Public testimony on two of the most controversial gun bills introduced this session got underway Tuesday and is expected to continue on late into the night.
House Bills 375 and 1911 would allow Texans to carry firearms without a state-issued permit to do so.
Known as the ‘Texas Constitutional Carry Act of 2017,’ HB 375 would make licenses for both open and concealed carry optional, along with the safety training that’s currently required.
“If you can legally purchase a gun, you would able to be carry under ‘constitutional carry,’” said State Rep. Jonathan Stickland.
A Republican out of Bedford, TX, Stickland authored HB 375 on the idea that permit-less carry is allowed under the Second Amendment and that the state’s current mandates are an infringement of that right. “People should not have to pay a fee or take a mandatory class to evoke their right to self-defense,” Stickland said.
He added, criminals don’t follow laws and the state’s requirements only hurt “the good guys.”
Stickland said, “We believe that an armed society is a safer society and we think that we ask too much of the police right now and that people need to take responsibility for themselves.”
Dozens of women with ‘Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America’ signed up to testify against both of the proposals at Tuesday’s hearing.
“If we are concerned about criminals carrying guns we should be passing laws that make it harder for dangerous people to do that,” said Nicole Golden. The leader of the Austin chapter, Golden said, “We certainly shouldn’t be stripping away requirements and throwing up our hands and saying ‘there’s nothing we can do,’ because that puts our families at risk.”
Lone Star Gun Rights loaded about a dozen boxes into the hearing room at the State Capitol Tuesday.
“Nearly 80,000 petitions signed by Texans demanding that we get constitutional carry, specifically HB 375” said A.J. Postell.
The group’s co-founder, Postell said, “This bill would save so many lives throughout the state of Texas.”
Opponents argue the opposite.
“I think it will cost more lives,” said Andrea Brauer, executive director of Texas Gun Sense.
Brauer said permit-less carry would likely increase the number of gun thefts and accidental discharges in Texas.
“It’s dangerous, they’re not trained, they don’t have the experience and it will make life confusing for law enforcement,” she said.
The leader of the Combined Law Enforcement Agency of Texas (CLEAT), the largest police group in the state, Charley Wilkison signed up to speak against HB 375 and a similar proposal, House Bill 1911.
“Both bills remove safeguards of training and licensing for the public and we’re opposed to that,” said Wilkison, CLEAT executive director.
State Rep. Stickland dismissed the concerns of those who oppose his bill. “Their fears are not founded in facts,” Stickland said.
Constitutional carry was named a top priority by the Republican Party of Texas at the state convention last year.
If House committee advances the bill and HB 375 goes to vote, Stickland is confident constitutional carry will pass on the House floor.
“There are not enough Republicans who could vote against it,” Stickland said. He added some Democrats in the Texas House have already offered a verbal commitment to vote in favor of the bill.
If passed into law, Texas would be the 13th state to allow constitutional carry in the U.S.
