Texas governor signs permitless carry bill

Texans will soon be able to carry a handgun without a license after Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill allowing for the permitless carry of firearms.

The new law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, allows those who are 21 and older and not otherwise prohibited from having a gun to carry a handgun without a license. Abbott signed House Bill 1927 on Wednesday and held a ceremonial signing for the legislation and other new gun laws on Thursday. He was joined by members of the Legislature and representatives from the National Rifle Association, as well as Jack Wilson, who stopped a gunman at a While Settlement church in 2019.

“Constitutional Carry is now law in Texas,” Abbott said after adding his signature to the bill at Alamo Hall in San Antonio.

The law prohibits permitless carry for people convicted of certain misdemeanors in the past five years and increases penalties for felons who illegally carry a gun. It also requires the Texas Department of Public Safety to develop a free online course on firearm safety and training.

Texans wanting to carry a handgun have been required to get a license, a process that includes submitting fingerprints to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a criminal history background check and an LTC course with components education on Texas firearm laws.

“I believe that the right to defend yourself and your family is given to us by God,” said Rep. Matt Schaefer, the bill’s author and a Tyler Republican, in a Wednesday statement. “The Second Amendment stands to ensure that right can be exercised, and infringements contrary to that right must be removed. Laws only constrain law-abiding citizens. Fools and criminals don’t care what laws we pass. My faith is with law-abiding Texans.”

The law applies to both Texas residents and people from out of state, according to Schaefer’s office. Handguns can be carried openly in a holster or concealed.

The legislative session that ended May 31 was the first since the 2019 mass shootings at an El Paso Walmart and in the Midland-Odessa area. El Paso Lawmakers and gun safety advocates have expressed disappointment that more wasn’t done to address gun violence.

Texas Gun Sense in a statement said the bill is irresponsible and will endanger Texans.

“No one with any credibility believes that allowing more untrained people to wield guns will make any of us safer,” said Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa in a statement.

Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of El Paso agreed that the new law will make Texas less safe. He said communities that have experienced mass shootings “understand all too well what happens when we don’t prioritize gun safety in this state.”

“I hope we as a state come to our sense on this one,” O’Rourke said.

The legislation has received opposition from the Texas Police Chiefs Association. The Sheriffs’ Association of Texas previously said it supports the bill as amended by the Senate. Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne, who serves as the sheriff association’s legislative chairman, said most of the changes they wanted stayed in the final version of the legislation and that the new law has the group’s support.

“We feel like it is still a good bill that is capable of being managed, and we don’t think that that the average citizen in the state of Texas will even feel or see a difference,” he said.