Talk:HB1927

2015, State Representative Jonathan Stickland helped us launch the fight for Constitutional Carry in Texas by filing HB 195 — the first ever Texas Constitutional Carry bill filed in the Lone Star State!

Sadly, HB 195 never received a hearing thanks to anti-gun Speaker Joe Straus.

In 2019, the fight reached a boiling point when TXGR exposed then “Republican” Speaker Dennis Bonnen as the man killing Constitutional Carry HB 357 behind closed doors.

Rep. Kyle Biedermann decided to carry the torch for gun owners by filing Constitutional Carry HB 1238 this year, 2021

House leadership ultimately gave Representative Matt Schaefer the nod to advance his version of permitless carry with House Bill 1927.

Matt Schaefer Bryan Slaton Jeff Cason, and Kyle Biedermann

At every turn, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tried preventing the passage of Constitutional Carry by using deceptive tactics such as filing alternate bills (SB 2224), instead of advancing HB 1927.

Houston Chronicle Editorial Board: “Dan Patrick, kill Texas’ ‘permitless carry’ bill before it kills us”

“Firearms instructor Lon Krieger

Dan Patrick endorses Obama-era gun control.

“We must do something on gun control.”

“The NRA needs to get behind the president on [Universal Gun Registration] and really address that issue.”

–TX Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Fox News 9/2/19

During a recent interview with Fox News, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick claimed we should end the private sale of firearms in America.

Patrick’s statement echoes Governor Abbott’s sentiment that we should clamp down on private firearm sales — saying they are akin to selling guns to terrorists.

Texas Speaker of the House Dennis Bonnen — who publicly killed Constitutional Carry earlier this year 2019 Bonehead no longer speaker 2021

Abbott spokesman John Wittman said “Governor Abbott made clear in Odessa that all strategies are on the table that will lead to laws that make Texans safer.”

“I am NOT going to use the evil acts of a handful of people to diminish the God-given rights of my fellow Texans. Period…

I say NO to ‘red flag’ pre-crime laws. NO to universal background checks. NO to bans on AR-15s No to high capacity magazines. NO to mandatory gun buybacks…

YES to giving every law-abiding single mom the right to carry a handgun to protect her and her kids without permission from the state, and the same for all other law-abiding Texans of age.”

— State Representative Matt Schaefer

HB1927 more than 100 Texas sheriffs supported the bill.

Patrick went so far as to say he was “willing to take an arrow” from the gun lobby in order to pursue the change.

With a stroke of the pen,

Governor Greg Abbott on 6/16/21

made Texas the 21st state

to allow permitless or “constitutional” carry of a handgun in public.

The governor signed House Bill 1927 into law,

lifting the state requirement for a person carrying a handgun in public to have a license.

Supporters of HB 1927 see the Second Amendment

as the only permit needed

and any other requirements

are an infringement on that right. 

a person is still subject to laws

restricting the carrying of a firearm

in sensitive locations

such as government buildings,

on public transportation,

at polling places or in bars.

Private businesses

will still be allowed to restrict individuals’ ability

to carry a handgun on their property.

After being passed out of the House in March, HB 1927 faced hurdles in the Senate.

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick had his own version.<need reference number>

Was this to satisfy the banksters

he is opposed to constitutional carry?

He appointed a Senate Special Committee on Constitutional Issues.

The committee, made up of five Republicans and two Democrats,

was tasked with advancing permitless carry and they approved  HB1927.

Chair of  Committee  Senator Charles Schwertner said during a meeting,

“Now more than ever,

Texans want to make sure that their Second Amendment rights

are not only protected but restored.”

In past legislative sessions,

permitless carry had little to no support,

Speaker Bonehead killed it

by assigning it to a hostile Democrat committee. <ref>

even Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has in the past expressed  concerns about permitless carry.

While HB 1927 began gathering steam in the House,

Patrick expressed doubts it would have enough support in the Senate to survive.

Police chiefs and union leaders

from across the state

voiced their opposition to HB 1927

but individual police were in favor.

Background checks

(a sounds good policy)

are of no use and Texas does not require it for private sales of arms.

=[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Texans can carry handguns without a license or training starting Sept. 1, 2021 after Gov. Greg Abbott  signed the permitless carry bill into law.

House Bill 1927 eliminates the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns if they are not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun.

The signing of the bill seals a win to conservative activists who have long sought the measure without success.

Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other Republicans who were were under immense political pressure this session from conservatives and gun rights advocates, who have long lobbied the Texas Legislature for permitless carry but historically struggled to win support.

Before approving the bill, the Senate tacked on several amendments.

The compromise lawmakers reached behind closed doors kept intact a number of changes the Senate made to the House bill,

including striking a provision that would have barred officers from questioning people based only on their possession of a handgun.

The deal also preserves a Senate amendment enhancing the criminal penalties for felons and family violence offenders caught carrying.

Among other Senate changes that made it into the law was a requirement that the Texas Department of Public Safety offer a free online course on gun safety.

Proponents of  "constitutional carry" argued that Texas should follow the lead of at least 20 other states with similar laws on the books.

Before the permitless carry law was signed, Texans generally needed to be licensed to carry handguns openly or concealed. Applicants had to submit fingerprints, complete four to six hours of training, and pass a written exam and a shooting proficiency test. Texas does not require a license to openly carry a rifle in public.

The permitless carry movement saw a breakthrough in April 2021 when the House passed HB 1927.

Dan Patrick initially said the Senate did not have the votes for permitless carry, produced his own bill, created a new committee, referred both bills to it and HB 1927 got it to the floor, where it passed in early May.

In 2019, Abbott swore to do "everything we can to make sure a crime like this does not happen again,"

Patrick went so far as to say he was "willing to take an arrow" from the gun lobby in order to pursue the change.

But this legislative session, Texas Republicans moved in the opposite direction, pushing to loosen gun laws and vowing to defy any new federal gun rules.

Laying out his policy priorities in February, Abbott said Texas must become a "Second Amendment sanctuary state."

"We need to erect a complete barrier against any government official anywhere from treading on gun rights in Texas," Abbott said during his speech.

Voted No

Allen; Anchia; Beckley; Bernal; Bowers; Bucy; Campos; Cole; Coleman; Collier; Cortez; Crockett; Davis; Deshotel; Dominguez; Fierro; González, J.; González, M.; Goodwin; Hernandez; Hinojosa; Howard; Israel; Johnson, A.; Johnson, J.D.; Johnson, J.E.; Longoria; Lopez; Lucio; Martinez; Martinez Fischer; Meyer; Meza; Minjarez; Moody; Morales Shaw; Morales, C.; Muñoz; Neave; Ordaz Perez; Ortega; Perez; Ramos; Reynolds; Rodriguez; Romero; Rose; Rosenthal; Sherman; Talarico; Thierry; Thompson, S.; Turner, C.; Turner, J.; Vo; Walle; Wu; Zwiener

Present but not voting: Button; Mr. Speaker(C)

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Patrick went so far as to say he was "willing to take an arrow" from the gun lobby

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