Texas on the verge of passing open carry law for handguns

[Judi Lynn]

Source: PBS

Texas on the verge of passing open carry law for handguns
BY Daniel Costa-Roberts April 19, 2015 at 5:48 PM EDT

In spite of its reputation for conservatism, Texas’ laws regarding the open carry of handguns have long been closer to those of blue states like California and Illinois.

But now, with the success of recent open carry bills in the Texas legislature, the Lone Star State is poised to become the 46th U.S. state to allow licensed citizens to carry handguns openly in public.

On Friday, the Texas House of Representatives voted 96-35 in favor of House Bill 910, which extends the rights of citizens who have a concealed handgun license to allow them to openly carry a holstered handgun. A similar bill passed the Texas Senate last month; the two versions must be reconciled before heading to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for signing.

Abbot is likely to give the measure his approval. During a February press conference, he said, “I will sign whatever legislation reaches my desk that expands Second Amendment rights in Texas,”according to The Texas Tribune.



Read more: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/texas-verge-passing-open-carry-law/

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. ....thus it becomes easier to spot the paranoids.

Meh. It's Texas, after all.

[joshdawg]

14. Paranoids and the very stupid.

[melm00se]

2. states where open carry of handguns is legal

[kentauros]

21. Now if only all those criticizing us here in Texas

would take a long and attentive look at your post, maybe they might retract their unfair comments (/insults.)

Thank you for finding that, too. I'm more surprised it took our legislators this long to make open carry legal.

[melm00se]

22. why would they?

Facts are NRA propaganda when they run counter to the established narrative/mindset.

[kentauros]

24. Around here,

it's more about any reason to bash Texas. This is just the latest. We're the 45th state to allow open carry, and suddenly living here is going to be akin to life in the Middle East.

[malokvale77]

26. Oh for Christ's sake...

Poor fucking Texas. What a load of crap.

Texas deserves to be bashed. Not for "open carry". That shit just tells me who to steer clear of.

Texas needs to bashed for it's part in the corruption of our democracy.

[kentauros]

27. No region of the country "deserves" to be bashed.

Because that's then dismissing the efforts of liberals in those areas.

[malokvale77]

30. I am part of the liberal effort in Texas

I am here to say, Texas is the blueprint for all the crazy shit going on in the rest of the nation.

You and I have already had our differences in the Texas Forum.

My mother was born and raised in Texas. I have spent most of my life in this state.

Texas damned sure needs to be bashed.

[kentauros]

36. Then expect to be called on it,

whether we've butted heads before or not.

Bashing Texas is "sport" on DU, as people seem to like getting into arguments with us. None of the other states that have lost their liberal governments seem to garner the same kind of hate and insults as us. I don't recall ever seeing a special state-name-based insult for Wisconsin, New Jersey, or Maine that's akin to "Texass." I don't like that and I will never back down from those that insist on using it (same with defending our members in Florida and what they put up with around here.)

Why not tailor your "bashing" of Texas after how it's done around here for Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Maine? I don't see folks bashing the whole state, just the government. Why is that concept seemingly so difficult? Or is it laziness to just go for the whole region versus a specific target? I vote the latter.

[pablo_marmol]

50. I just have to say that I **REALLY** appreciate your post.

In my (blood) family, I just might be the only liberal. (I've lost touch with some cousins -- and have never known their political leanings) My sister and I are the first generation on my Dad and Mom's side that grew up in a fairly big city. Dad grew up on a farm in North Dakota, and my Mom was a small-town German girl. I had the opportunity to spend a couple of months on the farm where my Dad grew up - still operated by one of his brothers - and THANKFULLY it changed my life. But for that experience, I could be one of the hypocritical rural-folk bashers here on DU that you refer to.

When I was younger, I used to proudly identify as a liberal......but that changed many, many years ago as I became acquainted with the ugly side of "our peeps". Now I don't want to take the remotest chance that I'll be confused with one of them. And the saddest part is that like all bigots, they see theirs as a "respectable bigotry".

Rant concluded. I just needed to let you know that there are liberal Democrats that stand proudly beside you on this issue.

[Paladin]

57. +1. Well said. (nt)

[GGJohn]

59. Kudos for confronting the bigotry and not backing down. eom.

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. Rocket launchers for ALL!

Anything less is tyranny!

[GGJohn]

44. Rocket launchers are perfectly legal to have,

all they are, are cardboard or fiberglass tubes.

[RegexReader]

65. Seriously?

Such makes us look silly. About as bad as those that argued with me that the legalization of marijuana would lead to having school yards littered with syringes left by marijuana users.

