We have some awesome news from the Lone Star State this morning!
Let's just hope Governor Greg Abbott doesn't screw this up before it officially becomes a law.
A measure long sought by conservative activists allowing Texans to carry handguns without a license is on the cusp of becoming law after the Texas Senate approved a compromise on the bill Monday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott.
Abbott has said he would sign the permitless carry proposal into law.
"We should have 'constitutional carry' in Texas," Abbott told North Texas radio host Rick Roberts in April.
Just before midnight Sunday, the House approved the deal, hashed out behind closed doors, in an 82-62 vote. The Senate approved the deal Monday in a 17-13 vote.
“This is a simple restoration of Texans’ constitutional right under the Second Amendment, a right of the people to keep and bear arms,” the Senate sponsor, Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, said on the floor Monday. “I think it is a bill that is the strongest bill I’ve seen in my legislative career regarding the rights of our Second Amendment.”
House Bill 1927 would nix the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns if they’re not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun.
The compromise keeps intact a number of changes the Senate made to the House bill to assuage concerns from the law enforcement community, including striking a provision that would have barred officers from questioning people based only on their possession of a handgun.
Attendees browse Bushmaster Firearms International LLC rifles at the company's booth during the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting in Dallas, Texas, U.S., on Saturday, May 5, 2018. President Donald Trump delivered a strong sign of support for the National Rifle Association at its annual meeting on Friday, as gun-rights advocates regroup in the wake of the mass shooting at a Florida high school. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images