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Massacre Survivor Tells Senate: I’m Not a Victim of Guns, But of Lawmakers Who ‘Legislated Me Out of the Right to Protect Myself and My Family’

Feb. 14, 2013 7:56am Erica Ritz

Luby Massacre Survivor Suzanna Hupp Speaks Before Senate on Gun Control

A women fires a handgun at the ‘Get Some Guns & Ammo’ shooting range on January 15, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Credit: Getty Images)

Dr. Suzanna Hupp became a case study in gun control after testifying in front of Congress as a survivor of the 1991 “Luby” massacre in Texas where both of her parents were killed. On Monday, more than a decade later, she spoke once more on the issue, examining it through the lens of the debate currently gripping the nation.

During her first appearance, Hupp explained how a friend had given her a gun when she was 21 and, though she doesn’t like guns or hunting, she agreed to get some training and carry it in her purse.

Not long after, a man crashed his car into a restaurant where she was eating with her family and started shooting people.

“It took me a good 45 seconds to realize that this man wasn’t there to commit a robbery,” she said. “He was there to simply shoot as many people as he possibly could.”

“When I finally realized what was occurring, I thought, ‘I got him,” she said, snapping her hand. “And I reached for my purse. He was maybe 12 feet away…But then I realized a couple of months earlier, I had made the stupidest decision of my life. I took my gun out of my purse and left it in my car, because as you well know in the state of Texas, it’s sometimes a felony offense to carry a gun in your purse.”

She proceeded to describe how her father was shot trying to rush the man, and how she tried to escape with her mother. When she turned around, she saw that her mother had run back to be with her father in his final moments, and was soon shot as well.

Here is video of her original testimony, which is well worth the watch:

In the intervening years, Hupp has become a staunch advocate for concealed-carry, and was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1996. After six terms, in 2006, she chose not to seek re-election.

She appeared on Monday, she said, not in any professional capacity, but simply as a citizen.

Hupp began by noting how uncomfortable she felt when victims of gun violence were asked to stand at the beginning of the hearing.

“Honestly, I don’t view myself as a victim of gun violence,” she said simply. “I view myself as a victim of a maniac who happened to use a gun as a tool, and I view myself as a victim of the legislators at the time who left me defenseless.”

She re-told the gripping story with new details, before explaining one of the reasons why help was so slow in coming:

“The police officers, several of them, were patients of mine. Several days later, they filled in the gaps. They said they were actually one building away at a conference, and in an odd twist of gun control fate, the hotel where they were having their conference, the manager there didn’t want them to be wearing their guns and potentially offending any of her clients or customers…So precious minutes were lost as they retrieved their guns from their locked cars.

“They said that when they got over there…they didn’t know who the gunman was. There were bodies everywhere. But they [saw] a woman out in the aisle on her knees, cradling a mortally wounded man. They said they watched as some thirty-something-year-old man walked up to her. They said she looked up at him, he put a gun to her head, she looked down at her husband, and he pulled the trigger. That’s how they knew who the gunman was.

“They said all they had to do was fire a shot into the ceiling, and the man immediately rabbited into a back bathroom alcove area…

“23 people were killed that day, including my parents.” [Emphasis added]

Hupp once again compared the killer to a “rabid dog,” which she said you take behind a barn and kill, but certainly don’t hold wholly accountable for its condition.

“But I’ve got to tell you, I was mad as heck at my legislators, because I honestly believe they legislated me out of the right to protect myself and my family,” she concluded. “And I would much rather be sitting in jail right now with a felony offense on my head, and have my parents alive to know their grandchildren.”

Watch the gripping testimony via C-SPAN, below:

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RELATED:

• How Gun Control Left 23 Dead

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Comments (231)

semihardrock
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:23pm
Missouri Democrats Introduce Legislation to Confiscate Firearms – Gives Gun Owners 90 Days to Turn in Weapons
Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, February 14, 2013, 9:52 AM

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Charles Curtis
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:18pm
Rabid Legislators – Rabid with self-aggrandizing power-hungry egocentric plans for their future.
End tyrannic leadership. Vote, participate, investigate, prosecute, impeach, lead, legislate, and rebel against the machine of media & players that are trying to ‘change’ our government into their despotic wonderland. Support those that do likewise and in the end we will ensure freedom.

