Soon residents of Texas could be allowed to carry a firearm without a permit, although there will still be some restrictions.
A bill calling for permitless carry, also known as Constitutional Carry, would allow residents in the Lone Star State to carry handguns without a special license, provided they’re not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm. Under current law, residents of Texas must generally be licensed to carry handguns, either openly or concealed.
Permitless Carry in Texas: Common-Sense Carry?
The Texas Senate approved the bill that would allow for permitless carry in an 18-13 vote along party lines, less than a week after it was briefly debated in a committee that had been created to specifically tackle the legislation, the Texas Tribune reported.
The Republican-led effort already passed the Texas House. The measure was introduced by State Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-District 6) as House Bill 1927 in April.
“This bill should be called common-sense carry,” said State Rep. Schaefer, when he laid out the bill last month.
The measure will now head to a conference committee for the two chambers in Austin to hash out the differences, unless the House accepts the Senate amendments. Once that is finalized, the bill will head to the desk of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has already indicated that he would sign the permitless carry bill into law.
“I support it, and I believe it should reach my desk, and we should have ‘constitutional carry’ in Texas,” Abbott told North Texas radio host Rick Roberts before it cleared the Texas Senate. “I believe it is making progress. Once the Senate passes it out, the House and Senate will convene and work out any differences and get it to my desk, and I’ll be signing it.”
Proponents of the bill argue that Texas should follow the lead of twenty other states with similar laws on the books.
“This bill, to me, is a restoration of the belief in and trust of our citizens,” said state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, who is carrying the legislation in the upper chamber. “We cannot allow another session to come and go where we pay lip service for the Second Amendment by failing to fully restore and protect the rights of citizens granted by the Constitution.”
Training classes would still be available for people who want them, however.
Even if HB 1927 were to become law, handguns would still be prohibited inside businesses that had an alcoholic beverage permit or license and derived at least 51% of their income from the sale of alcoholic beverages; on the premises of amateur and professional sporting events; on the premises of correctional facilities; on the premises of civil commitment facilities; and on the premises of a state hospital, nursing home or mental hospital unless authorized.
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He regularly writes about military small arms, and is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com.
