Texas moves toward permit-free gun carrying, joining five other states this year
Updated 11:17 AM ET, Thu May 6, 2021
Law enforcement officers stand outside the Texas Capitol in Austin on Tuesday, the first day of the state s 2021 legislative session. (CNN)A controversial proposal to allow Texans to carry handguns in public without obtaining a license or training passed the state Senate Wednesday, putting Texas on track to potentially join a handful of others that have passed permitless carry laws this year.
More than a dozen states have introduced measures this year to allow residents to carry guns in public without a license, according to Brady, a gun control advocacy group. Gun safety advocates said it s not unusual for states to introduce such proposals but said the measures appear to be gaining steam.
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Texas moves toward permit-free gun carrying, joining five other states this year
A controversial proposal to allow Texans to carry handguns in public without obtaining a license or training passed the state Senate Wednesday, putting Texas on track to potentially join a handful of others that have passed permitless carry laws this year.
More than a dozen states have introduced measures this year to allow residents to carry guns in public without a license, according to Brady, a gun control advocacy group. Gun safety advocates said it’s not unusual for states to introduce such proposals but said the measures appear to be gaining steam.
Those championing permitless carry argue that having more armed citizens will help save lives. Tennessee’s governor, Bill Lee, has called his state’s new law “core to a strong public-safety agenda”. But there are reasons, such as law enforcement’s opposition, to be sceptical of this. In Tennessee and elsewhere, police have campaigned against permitless carry, saying it endangers them and makes it more likely that criminals and felons could walk around armed. As Stan Standridge, the police chief for San Marcos, Texas, has pointed out, the Lone Star state requires licences to drive a boat and cut hair. Yet guns can wreak far more havoc than boats or hair-clippers. This is a rare issue where Republicans have openly split from the concerns and interests of police in favour of pleasing their base.