Mayor Thomason issues statement regarding ‘Constitutional Carry’ and the responsibility it brings

Editor’s Note: Mayor Thomason issued a press release Wednesday afternoon in regards to the Constitutional Carry law that took effect Sept. 1. The release is below:

Special to the Herald

As of today (Wednesday, Sept. 1), Constitutional, or more accurately, “PERMITLESS” carry is legal in Texas. I am a great supporter of the right to keep and bear arms and I think that this has been long overdue in our great state. That being said, we all must remember the “great responsibility”. When we as law abiding gun owners choose to carry in defense of ourselves and our loved ones, we have the power of life and death at our fingertips. We therefore have a responsibility to exercise that right safely so as not to needlessly endanger ourselves or those around us.

I celebrate our right to “keep and bear arms”. I also ask that we all do so responsibly. Here are a few tips:

Be safe! Treat every gun as if it is fully loaded and ready to fire. Never assume that a gun isn't loaded. If you have children in the home, please keep your guns stored safely. Teach them that guns are tools, not toys. I encourage everyone to teach kids firearm safety and responsibility.

Get trained: If you haven't been to a firearms safety class, I encourage you to do so. They are informative and actually a lot of fun!

Get a “LTC”: While permitless carry does allow you to carry in a lot of instances, actually holding a “License To Carry” grants even more options, including the legal ability to carry in certain other states.

Educate yourself: The new law allowing permitless carry is NOT free rein to carry anywhere. There are still laws prohibiting the carrying of a firearm in certain places. If you carry in a prohibited place, you can (and