Texas Gov Greg Abbott Signs Ten Pro-Second Amendment Bills Into Law

1. THANK YOU, LEGISLATORS! Now you guys will see that being pro-gun is a winning issue in this state, so there will be nothing to fear from taking the last final leap to constitutional carry. I hope everyone is taking notes on which bills their local reps did or did not support, so they can be carrot-ed or stick-ed accordingly. Texas has had a handful of highly publicized shootings recently, and you know that these elected officials are likely hounded by urban lobbying/activist efforts enough to think they are sticking their neck out to support such popular legislation. Make that action worth their while.

   • Not seeing this any democrat run states, only the opposite. But yet we’re constantly told it’s only republicans who are anti gun and democrat heros like Obama are what we need for gun rights.

     • There are some so blind they will not see, and you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.

       Arguing with anyone who purports to be pro 2A but advocates voting for democrats is equal to arguing with liars or psychotics, the goal post keeps moving, and you’ll never meet their criteria for winning.

       Anyone not already aware than gun control is a plank in the Democratic platform is pretty much a lost cause one way or another.

       • A Pro-2A person who votes democrat is like a Jewish person voting for the Nazi Party.

     • You’re also NOT seeing it in an awful lot of solidly Republican states.

       • 1/3rd of all states are now Constitutional carry – is that not an “awful lot”?

         • 1/3 would be “some”. More than 3/4 would be “an awful lot”

       • 1/3? No. 1/3 of 3/3’s of your rights is unacceptable!

     • Gonna need a citation on who, exactly, “constantly told” that, ’cause I never heard it from anyone and I pay an awful lot of attention to such things.

   • Time to move to Texas.

   • Bonnen blocked the constitutional carry law . He claimed that it would allow criminals to legally carry a firearm. Lame. He loves the money that he got from Bloomberg.

     • No joke; he’s one of those “don’t rock the boat” tools that sees job security in not doing his job (sadly he’s probably right). Hopefully that stunt & his attempted intimidation of the Open Carry activist folks will seal his fate, and he won’t get to make that call a second time.

       • No. Bonnen is simply a RINO in the model of former Speaker Strauss, another fair weather friend of PotG.

         Bonnen owes his election to the fact that the spineless Texas GOP leadership won’t abide by the party’s official platform, and thus Bonnen got elected by being the GOP candidate most favored by the Dems in the state house —to whom he’s returned the favor by gifting them with plum committee chairmenships.

         All the Texas GOP has to do is to follow its official platform: whichever GOP Speaker candidate has the majority of the House GOP caucus SHALL be supported by the whole caucus. Instead, due to their spinelessness, the Speaker gets elected by Dem votes + GOP quislings, so we keep getting RINO’s like Bonnen. Ridiculous.

     • Criminals already carry Constitutionally.

       • Exactly this. No law stops, or will ever stop a criminal from doing their thing. Now if they think 90% of the potential victims out there are packing they might change their behavior.

2. Now if only FL could follow Texas’s lead….But I’m afraid that FL is going the way of NY, NJ & CA. We are lead by RINO’s and are one election away from turning blue forever! I envy the freedoms that have been given to the citizens of Texas.

   • And South Carolina as well

   • These freedoms have been restored to Texans, not given. The state has removed infringements against the 2A.

     • TRUE….sorry, wrong verbage. I should have said, “it is nice to see that the State of TX is finally allowing common sense to prevail and putting trust back into its law abiding citizens”.

       • Closer. I don’t care if the .gov trusts We the People. A government which fears the Citizens is more likely to stay in its lane. The way I see it, government needs to be worried about proving itself worthy of our trust. Texas is headed the right direction, FL could take a lesson.

   • Virginia is also headed in the wrong direction. Texas and Utah are looking better all the time.

   • I moved from New York to South Carolina, and because of the NY “UN-Safe Act” they are still holding my handguns. NY only permits transfers of handguns from or to FFL’s. So it will cost me $1000.00 for a NY FFL to transfer my handguns to a South Carolina FFL to get MY PROPERTY, my handguns, to me. Then I have to pay the South Carolina FFL, whatever that cost is, to finally get my handguns…I’d imagine that it would be an additional $1000.00 for the South Carolina FFL for his trouble, transferring my property to me…
     According to S.C. law…It’s legal for me to have just brought the handguns with me…S.C. doesn’t require the transfer thru an FFL.
     But according to the NY “UN-Safe Act” I would be subject to arrest and prosecution for taking my guns (MY PROPERTY) out of NYS permanently, without going thru a NY FFL…
     I’m in support of S.Carolina’s move for Constitutional Carry, which had just missed the vote the last time it was up…
     God, I hate, NY and Gov. Cuomo and their rediculous gun laws!!

     • Would not comply.