[turbinetree]

4. Really

this is what they call a "WELL REGULATED" and then they have a right wing hypocrite saying that “I will sign whatever legislation reaches my desk that expands Second Amendment rights in Texas,”, yep, the same state had how many people murdered by a gun and with a gun:

"State Firearm Death Rates, Ranked by Rate, 2011


Rank State Rate
1 Louisiana 18.91
2 Mississippi 17.80
3 Alaska 17.41
4 Wyoming 16.92
5 Montana 16.74
6 Oklahoma 16.60
7 Alabama 16.34
8 Arkansas 15.72
9 South Carolina 15.09
10 West Virginia 14.99
11 Arizona 14.91
12 Tennessee 14.81
13 New Mexico 14.72
14 Missouri 14.21
15 Kentucky 14.13
16 Nevada 13.82
17 Georgia 12.56
18 Florida 12.46
19 Vermont 12.45
20 Idaho 12.12
21 North Carolina 11.96
22 Michigan 11.70
23 Kansas 11.46
24 Pennsylvania 11.28
25 Colorado 11.20
26 Utah 10.94
27 Oregon 10.86
28 Virginia 10.71
29 Ohio 10.63
30 Maine 10.24
31 Texas 10.14
32 Indiana 9.79
33 Maryland 9.28
34 Washington 9.15
35 North Dakota 8.91
36 Nebraska 8.74
37 Illinois 8.66
38 South Dakota 8.62
39 Delaware 8.48
40 California 7.97
41 Wisconsin 7.79
42 Minnesota 7.41
43 Iowa 7.18
44 New Hampshire 6.98
45 Connecticut 5.85
46 New Jersey 5.46
47 New York 5.11
48 Massachusetts 3.84
49 Hawaii 3.56
50 Rhode Island 3.14
National Firearm Death Rate 10.38"

[pablo_marmol]

12. ^ No surprise. Another pro-restriction DU member unaware that gun violence has been DROPPING.

http://www.people-press.org/2014/12/10/growing-public-support-for-gun-rights/

[turbinetree]

23. Let me say

thanks for the information but........guns kill people, and again what is the pre-amble to the second amendment "A well regulated Militia,", it says nothing about a un-regulated militia, it is the only amendment that says for the Militia to be well regulated and I am unabashed about being a gun control advocate.

I don't like guns---they serve no purpose especially if your school principle was shot and killed and student that was wounded with a gun 50+ years ago, and my president was killed 54 years ago------the violence has not gone down since those senseless murders, that is truly demeaning to say to someone the remarks you made-------have a nice day.

http://stateofenlightenment.com/2013/03/04/gun-violence-statistics-u-s-murders-in-numbers/


"According to the CDC’s gun violence statistics, the number of homicides in the United States has varied roughly between 16,000 and 18,000 deaths per year, with about two-thirds of all murders over the past 10 years in the United States being carried out with a firearm (about 11,000-12,000 persons per year). That amounts to 32 gun homicides per day, every day for the past ten years. To put this in perspective, that is about 60 times the rate of U.S. military deaths in all U.S. wars over the past 10 years, and over 3 times the average of all murders in most developing nations. As far as murders go, guns are the weapon of choice. This overwhelmingly supports the notion that the United States’ murder problem is also very much a gun problem."

[pablo_marmol]

25. You can lie to yourself all you want - when you lie in a public space you risk getting called out.

1) Gun violence is about HALF of what it was in '93 -- your faith-based beliefs notwithstanding: (Strike ONE)

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/05/07/gun-homicide-rate-down-49-since-1993-peak-public-unaware/?hc_location=ufi

2) Like most pro-restriction supporters, you're unaware that the term 'regulated' had a different meaning during the period of time when the phrase a well regulated militia was first used. At that time well regulated meant well trained, well equipped, and well organized. (Strike TWO)

3) So you get your information from the agenda driven CDC? No surprise there! They had their public funding pulled after fabricating a citation from the UCR (Uniform Crime Report) to back up a completely bogus claim. (Strike THREE -- you're OUT.)

Actually, you would have been out after your silly comment regarding a well regulated militia --- since you're unaware that besides killing people, guns also prevent people from getting killed via defensive gun use. Even pro-restriction "scholar" Philip Cook's study (NSPOF) turned up large numbers of defensive gun uses.

You have yourself a nice day as well! So very sorry I "demeaned" you by stating the facts.

[tabasco]

67. You and your fellow gun aficionados are not free to redefine the language

The word "regulated" meant exactly the same thing in 1787 as it means today.

In fact, it's from the Latin and the word meant the same fucking thing in the year 200.

So take your bullshit NRA propaganda and lies elsewhere, where somebody might believe it.

