of Spanish/Mexican/Mexican Amerind culture and conflict.

    Texas was a land of bosses, landowners, slave owners….and lots of poor decent hardscrable people. “Cowboys” had an unenviable life, I would say, and spent many many nights sleeping out with nothing but a lean-for a house. In the post-war years Texas was as poor as the rest of the south, and just as loaded with class conflict and racial animus. No?

    Of course Texans could lawfully shoot a thief that was running off with their tools or food, etc. Losing those the Texan could well have fallen into the hell of utter poverty overnight. Damned right, shoot the SOB.

  14. I love some things about Texas. I lived there for a bit. Went to Rotary Wing flight school in Mineral Wells. Fell in love with a beautiful woman from Denton with a fine Texas accent. But the history of Texas is one hard hard history. Prosperity and relative equality under the law is quite recently arrived.

    • “Prosperity and relative equality under the law is quite recently arrived.” That’s basically true for this little place I like to call America.

  15. I am semi new to Texas (Mississippi born and raised) it is ok generally but the problem I think is the money being made here bring in the brain dead idiots which hurt in the long run most native Texans I’ve met are pretty conservative and like guns it’s a weird place for sure…

    • There are essentially two dimensions of Texas. The large cities (i.e., Austin) are literally infested with newly arrived folks, mostly political progressives, who are perfectly ok with an ever more intrusive, ever more authoritarian, administered state. Just outside of town, however, small-town Texas is an entirely different world. There you will find that the Texas of myth and song actually exists in fact.

  16. Give it a decade. Texas will be a blue anti-gun state soon enough. Hell, they would be blue right now if not for Austin getting gerrymandered to hell.

  18. GVROs or whatever the term is in a jurisdiction are a short-circuit of due process – just like “no fly no buy”.

    Yes, domestic violence is a horrible thing, but sometimes we must put our longstanding legal principles above emotions and think things through.

    It is super-easy for an aggrieved party to yell “domestic violence”, and it’s not hideously difficult to build a convincing lie, one convincing enough to fool an overworked police officer, and a judge (like Mr. CaƱas) who is already pre-disposed to violating bedrock Constitutional principles in favor of political expediency.

    This is actually what happens when you make a judicial position an elected one, you get a politician rather than a capable jurist. I’m aware politicians appoint judges, and those appointments are political, but having that “layer” in there is a nice prohibition against judges engaging in activist behavior.

    I’m hoping GVROs end up in front of the Supreme Court.

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