Corpus Christy Drivers Beware

Has the city of Corpus Christy found a solution to bringing in revenue in this down trodden economy or is it just living up to the reputation Texas has of being tuff on Crime? Scott Henson, writes for Grits for Breakfast and is responsible for the article entitled “Corpus Christi will begin insurance checkpoints, auction off uninsured vehicles.” According to Henson, the city council has approved $180,000 from the city’s general fund to help police catch uninsured vehicles.  The plan is to hire two more impound officers, buy one more tow truck, and increase the amount of car auctions from six a year to twelve.  This should bring in around $510,000 for the city’s budget.

First time offenders will get the maximum penalty: a citation which includes a $175 to $350 fine and the car will be impounded. It will cost additional $280 to liberate the car from the impound lot. Citizens who fail to pay the fees could have their car sold off at auction at the end of 30 days.

The police chief also plans to “set up insurance check points and tow uninsured vehicles.”

Henson also brings up the fact that Dallas has similar laws; they are not as severe in their auction policy. However it doesn’t keep drivers from driving without insurance, it only bleeds the violators dry from a financial point. Therefore, it might not be the best solution to keep uninsured drivers off the roads, but it will bring in more revenue to help the city budget.

Guns on Texas College Campuses

A guest speaker was scheduled to appear at the University of Texas and tell why concealed weapons should be allowed on all Texas college campuses. However around 8:30 that morning shots rang out, warning sirens went off and the order came to lock down the school; someone on campus was shooting a gun.

 "Bystanders with Guns Can Prove Deadly ", written by Arthur Markman, was published the next day in The Dallas News.  Markman, who is a professor at the University of Texas and also a psychologist, had some very convincing arguments as to why concealed guns should not be allowed on campuses

He had two reasons for not arming civilians: abstraction and chocking under pressure.  When people think of something that can happen in the future, they look at it abstractly. It is easy to think of what one might do if put in that situation because the brain does not add the chaos into the scene. He compared it to a movie in which it is easy to identify an “armed suspect”, but real life is not like the movies. If you have someone shooting in a crowded area there are going to be people screaming, running around, and it is going to be very chaotic. Now add one more tier to the existing chaos when civilians start pulling out guns from their back packs. Who are they going to shoot at? What if they shoot the wrong person and kill a would - be- hero just like themselves? Police officers go through months of training to learn how to deal with this type of situation, the average civilian with a gun does not.