No-permit gun carry legislation advances in Texas after years of stalled efforts

AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas House on Thursday gave initial approval to a measure that would allow carrying a handgun in Texas without a permit, a multiyear effort that never before had gotten a vote in the lower chamber.

If approved, Texas would become by far the largest of roughly 20 states that already allow handgun owners to carry their weapons in public without a permit.

The timing of the GOP-led House passing the bill now — after years of stalled efforts — angered opponents whose chances for tightening gun laws after the 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting that killed 23 people are fading. Texas lawmakers did not meet in 2020, making this the first year gun-control bills have been filed since the attack.

The 84-56 vote was largely along party lines.

The debate dragged on for more than five hours, with Democrats attempting to tweak the bill through more than a dozen failed amendments and using parliamentary maneuvers sometimes used to kill a bill. At one point, gun control activists, overlooking lawmakers from the House gallery, were escorted out by law enforcement as they prayed and sang "Amazing Grace."

House Bill 1927, authored by a number of Republican lawmakers, would allow anyone over the age of 21 who can legally possess a firearm to carry a handgun in public. Current Texas law allows residents 21 or older to carry a handgun after completing the required training to obtain a license to carry, have a clean criminal record and do not have a chemical dependence. Other restrictions include the inability to "exercise sound judgment with respect the proper use and storage of a handgun." The standard application fee for a license is $40.

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"The bill should be called common sense carry," Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler said, adding that the measure doesn't change background check laws and "has nothing to do with the purchase or transfer of a firearm."

The bill has the backing of the Texas Republican Party and the powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby. It must be approved for a third time in the House and would require the Senate's OK before heading to the governor's desk.

Proponents of the bill were optimistic that this year could be different with the election of House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, who has been part of attempts in previous sessions to expand unlicensed carry.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, previously has not shown an appetite for permitless carry, saying the chamber lacked the votes, and in 2019, defended his calls for background checks before stranger-to-stranger firearm sales.

The House permitless carry measure would leave background checks in place, although there are loopholes that don't require background checks in certain private purchases and purchases at gun shows.

Firearm instructors gathered outside the Capitol earlier this week to oppose the bill, arguing that handgun owners should be properly trained. Police groups also have opposed it.

Activists filled the gallery overlooking the action on the House floor on Thursday, with Moms Demand Action gun control organizers dressed in red, Gun Owners of America in black and an interfaith group opposed to the measure dressed in all white.

Members of the interfaith group planned a vigil for victims of gun violence after the debate.

The debate became testy at times, with Democrats arguing the bill would lead to more mass shootings and increased gun violence in Texas.

Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, spoke against the bill at the front of the chamber, surrounded by the rest of the El Paso delegation.

The El Paso shooting in 2019 came just weeks before a gunman in Midland-Odessa killed seven people with a gun he obtained in a private purchase without a background check. Moody said lawmakers vowed to make bipartisan changes, but so far, Republicans have only aimed to put looser gun measures on the books.

"I'm so tired of doing nothing," Moody said. "I'm so tired of catering to a very small number of very loud people whose thinking about guns is wrapped up in unfounded fears and bizarre conspiracy theories."

Instead, the Legislature in recent years has moved to expand gun laws. In 2015, the Legislature expanded Texans' rights to carry handguns in public. Licensed handgun carriers do not need to conceal the weapons.

Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, said HB 1927 ignores rising gun violence and mass shootings in Texas and across the country. "This bill makes our state and our constituents less safe," Turner said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: No-permit gun carry legislation advances in Texas