HOUSE COMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE Hearing Date: April 19, 2021 1:00 PM - or upon final adjourn./recess or bill referral if permission granted Printed on: April 27, 2021 11:29 AM COMMENTS FOR: HB 670 Robert Sheldon self The Hills, TX I support this legislation. Thank You for your service. Klaudia Forgacova Self - Operations Manager Dallas, TX My name is Klaudia Forgacova. I live in Dallas, TX and my zip code is 75204. I ask that this committee ensures that House Bill 670 gets passed and sent for a vote. A firearm is a very serious thing and comes wih great responsibility. We need to enforce that responsibility by prohibiting reckless discharge. There is no good reason to be mishandling a firearm and certainly for firing it recklessly, and a criminal offense should be charged for putting others in grave danger. While I acknowledge our state's desire for guns, we cannot ignore the stark gun violence we face. This bill does not remove any guns. It makes their use safer for everyone, even gun owners. Please ensure HB 670 gets approved! Sheri Jensen Texas resident Euless, TX Who's opinion of a reckless discharge? I'm against any law that will infringe on my 2nd amendment rights! Sydney Zuiker` Crime Stoppers of Houston Houston, TX Crime Stoppers of Houston supports enhanced penalties that HB670 would incorporate. We have had several incidents over the last several years regarding celebratory gunfire, striking, severely injuring, and even killing community members. A well respected registered nurse in Harris County was killed due to such an event in 2020. This bill will give discretion to prosecutors to upgrade charges for defendants who willingly choose to participate in such activity. Simply giving discretion is only a positive outcome. When someone willingly and knowingly shoots a firearm into the air indiscriminately there must be consequences. HB670 remedies the glitch in the statue and we are in full support. If you have any questions or wish to discuss our position on this bill, please feel free to reach out to us directly at 832-849-1588. Doris Spraggins Page 1 of 20 COMMENTS FOR: HB 670 Self Fredericksburg, TX I am AGAINST this bill Leonard Dumire Midland County GOP Party MIDLAND, TX My biggest concern for the bill is who decides what is reckless?? I understand that not every contingency can be codified, but some level of due process must be in place to keep this from being used as a gun grab. Thank you for your consideration of my statements and for your service to the people of Texas. Alan Rickertsen Self Corpus Christi, TX Limiting the rights of law abiding citizens will not keep criminals from getting a gun and/or using it for an illegal act. Christopher Butler Independent Bedford, TX I oppose HB 670. If I am hunting on private rural land, shooting with buddies on private rural land, etc... that is not reckless, nor should the law treat it as such. Yazan Al-Amin Self, Business Owner. Richardson, TX I am in strong opposition of this bill. Responsible gun owners, which make up the majority of gun owners, will most likely never shoot a gun outside of a range. And if they do, it is because of self defense or defense of another. This bill seeks to find a workaround to castle doctrine and cases of self defense, where one perceives that their lives are endangered, while being under the guise of painting gun owners as reckless hooligans without forethought. Gun owners are more law abiding than normal citizens specifically because they own a huge responsibility that will be met with huge scrutiny if they are irresponsible. If one were to buy a gun and take a class, they would be immediately be privy to a litany of laws that they must pay the utmost heed towards. And they do. This bill is unconstitutional and shows the utmost distrust in our responsible, moral citizenry. Roger Miller Myself Winnie, TX Page 2 of 20 COMMENTS FOR: HB 670 I oppose this bill, as I feel it will do more harm than good to my Rural living as well as infringe on my rights. Mark Combs Self Frisco, TX I as a law abiding citizen oppose this bill Alejandro Labanzat Self The Woodlands, TX The proposed penalties for an accidental discharge resulting in non-injuries or property damage is excessive and should be limited to a warning. Kristin Browne Self Colorado City, TX I oppose this bill because it potentially criminalizes harmless behavior. Gabino Cortez Myself Houston, TX This bill would criminalize plinking and skeet shooting on private property. Further test firing a firearm in a safe manner and direction would also be criminalized. Please