Acevedo blasts disaster gun bill
AUSTIN — Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo on Monday blasted a bill that would allow people without a handgun license to carry pistols in public — openly or concealed — for a week after a disaster is declared.
“We experienced one of the worst disasters in Texas history during Harvey,” Acevedo wrote. “This bill wasn’t needed then and isn’t needed now. This will embolden 20,000+ gang members & will not help LE (law enforcement). Let’s hope it isn’t signed.”
Gun control advocates and several lawmakers have raised similar concerns about House Bill 1177, which is headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott after narrowly passing in the Texas Senate on Sunday.
Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, said he sponsored the legislation so gun owners don’t have to leave their firearms behind when evacuating their homes. Existing laws, however, allow gun owners to store them in their vehicles, with some conditions.
“I don’t want someone to feel like they have to leave their firearms back in an unsecured home for a week or longer, and we all know how looting occurs in storms,” Phelan said in an interview in March. “Entire neighborhoods are empty and these people can just go shopping, and one of the things they’re looking for is firearms.”
Opponents say Phelan’s bill could add firearms to an already volatile situation in disasterstruck areas.
“It’s permitless carry in an emergency and that phrase should bring fear to all of us,” said Gyl Switzer, executive director of Texas Gun Sense.
Foes included state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, who said
she is a firm believer in the Second Amendment, but called the bill “bad public policy” in a debate on the Senate floor.
“It’s not solving a problem; it’s creating a problem,” she said.
The bill passed the Texas House on a 91-52 vote on Sunday, and passed in the Texas Senate in a 16-15 vote that saw three Republicans side with Democrats against the bill.
In a separate matter, lawmakers quietly went around the National Rifle Association by slipping language into a massive spending bill that would fund a $1 million public safety campaign on gun storage.
The last-minute move late Sunday sets up a political test rarely seen in Texas for Abbott, who must decide whether to veto the spending or to ignore NRA opposition and approve the program.
An Abbott spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the Texas Legislature adjourned Monday until 2021.