The Wild West? Texas To Consider Open Carry Law

Although every Western movie in American history and culture would lead you to believe otherwise, Texas is one of the only states in the U.S. to have an outright ban on the open carry of handguns.

That could change in 2015, with the Republican-dominated Legislature and Gov.-elect Greg Abbott expected to push for expanded gun rights. Abbott has heralded gun rights as a platform for his campaign, pointing out that far more politically liberal states have open carry laws.

“If open carry is good enough for Massachusetts, it’s good enough for the state of Texas.”

Open carry drew wide support in the 2014 statewide election, and at least six bills have already been filed for the upcoming session, which starts in January. Abbott has already pledged to sign one into law if sent to his desk.

Texas, which allows concealed handguns, has had a 140-year-ban on open carry guns. If this changes, it will be the largest state in the U.S. to allow open carry of guns. Most of the country already allows some form of open carry of handguns, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a California-based group advocating gun control legislation.

But Texas, California, Florida, New York, Illinois, and South Carolina, which make up more than a third of the U.S. population and include six of its seven largest population centers, do not.

Large urban areas have traditionally had the strictest controls on weapons in public because of concerns over guns in crowds and crime control, said UCLA law professor Adam Winkler, author of Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America. He said it’s “pretty surprising” that Texas still has an open carry ban that dates to the 1870s.

“We’ve been regulating guns in the interest of public safety, even in places like Texas, since the founding. The battle over open carry of guns in public remains one of the most heated in the gun debate today.”

Even among gun supporters in Texas, the idea of open carry was considered too radical when the concealed carry law passed. In the years since, the Legislature has expanded gun rights incrementally. It made the licensing of concealed handguns easier and during the last three sessions, held heated debates over concealed handguns on college campuses. Open carry backers believe these debates helped rally support to their cause and that an open carry law will pass.

Most of the open carry bills already filed for the upcoming session would still require a license. One, by Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, would eliminate the licensing requirement for concealed or open carry. Stickland said he is going to fight hard to uphold second amendment rights.

“The idea is we’re going to return our Second Amendment rights. I can’t imagine what the citizens would do if they had to take a class or pay a fee to use their First Amendment rights.”