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Baldbarian
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:11pm
Seems the gun control freaks were barely paying attention to this lady. And certainly none of them want a piece of that action by asking a question… all them are after the control, damn the facts.. this stuff has never been about safety of children, safety of neighborhood… etc.. nope.. running as fast at they can to a gun confiscation.. total ban, etc.

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derchef
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:03pm
I admire that lady for speaking her mind. We need to follow her example and speak ours. The Democrats are really good about being heard. Are we? And PS, the 2nd Ammendment is there to protect us from whoever “rules over us”.
“When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are LIFE, LIBERTY and the pursuit of happiness.”
From the Declaration of Independence, which, in case you didn’t know, is when we decided to fight England off because of their ridiculous taxes, and control over the American Colonists.

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AzSage
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 11:58am
Slide Bite!!!!!

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DebateMe
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 11:52am
If you believe that every single person on Earth will comply with gun regulations perscribed by politicians, then gun control is the answer. If you believe there are no mentally sick or deranged people out in the world, then gun control is the answer. If you believe that there is no evil in the world, then gun control is the answer.

But if you find out the hard way, like this woman in the article did, that none of the above is true, then all the propoganda spewed out by the likes of nancy pelosi and all the fabulous pie charts computed from cherry-picked statistics from dianne feinstein won’t save you in that trecherous moment where nothing but you and your actions stand between living and dying in the presence of a crazy person with the intent to kill.

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Guitar Master
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 11:36am
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
From THE REPORTER
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Now Listen up:

Freedom lovers in America have been on the defensive (on nearly all issues) from intrusive government regulations now for decades. The President, Congress and local legislators are always passing laws that infringe our God given rights.

It’s time to go on the offensive and one sure-fire way to do so is to start a campaign for term limits on all and every elected person (can’t call them officials, the term is too good for most of them).

Instead of Mr. Moonbeam (Glenn Beck) holding these feel-good events of his, why doesn’t he start a national campaign for term limits. It would give the public, as a whole, the initiative to know they are doing something that will put an end to a tyrannical government once and for all !!

The only real solution to our national nightmare is staring us right in the face and no one seems to realize it.

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- Charles Curtis
  Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:32pm
  Get to the core of the issue and head to the heart of the matter ||:-)
  ** Dismantle the government gilded retirement plans for elected & appointed offices – talk about saving tax dollars, that should be the first cut!
  ** Strictly limit service to no more than two consecutive or non-consecutive terms for any office.
  ** Limit elected and appointed pay to a fixed value [ (daily price of gold per gram / ( 32 / # of grams of gold per dollar ) * their present salary = their pay ] .
  
  This will have the added incentive to audit or abolish the Federal Reserve Bank and establish a sound monitory policy… as the elected and appointed officials real value of pay decreases with real inflation, just like ours does except at an accelerated rate.
  
  32 grams of gold would equal 32 dollars rather quickly I think. . . and as for the debt
  
  Pay the national debt that with those worthless Federal Reserve Notes…
  As the congress directs the US Treasury sever all ties to the Federal Reserve Bank & to print US Dollar Gold Certificates anew.
  
  Report this comment
zman61
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 11:34am
I have been showing people this video for years and everyone of them is always taken aback by the part where she tells the congressmen that the 2nd amendment is not about hunting but for the people to be able to protect ourselves from them. She should have stayed in congress we need people with common sense in there.

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dont_drive_slow_in_the_left_lane_obliviot
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 11:22am
We in TX owe a lot to Hupp and the 23 that died that day.

For the record, never hold your gun the way the top picture shows, you will get your thumb cut open something fierce. Move your thumb to the other side where the slide won’t tear it up.

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justsayin456
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 11:13am
LOL @ employing the availability heuristic until it sticks.

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thx1138v2
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 11:09am
The problem is not hard to understand: Gun Free Zone = Designated Killing Field

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ellietoo
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 11:05am
This is exactly what the left wants. They want the public defenseless. A bunch of sitting duck to be picked off by criminals, terrorists and perhaps even a government gone wild. Shame on the citizens of this country that fall for the emotional dribble that pours out of the media and elected officials that twist facts and deny the truth. Because of the huge debt that they say “is really not that bad” police protection is being cut throughout the country. Mental illness is rampant. Yet, they want us defenseless.

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tljjjjcline
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 11:02am
Love this woman. A true American beauty who understands the constitution. Women you want to be loved by a real man’ Hear is your mentor.

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kindling
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 10:54am
Amen.

