A Texas Senate handguns’ bill is causing a heated debate online. The Texas Senate approved a piece of legislation allowing handguns to be carried in public and amended it to make it illegal for Texas police to question or check for proper licensing of people, who are openly carrying handguns despite the recent murders in Waco.
Members of the Texas Senate approved of handguns being carried in public. The senators also demanded that Texas authorities stop harassing people openly carrying handguns.
In a late session, Friday night, elected officials of the Texas Senate passed a piece of legislation allowing people with licenses to carry handguns openly either in a shoulder or belt holster.
The bill eventually passed on a final 20 to 11 vote after six hours of intense debate and the formation of a bizarre coalition consisting of Conservatives, few Tea Party members and a handful of Democrats.
A heated exchange erupted on the Senate floor over an amendment, which made it illegal for Texas authorities to stop and question people solely because they openly carry their firearms in public.
Democrats – Rodney Ellis and Royce West – who supported the handgun open carry bill, claimed it will help prevent racial profiling.
“I have a long history of opposing open carry legislation and a strong record of supporting sensible reforms to reduce gun violence and keep firearms out of the hands of criminals,” Ellis, who knew he would be under fire for his position, said in a statement after the Senate vote. “But if open carry is going to become law, law enforcement shouldn’t be able to circumvent constitutional rights and detain someone solely because they are open carrying in compliance with the law.”
However, gun control advocates, police, and even few Republicans have fiercely spoken against the bill. They cited last week’s fatal Texas shootout between Waco biker gangs armed to the teeth and police that left nine men dead and 18 injured.
Sen. Joan Huffman, a Republican, who was against the amendment, stated:
“This is just a backdoor to constitutional carry because really any person could just carry a gun without a license because they know the police can’t inquire of them if they have a license.”
When asked if the handgun open carry bill would have led to more deaths in Waco, Texas Governor Greg Abbott replied by saying:
“Well, the shootout occurred when we don’t have open carry. So obviously the current laws didn’t stop anything like that.”
The Republican governor plans to sign the bill after it gets a final vote in the House. A similar bill allowing concealed handguns in college classrooms is also going to be signed into law before the end of summer.
What are your thoughts on Texas’ open carry bill?
