Originally Posted By: jim87formulaSounds good. Any word on Constitutional carry, also called permitless carry being brought up?
It will come up in this legislative session.
Quote:
Lawmaker seeks to pass "constitutional carry" gun bill in 2017
House Bill 375 would give all Texans the right to openly carry a firearm — with or without a permit. If passed, Texas would be the 11th state to allow "constitutional carry."
by Alex SamuelsJan. 3, 2017 12:01 AM
A hotly contested legislative session in 2015 led to two controversial gun laws: One that allows for the open carry of handguns and another that permits the concealed carry of handguns on Texas college campuses.
Now, one lawmaker is looking toward the upcoming legislative session with the hope to pass a bill that would give all Texans the right to openly carry a firearm — with or without a permit.
House Bill 375 — authored by State Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford — is known as “constitutional carry” and it would make the licensing process and classes to obtain a permit optional. The idea, according to Stickland, is that Texans shouldn’t be forced to take a course and pay a fee to exercise their Second Amendment rights. If passed, Texas would be the 11th state to allow constitutional carry.
A number of Texas Democrats oppose the proposal. State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, a critic of both the campus carry and open carry laws, said constitutional carry "seems to be an unnecessary thing."
And Moms Demand Action, a group that advocates for tighter gun control, will fight the constitutional carry proposal, according to a spokeswoman, Nicole Golden of Austin. Under Stickland's bill, there would be no way to tell whether people carrying handguns in public have a permit or have been trained, she said.
“That obviously concerns those of us who live and raise our families in Texas,” said Golden, a mother of two.
Last session, the Legislature made Texas the 45th state to allow the open carry of handguns. Senate Bill 17 — which took effect in January 2016 — allows roughly 826,000 handgun license holders to openly carry their weapons in a hip or shoulder holster. Currently, Texans who choose to carry are required to have a permit. According to Stickland, however, this shouldn’t be the case.
“Carrying a firearm is a is a big personal responsibility, and taking a couple of classes for a couple of hours doesn’t mean you’re necessarily ready to carry,” said Stickland. “For most gun owners, they put more time and training into it than the state mandates. We just think its time to restore the constitutional rights to Texas.”
“This isn’t a fringe issue. This has become the norm and Texas needs to catch up with the rest of the nation on the Second Amendment.”
— State Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford
Through spokeswoman Ciara Matthews, Gov. Greg Abbott declined to comment on whether he'd support a constitutional carry bill. In a statement to The Texas Tribune, however, Matthews said the governor “will always consider legislation aimed at preserving our right to keep and bear arms.” Abbott previously advocated for Texans who wanted to openly carry to go through the same training and background checks as concealed handgun license holders.
Stickland has a track record of championing pro-gun legislation. During the last legislative session, he supported open carry and authored House Bill 195, a constitutional carry bill that never received a committee hearing. Stickland said he’s hopeful HB 375 won’t suffer the same fate since both open carry and campus carry are now law.
https://www.texastribune.org/2017/01/03/lawmaker-hopes-passing-constitutional-carry-bill-2/
Regards,
hm
