HB 2756, the bill that would have allowed CHL holders to open carry didn’t make it to the calender for this session and is effectively dead. The bill was a long shot since the TSRA didn’t support it* and it didn’t allow anyone to open carry unless they had a concealed handgun license.
(Thanks to Joseph Kerr for the update in comments here.)
The next legislative opportunity for open carry in Texas will be in 2013.
*I still haven’t heard a good explanation why the TSRA doesn’t support open carry. I’ve been told “it’s not a priority” or “the members don’t support it” but I’ve also heard that the CHL training establishment is very much against open carry since it would presumably hit them in the wallet. Regardless, the TSRA did NOT support HB 2756.
If it still required a permit, what was the trainers’ beef?
That “mandatory concealment” thing is probably the single biggest wart on TX gun laws. 🙁
I’d say it’s a camel’s nose thing. If you allow some people to open carry, then next time they’ll push to allow everyone. Better just to stop it now.
And yes, The mandatory concealment thing sucks. Especially when it’s 100 degrees outside.
Indeed it IS a Camel’s nose. All of the bullshit permitting requirements are 100% a made-up problem. Every time anybody has crunched the numbers they find that permit holders are more lawful than the general population or the police force.
There are NO numbers that show states that require live fire training, vs. just classroom training, vs. no mandatory training have any difference in gun injuries, accidents, or negligent behavior.
While the data set is still small, there is also no problems to be found with states that allow open or concealed carry without a permit.
Essentially every hoop they are fighting for is preventing a problem that doesn’t exist. Any act that would put light on this reality is exposing the truth that makes some nanny-types very nervous.
This is simply a “True Believer” problem from within the gunnie community.
My understanding of why TSRA doesn’t support it is because they’re trying to stay focused and not confuse other issues. They take it that it’s going to be hard enough to get campus carry, so let’s not confuse and scare the sheep further thinking people will now openly walk around with guns on campus. That’s just going to make it harder. Take smaller bites and chip away at the stone.
I’m not a TSRA spokesperson (just a Life member), but the above is my understanding… and I could be wrong.
Open carry, since virtually every other state allows it, would be an easier sell than campus carry which almost no state allows.
If it really is about staying focused then they’re not focused in the right places.
Delaware allows both OC AND campus carry. That is,
there’s no specific statute prohibiting either.
That said, I suspect open carrying on the University of Delaware campus on a sunny spring day might not be the greatest idea.
But Alan, don’t you remember all those millions of gallons of Blood that Flooded Pittsburgh when we Open Carried?
Sounds like you got some Elitist “Good Ol’ Boys” down there that don’t like the idea of all those ” ‘Cans” exercising their 2A rights, to me. God Forbid Manuel and Tyrone walk the streets of Dallas with a Glock on their hip. They might frighten the Missus as she comes out of Neiman-Marcus!
I’m sorry it didn’t pass since I am; a) moving to TX in three days, b) more comfortable with open carry than CCW/CHL carry and c) sweat continuously and freely. BUT! there’s no carry at all where I am now so as bad as it sucks to not have open carry, think about Nazi states with no carry at all.
Not disagreeing with you. That’s just my understanding of TSRA’s line of reasoning.
If it’s any consolation, the onerous concealment requirements of TX (and FL) are part of the reason that TN wrote its CCW reform law to specify that concealment was not mandatory.
Another perspective from a TSRA member. The big efforts this year were campus carry and parking lot storage. Most all TSRA member would like open carry, especially constitutional carry, but the way the open carry bill was very poorly written and fraught with potential problems. All the author did was take the existing law for concealed carry and remove the word “concealed”. There could have been severe negative ramifications if the bill were to have passed. Remember that Texas has never had legal open carry and if gone about the wrong way, we could lose some of what we have. Our concealed carry laws as currently written are very generous to us and TSRA didn’t want to go backwards. I believe Florida is going about this matter correctly and, hopefully, Texas will follow them with a better written law.
tc:
If Texas wants a better written law, I would suggest following Wyoming’s lead:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/spl3/wyoming-constitutional-carry.html
http://www.libertarianpunk.com/2010/03/wyoming-governor-signs-firearm-freedom-act-into-law/
Anything less simply proves that Texas is just full of girly-men and sheep who are afraid of firearms.
If you want to understand TSRA’s apathy on open carry, just review the posts on http://www.TexasCHLforum.com . The head honcho for TSRA, Charles Cotton, runs the site.
Most unfortunate. It always strikes me as strange that Texas, while having one of the better concealed carry laws, doesn’t allow open carry. On paper MA allows open carry, but in practice it’s just asking to have your license to carry revoked.
I’ll have to remember to bring loose fitting shirts next time I’m down in Texas. Just in case.
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