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By ANNA M. TINSLEY
[email protected]
Texas is considered to have some of the most permissive gun laws in the nation, but gun-rights advocates are making it one of their top political targets because it is one of a handful of states that don't allow handguns to be carried openly.
"It's shocking that Texas, with its history of rugged individualism that the state symbolizes, doesn't allow open carry," said John Pierce, a co-founder of and spokesman for OpenCarry.org - A Right Unexercised is a Right Lost!. If the Legislature doesn't approve an open-carry bill when it convenes in January, "then we'll see them in 2013," Pierce said, referring to that session of the Legislature.
Texans have been able to get licenses to carry concealed handguns in most places since 1995. Gun-rights advocates say it's time to let Texans pack their pistols in full public view as well.
Texas -- where it's still not unusual in some areas to see shotguns and rifles on gun racks in pickups -- is one of seven states -- the others are Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma and South Carolina, plus Washington, D.C. -- without an open-carry law.
This month, Oklahoma lawmakers overwhelmingly approved an open-carry bill, only to have it vetoed by Democratic Gov. Brad Henry. The battle there continues as the House fell just short Thursday in a vote to override the veto. Legislators say they may try another override in the closing days of their session this week.
To Marsha McCartney, it doesn't matter what other states do. She doesn't want Texas to expand its gun laws.
"If you see someone with a holster on, are you just to assume this is a law-abiding person?" said McCartney, state president of the North Texas Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "Are you to assume this person is safe to be around your family? People don't know this.
"It's common sense thrown out a window."
The idea of open carry was discussed in the Texas Capitol in 2009 and is expected -- along with other measures to expand Texans' gun rights -- to come up again when lawmakers get back to work in January.
Days gone by?
In Texas, more than 65,000 people have signed an online petition asking Gov. Rick Perry and the Legislature to make Texas an open-carry state. Perry says he won't rule it out.
"The governor believes our concealed-carry law works for Texas and that a person ought to be able to carry their weapon with them anywhere in the state if they are licensed and have gone through the training," Perry's spokeswoman Allison Castle said. "He would be open to looking at any proposals lawmakers bring to the table regarding open carry. I suppose we've got what you could call a Texas open carry since you can hang your rifle in the window of your pickup truck."
More than a dozen states require a license for open carry -- Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Utah. Another dozen allow open carry but don't require licenses -- Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming, according to OpenCarry.org - A Right Unexercised is a Right Lost!.
Read more: Link Removed
Link Removed
By ANNA M. TINSLEY
[email protected]
Texas is considered to have some of the most permissive gun laws in the nation, but gun-rights advocates are making it one of their top political targets because it is one of a handful of states that don't allow handguns to be carried openly.
"It's shocking that Texas, with its history of rugged individualism that the state symbolizes, doesn't allow open carry," said John Pierce, a co-founder of and spokesman for OpenCarry.org - A Right Unexercised is a Right Lost!. If the Legislature doesn't approve an open-carry bill when it convenes in January, "then we'll see them in 2013," Pierce said, referring to that session of the Legislature.
Texans have been able to get licenses to carry concealed handguns in most places since 1995. Gun-rights advocates say it's time to let Texans pack their pistols in full public view as well.
Texas -- where it's still not unusual in some areas to see shotguns and rifles on gun racks in pickups -- is one of seven states -- the others are Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma and South Carolina, plus Washington, D.C. -- without an open-carry law.
This month, Oklahoma lawmakers overwhelmingly approved an open-carry bill, only to have it vetoed by Democratic Gov. Brad Henry. The battle there continues as the House fell just short Thursday in a vote to override the veto. Legislators say they may try another override in the closing days of their session this week.
To Marsha McCartney, it doesn't matter what other states do. She doesn't want Texas to expand its gun laws.
"If you see someone with a holster on, are you just to assume this is a law-abiding person?" said McCartney, state president of the North Texas Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "Are you to assume this person is safe to be around your family? People don't know this.
"It's common sense thrown out a window."
The idea of open carry was discussed in the Texas Capitol in 2009 and is expected -- along with other measures to expand Texans' gun rights -- to come up again when lawmakers get back to work in January.
Days gone by?
In Texas, more than 65,000 people have signed an online petition asking Gov. Rick Perry and the Legislature to make Texas an open-carry state. Perry says he won't rule it out.
"The governor believes our concealed-carry law works for Texas and that a person ought to be able to carry their weapon with them anywhere in the state if they are licensed and have gone through the training," Perry's spokeswoman Allison Castle said. "He would be open to looking at any proposals lawmakers bring to the table regarding open carry. I suppose we've got what you could call a Texas open carry since you can hang your rifle in the window of your pickup truck."
More than a dozen states require a license for open carry -- Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Utah. Another dozen allow open carry but don't require licenses -- Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming, according to OpenCarry.org - A Right Unexercised is a Right Lost!.
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