Texas House approves gun bill
‘Constitutional carry’ foes fail to sway vote
Texans would be able to carry handguns in public places without a license under a bill that was approved by the state House of Representatives on Thursday.
Republican lawmakers are pushing to make Texas the largest of about 20 states to adopt the “constitutional carry” law. The measure, which passed largely along party lines, is a win for the state’s conservative faction, which has promised to uphold Texas’ reputation as a pro-Second Amendment state even as Democratic President Joe Biden pushes for tighter gun restrictions.
Under House Bill 1927, those 21 and older would not be required to pass a training class and hold a permit to carry a handgun in public. The bill does not apply to anyone with a criminal record.
“This bill should be called ‘common sense carry’ because this law is about common, lawabiding citizens being able to carry commonly owned handguns in common public places for the common reason of personal and family protection,” said state Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, the sponsor of the measure, as he introduced the bill Thursday morning.
It passed, 84-56. Legislators spent seven hours debating the bill and sparred over more than a dozen proposed amendments, including one that would have lowered the eligibility age to 18 and two that would have explicitly barred domestic terrorists and white supremacists from carrying handguns in public. All three of those were rejected.
Advocates filled the House gallery at the start of the debate. Members of Moms Demand Action and Gun Owners of America sat in separate sections of the chamber, both sides wearing shirts promoting their causes. Democrats wore red ribbons on the House floor to remember victims of gun violence.
Faith leaders who oppose the bill were escorted out of the chamber by security about an hour into the debate as they began reciting the Lord’s Prayer. The group sang “Amazing Grace” as it left.
“Victory in the House!” the Texas State Rifle Association wrote in an email blast to its supporters about six hours later.
The Texas Senate must also pass the bill and Gov. Greg Abbott has to sign it, before it becomes law.
‘It makes us less safe’
Democrats and other critics have said the measure could lead to increased crime and gun violence. In a series of tweets Thursday afternoon, the Texas House Democratic Caucus referenced mass shootings that have occurred
in Texas, calling it “unconscionable” to take up a permitless carry bill while declining to consider legislation to close loopholes in background checks and limit use of semi-automatic weapons.
Those reforms, they say, would make Texas safer and prevent future tragedies.
In August 2019, a gunman shot and killed 23 people at an El Paso Walmart. Four weeks later, another shooting occurred in Midland-Odessa, when a gunman driving through West
Texas killed seven people and injured 25 others. Both were armed with semi-automatic rifles.
“Our focus needs to be on passing laws to ensure every Texan with a gun is safe and responsible with it, not gutting the systems that keep guns out of dangerous hands,” the Democratic caucus wrote. “We will fight hard on the floor today to give Texans the leadership they deserve on this issue.”
State Rep. Joe Moody, DEl Paso, introduced an amendment to strike the
enacting clause of the bill in an effort to effectively kill it. In his remarks, he recalled hearing news of the El Paso shooting, telling his colleagues that he is “so tired of doing nothing” to improve Texas’ gun safety laws.
The amendment failed, 63-79.
In a separate interaction, state Rep. Carl Sherman, D-DeSoto, grilled Schaefer on the bill’s impact on Texas’ communities of color. Black and Latino Texans are already unfairly perceived as threats,
Sherman said, and he fears the “constitutional carry” bill could make everyday life more unsafe for all people of color.
“I implore you to consider the other parts of your district and the entire state of Texas,” Sherman said. “We are very diverse, and every law that we pass here affects every family.”
The bill also faces opposition from prominent Texas law enforcement officers, who gathered outside the state Capitol in Austin on Tuesday to protest the legislation.
“This bill does not make officers more safe,” Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said. “It makes us less safe.”
‘Life and death’ matter
Schaefer and other bill supporters have argued that the legislation would not dilute any Texas law addressing misuse of firearms or criminal behavior. It does not address background checks required for firearm sales or other gun control issues, and it would not alter any existing laws preventing people from taking firearms into schools, airports or other sensitive locations.
Rather, the legislation would improve access to firearms for individuals who find themselves in life-threatening situations and want to protect themselves, Schaefer said.
The time it takes to get a permit could “be a matter of life and death for some people,” and Texans can’t expect law enforcement officers to be present at every dangerous situation, he said: “The simple truth is, criminals don’t care about our gun laws.”
The House deliberations came just a day after the Texas Senate overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 20, which would make it legal for gun owners to bring weapons into their hotel rooms. Supporters of the bill say currently licensed gun owners have to leave their guns in their cars in hotel parking lots, making them a target for car thieves.