The Texas Lawmaker That Would Ban Red Light Cameras & Abolish Gun Permits

Texas Sen. Don Huffines campaigned on the idea of shaking things up – and he’s trying to do just that.

By Laura RiceFebruary 17, 2015 11:22 am

Sen. Don Huffines, R-Dallas, is a new face at the State Capitol this legislative session. Huffines ousted fellow Republican and longtime politician John Carona by a margin of just over 600 votes in March.

In his first few months in office, he’s presented one bill that would allow Texans to carry firearms openly and without a permit. And he’s behind a proposal to ban red light cameras across the state.

On Banning Red Light Cameras:

“Really, who likes red light cameras? … the guys that make them and sell them? And anybody who makes money out of it, which would be the local governments also. Red light cameras have been resoundly rejected whenever the voters have had an opportunity to vote on them and get rid of them. And I’d like to just say that people are just tired of being found guilty by a machine.”

On Better Ways to Patrol Problem Intersections:

“You can make the argument that cameras could reduce crime wherever we put the cameras – we could put them in your home, we could put them in every business. There’s a point where we have to push back and say, ‘No, we don’t operate our society like this.’ … Another effective mechanism to reduce running red lights is just to lengthen the yellow light by one second or a second-and-a-half – it’s been just as effective.”

On So-Called Constitutional Carry:

“We’re born with inalienable rights and one of those rights is to defend ourselves. My bill takes the government out of the process, so if you’re a law-abiding Texan, you do not need to get permission from the government to carry that pistol – just like we don’t get permission from the government for our First Amendment rights.”

On an Incremental Approach to Gun Rights:

“This is a legislative priority for the Republican party. It’s enshrined in our party platform for this legislative session, not next session – this session, it’s a legislative priority. And it’s time for it. I really do believe that.”