3 Bills Introduced Could Allow Texas Permitless Carry
Luke Cuenco 03.04.21
Currently, Texans are allowed to carry a concealed firearm within their own property which includes their vehicles. Texas also allows the open carrying of long guns in public; however, Texans are still denied the right to carry a concealed firearm on their person without a state-issued license to carry.
That all may change this year as 3 new bills have been introduced to the Texas Legislature that may allow Texas citizens to finally gain constitutional carry. These three Texas Permitless carry bills are still in their early stages so much support is still needed if they have any hope of being passed into law.
3 Bills Introduced Could Allow Texas Permitless Carry
Bills HB 1238, HB 1927, and HB 1587 are all bills looking to allow unlicensed persons to carry a concealed firearm. Over the last month, each of these three bills has been filed with the Texas Legislature and are currently awaiting their first readings. So, each of these bills is currently in its early stages, but many feel like this will finally be the year that Texas permitless carry makes it into law (otherwise known as constitutional carry).
If passed into law, Texas would join the already existing 18 states (with 3 more, Tennessee, Alabama, and Indiana) that have constitutional carry as part of their state laws. The passing of these bills into law wouldn’t invalidate the prohibition on felons from possessing firearms as those restrictions would still be in place for non-law-abiding citizens. What this does do is remove a barrier for the law-abiding citizens of Texas to exercise their second amendment rights.
As has been said with other constitutional carry laws being enacted. I firmly believe that it should be the responsibility of the individual to properly arm themselves, train themselves, and be vigilant while out and about. Despite the fact we live in a great country, there are still many dangers we face on a daily basis and we are always going to be our own first line of defense for ourselves, our families, and our communities.
