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Texans can carry handguns without a license or training starting September 1, after Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed the Disallowed Carry Act into law.
House Bill 1927 abolished the requirement that Texans have a license to carry handguns if they were not prohibited by state or federal law from owning a gun. The signature was reported by the official website of the Texas Legislature, which tracks the progress of the legislation. Abbott’s office announced the signing of a ceremonial bill on the bill and other legislation related to guns at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Abbott’s signature wins over conservative activists who have long sought the measure without success. Abbott, Lieutenant Colonel Dan Patrick, and other Republicans who were initially uncommitted to the bill came under enormous political pressure this session from conservatives and gun rights advocates, who had long lobbied the Texas legislature to carry them without a permit but had historically struggled to win support.
Before the bill was approved, the Senate addressed several amendments to address the concerns of law enforcement groups that opposed carrying without a permit, a concern that it would endanger officers and make it easier for criminals to obtain guns.
Reached behind closed doors, lawmakers kept a number of Senate changes to the House bill, including eliminating a provision that would have prevented officers from questioning people based solely on their possession of a gun.
The deal also retains a Senate amendment that strengthens criminal penalties for criminals and perpetrators of domestic violence caught while they are pregnant. Among other changes the Senate made to the law was a requirement that the Texas Department of Public Safety offer a free online course on gun safety.
Supporters of what Republicans call “constitutional carrying” have argued that Texas should have at least 20 other states with similar laws on the books. Meanwhile, gun control advocates are disappointed that the legislature made it easier to carry firearms after repeated incidents of gun violence – including the 2019 massacres in El Paso and Midland Odessa that left 30 people dead.
The vast majority of Texas voters don’t believe that unauthorized pregnancy should be allowed, according to an April University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll.
Before signing the Unauthorized Carry Act, Texans generally required a license to carry handguns openly or concealed. Applicants had to submit their fingerprints, complete four to six hours of training, and pass a written test and a shooting proficiency test. Texas does not require a license to openly carry a gun in public.
The unauthorized carry movement saw significant progress in April when the House passed HB 1927. Patrick initially said the Senate had no votes for unauthorized carry, but he created a new committee, referred HB 1927 to it and got it on the floor, as it passed early May.
Some Democrats and state representatives from El Paso denounced the bill, which came during the first legislative session since the 2019 massacres. Abbott and Patrick softened their tunes about gun control after the shootings, but have remained silent on the issue since
In 2019, Abbott vowed to do “everything we can to make sure such a crime never happens again,” raising concerns about state laws that allow private guns to be sold between strangers without a background check. Patrick went so far as to say he was “willing to take an arrow” from the gun lobby in order to pursue the change.
But in this legislative session, Texas Republicans moved in the opposite direction, pushing to relax gun laws and vowing to challenge any new federal gun rules. When setting his policy priorities in February, Abbott made no mention of the shooting. He said Texas should become a “Second Amendment sanctuary state.”
“We need to erect a complete barrier against any government official anywhere from trampling on gun rights in Texas,” Abbott said during his speech.
Of the dozens of gun safety bills lawmakers have submitted to codify 2019 state leaders’ calls for action, few have come forward.
“everybody [El Paso community members] What was required was something better. All they wanted was some accountability. However, here we are, Representative Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat, told his roommates on Sunday. When the doors closed, I heard a lot of promises. I haven’t heard from them since then.”
Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial backers play no role in the Tribune press. Find a full list of them here.
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