Republicans in both the Texas House and Senate are vowing to pass a bill this session, which would add Texas to the growing list of states with open-carry gun laws. These bills, which already has the governor-elect’s support, has multiple versions of it presented in the early filing period.
Some may not know this, but Texas already has an open-carry law, one that is limited to rifles and antique pistols. A group of lawmakers in the Senate and House, however, are hoping the Republican sweep this past election will give them enough votes to pass legislation that allows Concealed Handgun Licensees to carry their weapon openly.
Woodville Republican, Rep. James White, is one of those in the legislature hoping to pass such a bill.
“If the state of Vermont not only has open-carry but it has constitutional-carry, and everyone talks about how blue the state of Vermont is, surely in the big “red state” of Texas, we can have open-carry,” said White.
Constitutional-carry refers to a gun owner’s ability to carry a firearm either concealed or openly without a permit. White’s bill is one of six on the issue of open-carry, and that number seems to growing as legislation continues to be submitted during the early filing period.
The idea that Texas should have an open-carry law is shared by the person who would sign that particular bill into law, governor-elect Greg Abbott.
“If an open-carry bill is passed by the House and Senate, I will sign it into law, Abbott had stated.”
Similar bills were filed during the previous legislative session but were defeated by Democrats, whose numbers this session have dwindled, Republicans believe that in 2015, Texas will join 44 other states that allow gun owners to openly carry their handguns.It is already legal for a person to openly carry a rifle or antique gun in the Texas.
