Texas Governor Signs Open Carry Law At Shooting Range

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott used the backdrop of a shooting range to sign a law that allows guns on college campuses and the carrying of handguns out in the open.

The Texas Legislature on May 31 approved allowing license holders to carry concealed handguns on public college campuses — but included a caveat that lets college presidents designate “gun-free zones.” The House voted 98-47 to approve the measure, sending it to Abbott to be signed into law.

The so-called “campus carry” bill was a priority for gun rights activists, even though top universities statewide opposed it. Both chambers previously passed their own versions of the bill, and a weekend agreement between House and Senate negotiators set up final approval.

Opponents won the concession of gun-free zones, though college presidents won’t be able to ban handguns on entire campuses. In order to obtain a concealed-carry license, though, Texans must be 21 — meaning many college students won’t qualify.
Texas lawmakers on May 29 approved carrying handguns openly on the streets of the nation’s second most-populous state, sending the bill to Abbott, who immediately promised to sign it and reverse a ban dating to the post-Civil War era. Gun owners would still have to get a license to carry a handgun in a visible holster.

The state known for its “Wild West,” cowboy history and some the nation’s most relaxed gun laws, has allowed concealed handguns for 20 years. Concealed handgun license holders are even allowed to skip the metal detectors at the state Capitol, as state troopers providing security assume they’re armed.

But Texas was one of only six states with an outright ban on so-called open carry, and advocates have fought to be allowed to keep their guns in plain sight. Cast as an important expansion of the Second Amendment right to bear arms in the U.S. Constitution, it became a major issue for the state’s strong Republican majority.

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D.B. Hirsch

D.B. Hirsch is a political activist, news junkie, and retired ad copy writer and spin doctor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.