AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas firearm owners would no longer need a license or training to carry their firearm in public under a bill that passed a major vote Thursday on Democrats who criticized easing of gun laws after the 2019 mass shooting in El Paso. Walmart.
Texas has more than 1.6 million licensed firearm owners. But removing that required permit has long been a goal sought by conservative activists in Texas, where firearms are friendly, where the National Rifle Association is currently trying to rejoin to avoid a lawsuit from New York State, which aims to put you out of business. alleged financial abuse.
If approved, Texas would become by far the largest of the 20 or so states that already allow gun owners to carry their guns in public without a permit.
But the moment the GOP-led House passed the bill now, after years of stalled efforts, infuriated opponents whose chances of toughening gun laws after the Walmart shooting that killed 23 people are being held up. fading away. Texas lawmakers did not meet in 2020, making this the first year gun control bills have been introduced since the attack.
“Even knowing the political realities, I was hopeful,” said Democratic State Representative Joe Moody, whose district is in El Paso. “But now here we are, the first legislative session since then, and it’s another date that’s going to burn me out.”
Republican State Rep. Matt Schaefer, who is leading the bill, repeatedly mentioned the number of other states with similar laws during more than five hours of debate and the failed efforts by Democrats to derail or weaken the measure.
“It’s time to restore faith in the law-abiding Texans,” Schaefer said.
The bill passed 84-56 mostly on party lines.
The move has drawn opposition from Texas police chiefs, as well as some firearms instructors who teach licensing courses, who critics say have a financial incentive to oppose the change. Obtaining a firearm license in Texas costs between $ 100 and $ 150, according to Schaeffer, and applicants must also go through criminal records and background checks.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has been silent amid gun control calls and made no mention of the El Paso shooting as he laid out his legislative priorities in February.
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