Open Carry Coming to Texas!

Next stop, Constitutional carry!

The Texas House of Representatives approved the legislation 102-43, with only five representatives from the left side of the isle joining the majority. The bill passed the state Senate with twenty Republican votes in favor and eleven Democratic votes against it.

Texas is historically a very conservative state, however the current policies are more akin to those of much bluer states.

But now, with the success of recent open carry bills within the Lone-Star State legislature, Texas is poised to become the forty fifth U.S. state to permit licensed citizens to carry handguns overtly in public.

Currently, Texans who desire to carry a side arm publicly should have a concealed carry license and are required to keep the gun hidden. State law permits residents who are over twenty one, to get a license once a background check, a short class and completing written and practical tests.

Some kind of open carry of handguns is allowed in forty four different states, though some need permits, there are also limits based upon location and time that open carry is allowed. This leaves only a few blue states and the District of Columbia with a full ban on open carry.

Texans are already allowed to purchase and openly carry rifles and shotguns without permits, which has groups such as Come and Take It Texas to publicly carry rifles and shotguns on the streets and places of business to bring awareness to what they see as an arbitrary legal distinction.

A campus carry bill was also passed by the state legislature.