[pablo_marmol]

68. You can lie all you want - but when you lie in a public space you risk being called out.

Too much tabasco for you, I'm afraid. If you're going to lie, at least don't tell such an obvious one. Evidence that my interpretation is the correct one is all over the net.

http://www.constitution.org/cons/wellregu.htm

[tabasco]

70. Bwaaahahahahahaha!

What a crock of shit!

I fully expected the gun aficionados to come up with some ridiculous crap and personal attacks, and they did not disappoint.



The word "regulate" has meant the same thing for thousands of years, dearies.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=regulate

[pablo_marmol]

73. Only the excruciatingly ignorant or ideology driven believe that our language is static.

http://ideas.ted.com/20-words-that-once-meant-something-very-different/

The phrase "well-regulated" was in common use long before 1789, and remained so for a century thereafter. It referred to the property of something being in proper working order. Something that was well-regulated was calibrated correctly, functioning as expected. Establishing government oversight of the people's arms was not only not the intent in using the phrase in the 2nd amendment, it was precisely to render the government powerless to do so that the founders wrote it.

Anyone who can't figure out, or who denies the truth of the last sentence knows so little about our history that he/she deserves to be ignored.

But you just keep on prevaricating, distorting and laughing your way to more legislative, judicial and public opinion losses -- don't let me stop you!

http://www.constitution.org/cons/wellregu.htm

[KareBear]

69. Language changes all the time

http://www.constitution.org/cons/wellregu.htm

[tabasco]

71. Please see post #70

and stop insulting people's intelligence with insipid arguments.

[Hoyt]

31. How far would they drop without so many friggin gunz and yahoos that love them?

[pablo_marmol]

39. Your track record, Hoyt, tells me that you are not worth my time. :-) NT

[Hoyt]

41. Good. I'm not looking to be" friendly" with gun promoters.

[pablo_marmol]

42. Neither are you looking for "friends" with integrity. :-)

Buh bye!

[Hoyt]

43. Integrity and gun promotion are not related.

[GGJohn]

45. That's just your opinion and you know the old saying?

Opinions are like derrier's, everyone has one and some are smellier than others.

[Hoyt]

52. I bet you learned that from personal experience.

[GGJohn]

55. Naw, just from reading your posts here. eom.

[Skittles]

48. LOLOL

as if YOU'RE some kind of fucking prize

[pablo_marmol]

51. Laugh all you want, Piddles.

I have a track record of being able to back up what I claim -- unlike yourself and the Hoytster.

When have either one of you "prizes" ever cited to evidence by linking to a non-agenda driven study?

[Skittles]

53. PIDDLES!!!!!!!!

!!!! HAR OMG!!!!!

YOU ARE NOT WORTH ONE MORE MOMENT OF MY TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pablo_marmol]

58. Great! :-) NT

[malokvale77]

32. I welcome right to carry.

It tells me who, what and where to avoid.

Bunch of creepy ass MOFUs. Not a brain between them.

[pablo_marmol]

40. There are those on the religious right (religious *wrong*, actually) that believe

that a guy in a speedo wearing body paint and dancing on a gay pride float is creepy and brainless.

Both gun haters and gay haters are culture warriors, and neither group has the self-awareness or integrity to examine their bigotry. Together, they represent the two sides of one very slimy coin. As long as open and concealed carriers commit such a tiny fraction of the total gun violence, who cares what they do? As a liberal who refuses to practice ala carte liberalism -- my sensibilities aren't offended by either group.

(Oh.......but the evil gunz are designed for killing, right? Blah, blah blah.........)

[IveWornAHundredPants]

60. So what's the deal?

Do you really love guns or something? Why? What's the compulsion to defend the things so vociferously?

[GGJohn]

61. So what's the deal?

Why do you care?

[pablo_marmol]

62. Here's the deal: I love civil rights.

And I don't love the ala carte liberalism (read faux-liberalism) which follows the verdict of empirical evidence when it suits, and discards it when it doesn't. Is that clear enough? Well, read on:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/07/04/881431/-Why-liberals-should-love-the-Second-Amendment

[pablo_marmol]

63. So what's the deal?

Are we supposed to care that you've worn a hundred pants?

Do you really love pants or something?

[ileus]

5. makes more sense than only allowing OC of rifles.

[eallen]

9. Texas already allows open carry of long guns

[VScott]

6. Only 4 more to go!

Personally, I/myself wouldn't open carry because...

1) Too many terrified hand wringers and bubble heads would go into a panic attack.
2) I see no real need to advertise my personal affairs and business.
3) Too many trigger happy cops out there that might jump to conclusions.

