Posted on 03/18/2015 10:21:29 AM PDT by marktwain
The Texas Senate passed an open carry bill on Tuesday, 17 March, 2015. The bill removes restrictions on the open carry of weapons that dates back to reconstruction, when radical Republicans changed the Texas Constitution to disarm former confederates, and which Democrats kept in place to disarm freed slaves and Hispanics. The bill passed on partisan lines, with 20 Republicans voting for it and 11 Democrats voting against it. A minimum of 19 votes was required for the bill to make it out of the Senate. From woai.com:
The vote was 20-11, right along party lines, for a measure proposed by State Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls).The companion House Bill, HB 910, was considered in a public hearing on the same day, 17 March. It is pending in committee. Four of the nine committee members are authors or coauthors, including the committee chairman. It has 80 authors and coauthors. The big question is whether it will be allowed a vote on the floor by Speaker of the House Joe Strauss. From opencarry.org:
The bill mirrors the current concealed handgun license law, except for two changes.
"We just take the word 'concealed' out in every section," he said. "Also what we are doing is adding a sign that business people can put up, if they are comfortable with concealed carry, but are a little uncomfortable with open carry."
The measure is far from the victory that Open Carry advocates had expected when the session opened. The bill does not allow the open carrying of long guns, just handguns, requires that anyone carrying weapons openly have a Concealed Handgun Permit, and allows business owners wide latitude in keeping people with openly carried handguns off the premises.
No bill gets passed without Joe Straus letting it through the House. I still haven't seen any evidence that that hurdle is surmountable. I certainly want Texas to get Open Carry, but let's make sure our optimism is grounded in reality.Joe Straus has been blamed for the failure to pass open carry legislation two years ago. It looks different this year, with thousands of open carry marches throughout the state, and activists causing a fair number of Representatives to be primaried. A correspondent activist in Texas told me that Speaker Strauss lost a significant number of allies in the last primaries.
I would love to see it. It is a pain to conceal carry when exercising.
The REASON why the bill does not expressly authorize the open carry of long guns (shotguns and rifles) is because they are ALREADY LEGAL to open carry in Texas!!
Since when?????
Open carry (((ping)))!
Can the iSix-gun be far behind?
ping
The republican party has total control of Texas. Open carry cannot pass there. Even this version of “open carry” means you need a ccw permit.
This is a lesson to all who think the GOP is somehow our friend. The truth is that the democrats pathologically hate us, while the GOP holds annoyed disdain for us.
You do not believe in incremental progress?
We have made great strides in the last 20 years.
I believe Baraq Hussein Obama will be viewed as the #1 gun salesman in the history of the USA.
It’s also a pain to carry concealed during the Texas summer.
/johnny
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