Dear Editor: On Monday evening Jan. 24, Sarah Palin returned to her public speaking tour with a fundraising speech for a conservative Christian school in Lubbock, Texas. For anywhere from $250 to $2,500 a ticket, over 1,000 Texans listened to Palin deliver her version of the Sermon on the Mount. Her staff enforced what the local press called “tight security.” Despite a Texas law that forbids the banning of concealed handguns held by Texas permit-holders in public venues, all members of the audience had to bring a photo ID, pass through metal detectors, and anyone who tried to bring in a weapon, permit or not, was subject to arrest.
Although media were barred from the event, it appears two positive things occurred that evening: Palin learned from the Arizona tragedy that concealed weapons, even when the owners have completed the mandatory 10 hours Texas training course, should not be anywhere around a speaker whose motto has been: “Don’t retreat, reload.” In addition, in another positive development, Palin did finish her speech, and did not quit halfway through to pursue a more lucrative opportunity.
I did take the opportunity to call the Lubbock Police Department on Tuesday, and was advised that no one questioned the forbidding of guns by Palin’s staff, and Palin indicated she would do so at all future engagements. Apparently neither Texas law nor Second Amendment rights apply in the vicinity of the self-proclaimed “mama grizzly.”