       • I gotta question how NY has possession of the guns in the first place.

         Never register anything. Build your own and don’t tell anyone.

       • Yes, why did you tell them. Load and leave???

     • You have GOT to be kidding me.

     • I’m not the kind of guy who likes to be a legal test case, but on that issue I’d simply have brought my guns along, never informed NY and never returned there. Let them seek extraction and see how well it works for them.

       Also, I call BS. I belive you are seriously misunderstanding the law, unless you mean NYC not NYS, which is an even stronger reason to do the above.

     • Why don’t you just take them & not come back? Is that the sort of thing other states actually extradite over? I’d be elated to have warrants out for me in NY; just one more reason to never go there.

     • How in the hell would ny know you took your guns out of the state? Once you’re out of the state, they no longer have jurisdiction.

       • He probably means NYC. In that case, if you moved out of NYC with your property and didn’t inform the New York Police department of your move, once your NYPD issued license expired they would then show up at your door to collect your registered pistols. Once they realized that you moved to another state with your property, you would be in violation of NYC law. At that point they would probably get the state you moved to to extradite you back. Once back in NYC you would then be prosecuted as a felon in prior possession of illegal handguns. And yes, I’m sure the federal courts will side with NYC on this. There was a case a few years back where a federal court ruled that it was illegal for a citizen of NYC to transport “his” pistol to Alaska without the NYPDs permission. I put “his” in quotes since you require a permission slip to purchase a gun from the NYPD and they can legally confiscate it for any reason, so technically they really own it and you’re just leasing it from them. So if you really want to get legally technical about it you would be stealing from the NYPD if you moved “your” gun out of the state without prior permission from the police commissioner. For some reason NYC law trumps federal law. Something about precedent. Anyway, those are the rules. NYSRPA is hoping to overturn this precedent in the SCOTUS this fall. If not, the rest of the nation will have to keep complying with the NYPD. Hope this clears things up!

         • @Oliver: State law never trumps federal law. You can not be denied freedom of movement or personal property, and I doubt his new home state would extradite, because there was no court order preventing him from moving. If he had been arrested prior to his leaving , that would be different. But since he was a legal gun owning citizen in the eyes of the federal government and his new state, there is absolutely nothing NYC could do. If he brought an “illegal” gun to his new state that would be different.

         • I highly doubt a gun friendly state would even consider an extradition. You haven’t violated any of their laws and they would most likely consider the ny law unconstitutional. The only problem I can see is if the feds get involved. The US Marshal’s fugitive task forces do this quite often. They could arrest for the outstanding warrant and bring the person back to ny.

       • That sounds like a pretty clear violation of FOPA of 86 to me Oliver. Then again FOPA has NEVER really been enforced in terms of the transport stuff.

       • And yes I know that in theory federal law takes precedence over state law. And on paper congress, without an amendment, can’t regulate what happens within a state. In theory. The reality is quite different. For example, the federal government seems to have no control over drug laws in Colorado, but does have jurisdiction over suppressors in Kansas. And FOPA? Seems like in practice state laws can and will trump federal law. Arbitrary? Yes. Unconstitutional? Sure. What I’m saying is that I don’t think most people realize that the Constitution, in daily policing and judicial reality, is just a take it or leave proposition. The reason being is that there are zero repercussions for any agency or state or federal judiciary for ignoring it. And if you choose to push back against a state police agency because they violated federal law, do you really think federal agents will take your side? Think again. So, yes, I get how in theory how it’s all supposed to work. It’s just that, well, that’s not how it all really works in reality.

         • My comment remains the same. How will either state or feds know you took the guns out of the state? When I lived in kalifornia, they passed a law outlawing certain semi autos unless you registered them with state doj. I refused and took them out of state for a friend in AZ to hold for me. My point being, neither the state or the feds knew anything about it.

     • My advice is go get a class 01 FFL if you still have time. Yeah it’ll be a bit of work but you’d just transfer your firearms from the other dealer into your book then transfer them out to yourself then you’d go about your business. It’s $150 application fee+$150 for 3 years and $150 for 3 years after that. If you do a few transfers a year after it’d be well worth it. You could even have stuff shipped directly to your home.

     • @Tom Higgins Why not just pay the $1,000 for the peace of mind and be done with it. It cost me over 3 times that to move my guns and ammo to Texas, but I wasn’t going to leave them behind in a Communist state. I guess it depends how valuable the guns are to you.

     • Lock’em up put in box and load up the u-haul. Do the speed limit and don’t stop till you get to free state. Are u a free man or slave?

       Guide To The Interstate Transportation Of Firearms

       https://www.ammoland.com/2014/07/guide-to-the-interstate-transportation-of-firearms/

3. Please tell me Gov. Abbott has a brother we can poach for NC.

   • Amen! 🙂

   • I suggest you start dropping tree limbs on your elected officials; it worked for us here in Texas.

