TX – Though some Republicans voiced hesitancy over the bill, it ultimately passed the Texas Senate on Wednesday in an 18-13 vote along party lines. The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, said he supports the bill and will sign it into law once it reaches his desk.
Current law requires fingerprints, four hours of training and the passing of a written exam and shooting proficiency test in order to carry a handgun. The state does not require any license to carry a rifle.
The state senator Charles Schwertner, a Republican, said that the bill is “a restoration of the belief in and trust of our citizens”.
“We cannot allow another session to come and go where we pay lip service for the second amendment by failing to fully restore and protect the rights of citizens granted by the constitution.”
Polling in the states suggests a majority of Texans do not support unlicensed carry, with 59% of those polled in a University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll saying they oppose the policy. The poll found that the vast majority of Democrats, 85%, oppose it, while a smaller majority of Republicans, 56%, support the measure.
Beverly Powell, a Democratic senator, echoed safety concerns from some law enforcement groups and license-to-carry instructors that opposed the bill.
“If I sit down at a restaurant with a gentleman or a woman who has a holster on their side and a gun in it, I want to know that person is well-trained in the use of that gun,” she said.
Texas has seen a number of mass shootings in the last several years, including two mass shootings in August 2019 that left a total of 30 people dead, a shooting at a high school in May 2018 that saw 10 people dead and a third at a church in November 2017 where 27 people were killed.
Though mass shootings have continued in the country, with the recent shootings in Atlanta and Denver, Texas is not alone in looking to loosen its gun restrictions. A handful of other states are looking to allow permitless carry, including South Carolina and Florida.