[valerief]

8. Hand wringers and bubble heads? OFF TO IGNORE FOREVER!!!!

[Politicalboi]

7. Congrats Texass

May your state look like the middle east in the years to come. May you scare away sane businesses that don't want gun yokels in their stores. Hopefully Wal-Mart will get sued over their shootings and if Wal-Mart closes so does Texass.

[hack89]

16. Most states have identical laws

they didn't turn into the middle east so I doubt Texas will either.

[kentauros]

17. According to post #2 above,

there appears to be many "blue" states where even a permit isn't required for open carry in their states.
(post #2)

So, who's the real ass in this case?

I'm not happy that they're doing this, and yet we did manage to somehow hold out while 44 other states allowed their citizens to open carry before us...

[GGJohn]

46. If that were true,

then why aren't the rest of the states that allow this look like the ME?

[petronius]

10. Fair enough - sounds like it only applies to people who already have

permits to carry, giving them another option. And as I understand it, Texas' system for issuing permits is pretty reasonable: shall-issue with a classroom instruction and proficiency requirement...

[malokvale77]

28. I would agree...

but the guy that pushed this is a bit mentally unbalanced.

The "shall-issue with a classroom instruction and proficiency requirement" has more to do with affordability than proficiency.

[pablo_marmol]

11. So when the gun violence rate doesn't move one way or the other

we can expect to see you back here posting a link with evidence to that effect?

Because based on LOTS of history, this is what we know will occur.

(Rhetorical question, obviously)

[Skittles]

13. makes the cowards more identifiable

[malokvale77]

33. Yes indeed...

Would you like me to "kick ass" when you are not available?

[GOLGO 13]

15. It's how I we (MEN) can flaunt our explosive powah!

I can think of nothing more pleasant than showing off a generous swelling of pride when I strap a 45 to my side.

[Skittles]

49. careful

slaughtered people don't bother gun humpers but assertions like THAT sure will

[MosheFeingold]

18. To add a bit of history to this

The law (pre-Jim Crow) was people could carry hand guns where-ever, but to carry a concealed pistol (which was considered sneaky), you needed a permit.

The stricter laws were implemented basically: (1) so the KKKlan could operate freely in East Texas as the permitting process was handled much the same way voter literacy tests were performed and (2) mass production made hand guns much more affordable so people that were not part of the oligarchy could casually buy them.

I'm of two minds on this in general -- we need to either ban private ownership of weapons completely and confiscate them, or just open it up. Half-measures do more harm than good.

I base this, in part, from being a soldier and cop way back when and then a prosecutor. But also from my family owning various retail stores in Crown Heights back during the bad old days. Having a shotgun behind the jewelry counter saved my father's life more than a couple of times.

[Lodestar]

19. All those Republican politicians need gun lobby money for their campaigns...n/t

[Monk06]

29. Give it to them so the world can see them toting AR15s, holstered Glocks and RPGs to go

SHOPPING !!!

TEXAS IS RIDICULOUS AS A STATE AND AS A STATE OF MIND !! THE CIVILISED WORLD IS LAUGHING AND CRYING AT THE SAME TIME AT THIS SPECTACLE OF AMERICAN RIGHT WING POLITICS!!

Texans have less respect for responsible government and the rule of law than ISIS

Hitler is sighing gently in his grave saying, "We won, our people are safe."

[Trajano]

35. Are they making RPGs legal?

?

[kentauros]

37. Yeah, I've been involved in roleplay games here since 1976!

They better be legal, or I've been breaking Texas law for the last forty years

[malokvale77]

34. My question is...

Can I still conceal it before I take down those that flaunt it?

[GGJohn]

47. Take down those that flaunt it?

[Vinca]

38. Let me guess - the only exception will be space inhabited by Texas lawmakers.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

54. I know what I am gonna do.

As a lifelong Texan, not a hick, and a third generation yellow dog Democrat who always votes, the first time I go in a store and see somebody open carrying a handgun, I am gonna take my sweet ass out of there REAL FAST.

Do the people with stores realize that some of us do not want to be around people who open carry?

[hamsterjill]

64. I plan to do the exact same thing!

I think that this issue is going to ultimately resolve over time, too. As store owners are forced to pay for higher insurance premiums for gun accidents, etc. on their premises, there will be more and more who will forbid the carrying of guns, concealed or otherwise, on premises.

Yes, I realize that people who insist on carrying a gun will not be foiled by a mere sign on the front door of a business, but that sign gives yet another right of relief should someone be caught carrying inside a business with a sign forbidding it.

Amazon (and other internet retailers) may be getting a lot more of my business!

[Gothmog]

56. It is tough living in Texas as times

The Texas legislature is out of control

[Manifestor_of_Light]

66. Yeah, it is tough.

Gothmog, I sympathize. This is a beautiful state with a lot of great people and a lot of idiots in power.