oppose this bill. Tony Chapman Self Jefferson, TX I oppose this bill I believe that it would be unjust for our rights Jordan Perry GOA Friendswood, TX Sometimes people without the correct training can have an accidental discharge, this is not a criminal misdemeanor. Page 3 of 20 COMMENTS FOR: HB 670 Josh Rains Self Snyder, TX I oppose this bill, I believe if there was an accidental discharge and no one was hurt then warnings should be given... only until there is a pattern created should there be criminal citations given. George Martin Self Round rock, TX This bill is unnecessarily punitive. Punishment and charges for actions in this bill ate covered elsewhere in the law and thus this bill is also redundant. Joseph Murphy self - retired teacher Fredericksburg, TX I believe that this bill over steps the bounds of rational thought. This seems to be seeking another way to penalize the people of Texas that are completely innocent gun owners. Many of the described offenses that it tries to penalize could easily be stretched to cover many harmless incidents. The overwhelming majority of gun owners know how to safely handle their firearms and are even obsessive about safety. This bill should not be considered. Londa Chandler self - retired Marble Falls, TX I oppose this bill because it seems to be just one more attempt at restricting gun owners in Texas. There are already laws on the books prohibiting the reckless use of a firearm - this simply allows Rep. Martinez to brag that he helped pass more gun legislation. Please vote no. Thomas Gordon Self Temple, TX My name is Thomas Gordon I oppose HB 670 by Martinez Thank you, Thomas DAVID HAMEL SELF TEMPLE, TX Page 4 of 20 COMMENTS FOR: HB 670 I oppose HB-670. The language is overly broad and has the potential to invite discord and gotchas responds between neighbors. This proposed legislation is a "spite fence" waiting to happen. The penalty is way too high. Brent McCain Self - Paramedic Bruceville, TX I OPPOSE this bill. This bill has great potential of criminalizing behavior that is harmless and, currently common, legal and safe. Examples of the unintended consequences of this bill include, but are not limited to, baseless complaints regarding home/land owners safely shooting their guns on their own property, commonly brought about by neighbors, individuals shooting their gun to scare away animals they don't desire to shoot., or how about the act of test firing one's gun in a know, safe direction where no one has posted a target? Then, creating a class A misdemeanor on violating this bill, when zero harm has been done. This is just all very wrong in so many ways. Fred Lauckner, Mr Self Houston, TX I oppose HB 670. This is sets up vague instances and turns them into criminal offensives. For instance, there are times a person may only want to scare away an animal away instead of injuring or killing it. Discharging a firearm in a safe direction to scare off an animal would be an offense under this bill. This is enough to oppose the bill. Gabriel Segoine GOA Texas Member Nevada, TX I strongly oppose. Tyler De La Cruz Self West Columbia, TX Please oppose hb670. Accidents happen, no one deserves to be harshly punished for an accident especially if there is no victim. Victimless crime legislation should not be passed. Doris Spraggins Self Fredericksburg, TX I OPPOSE this bill. Page 5 of 20 COMMENTS FOR: HB 670 Donald Dahl Self Round Rock, TX There is no point of increasing the penalty of an accidental/negligent discharge. It is very poor policy. Omar Garza Self Peñitas, TX I oppose this bill because there are many people who have there own private land who shoot safely with incident in texas. Plinking in texas has been a hobby for many texans for many years without incident. I oppose this bill because if someone calls the police on someone or police hear a shot and if person had a accidental discharge but since here was a shot that person getting a class A misdemeanor is high penalty for an honest mistake Ian Kress Myself. Engineer. Nassau Bay, TX I oppose this bill as it is not needed, and could be used maliciously. It is already a crime if you recklessly fire a gun and the bullet injuries someone. This bill would make it a Class A misdemeanor or firing a gun, if deemed to be reckless - a far too harsh of a penalty for what is a judgement call as to what is reckless. Furthermore, as it is only a Defense to Prosecution to do such legal activities as hunt or target shoot, persons engaging in those activities could be arrested, and have to go court to hopefully have the case dismissed.