     • Do tell! Sounds like a cosmic “recall”.

       • It’s how Abbott was paralyzed below the waist 😉

         • Did not know that. Has his behavior changed after the limbing? Perhaps he felt vulnerable confined to a wheel chair, and wants to carry in all those places previously prohibited?

           Usually, politicians are paralyzed between the ears until they’re told what will get them re-elected.

   • First wed have to dump the ‘tard we have now… and find a Republican more interested in fighting the enemy than in baking cookies for them.

4. As a recent New England transplant to Texas, I couldn’t be happier with Gov. Abbott and Texas. Gov Abbott just announced Texas will be spending one billion dollars defending the boarder this year because Congress can’t do their job to protect America. Unfortunately we see other people from places with high taxes and low freedom come here to Texas and want to make it look like the same Communist utopian shithole they left. Even Texas Democrats aren’t up for that crap. Keep Texas RED.

   • You mean, Congress WON’T do their job, don’t you?

     • I dunno, both? A bunch of suits sure as hell can’t police the border, and they sure can’t seem to pay others to do it either.

   • And keep out of state billionaire money out of your politics.

     • Florida’s trying to do just that. Other states need to follow. And I don’t see why citizens can’t sue daddy bloomie for directly funding anti rights legislation.

       • Don’t forget soros. He poured millions into bozo o’rourkes senate run against Cruz.

5. I’m not religious but 535 seems like a pretty big win to me.

   I never understood that whole “Caesar’s rules apply in God’s House” thing.

6. Someone needs to primary Dennis Bonnen at the earliest opportunity. Texas should have had constitutional carry this year. Now we’re going to have to wait two more years and fight for it.

   • Bonnen is being sued right now, would be nice if the settlement would include his resignation.

     • Go after the people that put him in that leadership role. Make him House Dogcatcher or some shit, while the grownups pass CC in the third largest population center in the US, practically guaranteeing that may issue will be *very* difficult to defend in the remaining anti-gun enclaves.

7. Im purposely getting my concealed carry TO carry in my synagogue.

   A larger and larger group of people in my neighborhood are starting to internalize that its never truly safe for Jews.
   As a grand child of Holocaust survivors im finally putting my money where my mouth is and getting my affairs in order to carry.
   Getting a groupon for 56 bucks to take my CCL course didnt hurt either.

   • Oh, PLEASE. Let’s not open that debate about the whole-o-cost here. PLEASE!

     Some relatives of “victims” long displaced generationally from the real victims just never give up the role of victim themselves.

     Personally, I get tired of hearing it.

     I’m part American Indian and you won’t hear be bitching and playing the part of victim…ever. It was more than a century ago.

     Get over it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

     • Guy bitching about victim card pulls his own victim card card to trump the original victim card, which in this case wasn’t even real since the OP never claimed victim status.

       Fucking priceless.

     • So to start. I already know where you stand by your whole o cost comment.
       Im not even sure what that means “whole o cost”. I get that its a take on Holocaust but it donest reference anything. The thing that makes me most angry and O-FENDED is that its not funny or clever. Just stupid and a view into a very angry mans sad mind.

       I had no plans of debating the holocaust. Clearly you did by stating as such.
       And no where in my statement did i play victim or even hit to that….

       So you being “part” american indian is neither here nor there. What happened to your people is unjust and a travesty. And im certain its a part of why you carry. You will never be pushed around again. And if they do come someone is getting a bloody nose.

       And lastly you must have not even botherd to understand what i read. But i will explain bec clearly your anger is incapable of ceading to your logic:
       I am arming my self BECAUSE i see no point in complaining. I am arming myself because waiting for the government to protect me means its too late. Im arming myself because i, my family and friends are more of a target now then i can ever remeber.

       Calm down there Davy.

       Shalom

       A

       • Ignore that nonsense

     • Im a gentile and an atheist and I’ve learned a bit from the holocaust about being disarmed by government.

       If you haven’t, go study history, and if you’re just an anti-semite or holocaust denier, just go f your self.

       • HUZZAH!

     • Huh; I thought for sure you’d go the other way & give him shit for waiting until a coupon came along to get trained. I sure hope you aren’t one of those “Protect The West” (puts hand on heart) types, since that’s even cornier & more insufferable than any alleged Holocaust histrionics.

       • So i wasnt “technically” waiting for a coupon but i see no point in paying 150 for the exact same thing that can be had for 50. Not similar. Exactly the same.
         With that extra 100 i can buy a boom box, a copy of Hendrix’s National Anthem and a huge, Like superbowl half time show huge flag and ‘Merica the sht out of the 4th of July.

         Or like an extra 500 rounds of 9mm to practice with.