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Gargent_Furball
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 10:53am
who is your militia rep in your area.? Can you carry a gun and not be in trouble ?

A well armed militia is to protect us from our elected officials. They soon become like Gods.

All powerful , and full of themselves. If you have an elected official in office more than one term, Fire him.

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olderjarhead
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 10:20am
I am all about gun control, to include: sight picture, sight alignment, respiration control, muscle control, situational awareness, cover, concealment, and target identification. I’m sure I’ve missed a few things, but it’s a start.

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Uzi
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 10:17am
Okay, I am surprised not many others have noticed or bothered to comment. Perhaps not many real
shooters lurk here?
(real shooters…someone who shoots a lot and takes time to practice good fundamental techniques)

That picture of the woman holding that pistol shows exactly HOW NOT TO HOLD a handgun like that.
That woman needs some lessons from someone who knows their arse from a hole in the ground. She is asking to have her (thumb( knuckle decapitated with that hold. If you don’t know how to hold a gun, get lessons or take the time to learn. There are plenty of sources.

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Landon410
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 10:12am
i recently got into a debate with a leftie about all this, i simply asked him to show me where in the constitution it gave govt the power to do these things he was talking about, the discussion quickly turned to the ole’ liberal stand by “you’re stupid” “you’re racist” etc

but all you have to do is ask them to support their theory with facts from the constitution, and the conversation is over, now I also understand barry the half white doesn’t much care about what the constitution says…..

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NewCreationDave
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 10:12am
What it’s really all about:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7950634/It%27s%20a%20free%20country.pdf

Please educate others!

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Dodecahedron
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 10:09am
Dr. Carson and Dr. Hupp – for the 2016 ticket! They would make a fine POTUS and VP combo, and I wouldn’t care who the top of the ticket was, they’re both more qualified than Django Obama.

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watashbuddyfriend
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 10:07am
It burns my mind, not to say it infurinates me to watch this video, as the witness, in pain, and agony, appears before these clowns!

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kevin542
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 9:44am
Does anyone think all of this testimony mean any thing to Obama….no…it don’t matter to him..Alot of so called legislators don’t care either. Power story and tragic event…All they care about doing is taking every single gun so we CANT defend our selves .

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GuruMeditation
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 9:42am
Damn straight. Tell them like it is lady. Kudos to you!

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2GodBeTheGlory
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 9:34am
This whole issue was brought on by the Supreme Court, and the lower courts as well. The courts, collectively, use regulation to prohibit guns within the court with full knowledge that under the supreme law of the land they are are in fact illegal. So when the government does it, military first, they stated that it was fine because they knew how this regulation would be used against themselves.
So, how do we fix the problem? The Supreme Court is complicit in going against the supreme law of the land and the other two branches go along with it as well. Any suggestions? Anyone think that I’m wrong on this, then look at the bill of rights or any of the amendments and show me where there is a stronger negative against the government ability to infringe.

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- jman-6
  Posted on February 14, 2013 at 10:05am
  I’m in agreement for the most part but this is our {citizenry} fault when we made the mistake of agreeing to the change in the 1st Amendment of not being able to scream fire in a crowded space. While it’s reasonable on its face you see the slippery slope we now find ourselves on with every other amendment!
  
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- 2GodBeTheGlory
  Posted on February 14, 2013 at 10:30am
  @JAMN-6
  
  I do not agree with you about the change in the 1st amendment, re “not being able to scream fire in a crowded space”. The actual prevailing decision was in reference to a crowded theater, and they where talking about someones speech used to cause harm to another. Meaning that if your words would cause someone to reasonable cause the loss of life or liberty then that person should be held responsible. So, you can yell fire in at crowded theater if a REASONABLE people would not be infringed upon their life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness. Yes, this is a slippery slope and based on “reasonable”, however, it is my belief that in this area, NO PRECEDENT can be used and that each occurrence should be looked at individually, not unlike Virginia’s law of protecting yourself or others with a gun. Some people would state that the “castle law” gives maximum freedom, however, there are limits in addition to abuse, however, in Virginia, just remember these words “I was in fear of my life”. Now, that does not give you the right to reload and keep shooting the same person over and over again if they are down and dead. In Virginia, each case is looked at individually to see the merit of the case by itself, not precedent.
  
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HLGarret
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 9:31am
I was robbed in 1981, shot point blank behind the left ear and survied, the bad guy had conceal carry but I wasn’t allowed to, now, I conceal carry along with the bad guys!

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