Post by "DoubleAction" on Sept 22, 2010 11:57:02 GMT -5
Luby's Massacre
I was among those which changed the State Laws in Texas
Suzanna Gratia Hupp
(born January 1, 1959)
Hupp is recognized as a leading advocate for the Second Amendment and an individual's right to carry a concealed weapon.
She is a former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, who represented traditionally Democratic District 54 (Bell, Burnet, and Lampasas counties) for ten years from 1997-2007.
She was elected to her first term in 1996 but did not seek a sixth two-year term in 2006.
She was elected to her first term in 1996 but did not seek a sixth two-year term in 2006.
Her Story
The Death of Her Parents
On Wednesday, October 16, 1991, Hupp and her parents were having lunch at the Luby's in Killeen. She had left her handgun in her car to comply with Texas state law at the time which forbade carrying a concealed weapon. When George Hennard drove his truck into the cafeteria and opened fire on the patrons, Hupp instinctively reached into her purse for her weapon, but it was in her vehicle. Her father, Al Gratia, tried to rush Hennard and was shot in the chest. As the gunman reloaded, Hupp escaped through a broken window and believed that her mother, Ursula Gratia, was behind her. Hennard put a gun to her mother's head as she cradled her mortally wounded husband. Hupp's mother and father were killed along with twenty-one other persons. Hennard also wounded some twenty others. As a survivor of the Luby's massacre, Hupp testified across the country in support of concealed-handgun laws. She said that had there been a second chance to prevent the slaughter, she would have violated the Texas law and carried the handgun inside her purse into the restaurant.
LAMPASAS -- Suzanna Gratia Hupp remembers reaching for a butter knife as a madman shot her parents dead at a packed cafeteria one cold October day in 1991.
"I was looking for a weapon, any weapon, because my handgun was 100 feet away, outside in my car. I made an incredibly stupid decision to follow the law, and that cost my family's lives," she says as she reflects on the massacre that ended with 24 people dead inside the Luby's Cafeteria at Killeen, a military town in Central Texas.
The personal tragedy launched her one-woman crusade to permit licensed owners to carry concealed weapons.
Texas lawmakers listened. In January 1996, a law took effect allowing Texans to carry loaded handguns if they obtain a license and complete a safety course.
"A gun is not a guarantee, it simply changes the odds," says Hupp, 37, who rode her campaign to a seat in the Texas Legislature.
"I was looking for a weapon, any weapon, because my handgun was 100 feet away, outside in my car. I made an incredibly stupid decision to follow the law, and that cost my family's lives," she says as she reflects on the massacre that ended with 24 people dead inside the Luby's Cafeteria at Killeen, a military town in Central Texas.
The personal tragedy launched her one-woman crusade to permit licensed owners to carry concealed weapons.
Texas lawmakers listened. In January 1996, a law took effect allowing Texans to carry loaded handguns if they obtain a license and complete a safety course.
"A gun is not a guarantee, it simply changes the odds," says Hupp, 37, who rode her campaign to a seat in the Texas Legislature.
