Place your bet on type of Texas open carry law to pass

[johndoe3]

Place your bets on open carry for Texas in 2015.


Just for your info, Letters to the Editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper seem to be overwhelmingly from anti-gunners piling on to demand licensed open carry. Interesting strategy by anti-gunners, who read the writing on the wall that TX WILL get some form of open carry, so they've decided to influence it towards the most restrictive form.

http://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/le ... 33910.html

[L1A1Rocker]

For the last three legislative sessions (6 years) we've had enough votes to pass it, and a Governor that would sign it. BUT, because there is so much to do in a short time every other year, it has yet to actually make it to a vote. There has been a lot of awareness these last two years so I think it has a good shot at coming to a vote this time.

[whiterussian1974]

We already have Licensed Open Carry under our Occupational Code.
Security Guards, Military, Corrections, Business Owner/Employee not primarily engaged in Security Functions, etc.

Personally, I feel that requiring a License to Open Carry is redundant.
The main problem w OC is securing your weapon. Once others see it, they know where to grab.
When concealed, criminals have to treat almost everyone like they are potentially armed.
Perhaps the UCW law should be altered to treat handguns the same as longguns. OK to possess, just don't point them at anyone unless Deadly Force is Authorised.
From my perspective, all Adult nonFelons should be able to carry concealed w/o license. But I doubt that we'll see that. The prior exemption from UCW that person was "traveling" has been removed.

[XinTX]

Well, it looks like Dan Patrick (Lt Gov) is going squishy. Now that he's comfortably in office of course.

http://fishgame.com/2015/01/dan-patrick ... dium=email

[RJT]

I voted total rejection. There has been a bunch of negative press out lately, and it's making it hard for me to stay positive about it passing. Snowball's chance, or something along those lines.

[johndoe3]

RJT, I don't think press coverage is a good indicator on whether something will pass in the legislature. Journalists tend to be anti-gun or at most scared of being labeled not part of the clique.

Look at the recent case of Virginia on Monday, and the newly elected clintonista Guv who proposed a whole slew of gun-control measures for VA. Some on here from VA said (rightly as it turned out) that the R's dominated both sides of the VA legislature, so McCauliffe's gun control proposals would die. On Monday the VA senate committee killed a whole slew of proposed gun control measures (at least 10) and passed only pro-gun measures (3 of them) to the senate for voting.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/politics/se ... a3b5d.html

The anti-gun media was piling on in VA which is their agenda, and yet in VA gun control died for 2015.

It seems that LT Guv Patrick in TX is somewhat walking it back now, and saying that he doesn't think the votes are there for open carry passage in the TX legislature, but that he would not oppose it. So I guess it is up to Texans who care, to start e-mailing their State representatives and senators to demand passage of open carry for Texas. It would be better if Lt Guv Patrick made open carry passage a legislative priority for this session.

[XinTX]

Actually, the GOP put that plank in their platform. And the TX legislature is overwhelmingly in Republican hands. Not even sending the bill to the floor for a vote will ensure it won't pass. Sending it and forcing a vote will get the Rinos on record. Not sending it lets them off the hook.

[L1A1Rocker]

We've had the votes for the last three legislative sessions (that's SIX years). But we've never had a vote on it for various reasons. I don't know what Patrick is up to, but is smells VERY fishy to me.

[XinTX]

Yep. Last session the votes were there but Strauss bottled it up in a committee. But Strauss faced a bit of a challenge. So it looks like Dan is going to carry Strauss' water this time around.

[Syntax360]

Could it be that the failure to take a vote was just a punitive response to all the OCTC jackassery we've been seeing lately? I remember a few months back when the admin of TexasCHLForum (he's a lawyer that is heavily involved with gun rights in Texas) posted a warning - lawmakers were saying that if these idiots pressed on, they could kiss goodbye a sure thing.

[L1A1Rocker]

Could it be that the failure to take a vote was just a punitive response to all the OCTC jackassery we've been seeing lately? I remember a few months back when the admin of TexasCHLForum (he's a lawyer that is heavily involved with gun rights in Texas) posted a warning - lawmakers were saying that if these idiots pressed on, they could kiss goodbye a sure thing.

No, the open carry folks came about as a REACTION to the non-action in the state legislature. The reality is, they have done an incredible job of bringing about an awareness of lack of open carry in Texas. Without their radical approach, we would still be trying to get a voice in the legislature. Because of their efforts there are a LOT more everyday folks saying, they want the option to open carry.

[Syntax360]

"Incredible" is one word for it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbfxRQRQOTY
http://goo.gl/eXq5jx

[silencertalk]

You should not need permission from the govt to carry. On the other hand, there should be people banned from owning guns. But if someone is legitimately stopped by police and they have a gun and a felon record, they would be subject to arrest - so the permit does not really add anything except the ability to impose other restrictions such as training.

Or if you want TX to be like MA, then that would be open carry is allowed if you have a permit.

[doubloon]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/2 ... 73344.html

http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup ... Bill=HB910

[johndoe3]

Congrats Texas, 140 years of prohibiting open carry of handguns in TX has ended (actually Jan 1, 2016 when it goes into effect), with your Guv signing it into law today. Those of you who chose permitted open carry win the poll.