TEXAS TRIBUNE — Texas is well on its way to allowing the open carry of handguns in public places after House lawmakers took an initial step to approve it Friday.
After a debate that stretched for more than five hours, the chamber passed House Bill 910 from state Rep. Larry Phillips, R- Sherman, on second reading, 96 to 35. It would allow license holders to openly carry their handguns in shoulder or hip holsters.
Similar legislation has already cleared the state Senate, and Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to sign any open carry bill that reaches his desk. The House is expected to pass the bill finally as early as Monday.
The vote came over the protests of Democrats, who offered amendment after amendment to the legislation.
“We seem to live in this fantasy world of protecting second amendment rights at all costs…what we have here is a descent down a path that we can’t come back from,” said state Rep. Poncho Nevarez, D-Eagle Pass. “I’m going to vote against anger, I’m going to vote against hate, and I’m going to vote against the deterioration of our state into something that resembles — I don’t know.”
The Republican majority shot down efforts to require stronger holsters, badges, and deeper background checks in order to carry a gun. They also rejected attempts to allow cities to opt out of the law, close a loophole in the law that allows handgun permit-holders from other states to openly carry their firearms in Texas and simplify the signage requirements for business owners who want to ban guns on their property.
Read more at the Texas Tribune.