       • @Aaron I am gonna have to wash the screen off! LOL

         Buy the ammo!

   • “its never truly safe for Jews.”

     It’s never truly safe for anyone! That said:

     Never forget!

8. Texas is looking better and better all the time. Especially with the much lower cost of living compared to Seattle.

   The trick would be to keep earning Seattle level income and paying Texas level prices…

   • Nice that TX also has no state income tax.

     • Yeah, that’s one nice thing to not have to give up about Washington if I move.

       Assuming the “WA” in your name is Washington (and not something like Western Australia), then maybe this is something with which you could relate. Maybe ten, fifteen years ago, Washington was actually in a pretty decent spot, politically. By no means perfect, but the state wasn’t hell bent of screwing with every last aspect of a person’s life. Gun laws were okay, taxes weren’t too bad, and generally speaking, things were pretty well run. I look at everything now, and it’s 180 degrees from that, and getting worse all the time.

       • Yes, Washington. After looking over taxes and gun laws I moved to WA only recently, in 2017. Despite a few things like the red-flag law it was quite a departure from California. Mossbacks were relieved when I talked about not bringing CA politics with me. Then I learned more about Ferguson and Inslee and then I was horrified at the passage of I-1639. “Don’t Californicate this beautiful state!” I campaigned. My new friends and I are keeping our fingers crossed about how things will work out in courts.

     • Yea, but unbelievable high home insurance and property taxes, at least up north. I looked in Stephenville 2 years ago. Even if I paid cash for a $300,000 dollar home, the monthly taxes and insurance would have been over $1000 a month. Yea, the taxes are much lower down south, but then I’d have to put up with the horrible humidity. For the time being, I’m staying in the very gun friendly state of Utah.

9. What amazes me is that all these laws are necessary. They look like a list countering petty, overzealous local prosecutors. Local prosecutor: “I know you had to flee your home due to a hurricane and there was looting and rioting all over the place, but I’m going to prosecute you anyway because I hate guns. Enjoy your time in prison.”

   • Exactly.

     And, what is passed in law can be amended or removed later in law. This, IMHO, is a band-aid approach. It might be nice in the moment but it isn’t a long term solution. It encourages government and people to consider the unalienable individual right to keep and bear arms as somehow a privilege that can legitimately be legislated away.

10. “…unknowingly enter establishments with 30.06…”
    I always misread that at first when reading articles about Texas, like “I forgot what was slung over my shoulder.” LoL

    • I was in Austin earlier this year. I can see some of those store owners getting pissed off with Bill 121.

      • You mean their histrionic fit call to 911 after the evil gun owner leaves does not end in arrest? The horror we couldn’t even call this civilization.

11. Here in WA, my guy did the opposite! Yay!

12. Texas looks good at the moment but if the democrats flip the state it’s not going to stay that way.

    • No chance flipping Texas. Red forever.

      • I don’t know, it’s been looking a little dicey recently. Those urban areas have been growing a lot recently, and they’re very blue.

        Republicans, and the right generally, need to figure out how to peel away some urban votes. Ideas such as gun rights, lower taxes, not having the government in your face 24/7, and others, apply to people who live in cities too. The message isn’t getting through though. That needs to happen or eventually rising urbanization will eventually mean the end of all those things.

        • Republicans actually embracing freedom rather than just paying lip service to it while using the law to promote their own preferences would help.

      • Do not underestimate the spinelessness /cluelessness of the Texas State GOP leadership (i.e., the party bureaucracy, not Abbott/Cruz/etc.). They are the reason we have Bonnen in what is probably the most powerful position in the state.

        • Not Abbot? I seem to remember him telling the legislature to “consider” gun control after a shooting…

      • California used to a major Republican stronghold. In my lifetime, even. Nothing is forever and rust never sleeps.

13. All common sense amendments.

    But, frankly, I had no idea that some, not all, of these restrictions existed.

14. Be nice if Oregon followed suit but alas I don’t think we have a chance

    • Not with the legislature rigged to put urbanites in charge.

15. It s okay but only cosmectic.

    No bigger changes outsite constitunal carry as hb 560 in 2017 (remove any off place on non fed places) ore/and lowering ccw too 18 …………

    texas still have an long way to get on top !

16. We’ve been blessed to have Gov. Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

    At the risk of pointing out the obvious, no bills had democrat sponsorship.

17. Congrats to the Great State of Texas. Heading in the right direction…..but without constitutional carry, even Mississippi has more rights than Texas….maybe next go round!

18. Completely unnecessary. The more laws passed to “protect gun rights” the weaker we make the 2nd Amendment. Only four words needed “…… shall not be infringed” and they are already “in the books”. IMHO.

19. For those of you who are considering moving to Texas, like the 1,000 Americans who move to Texas on average every single day…

    I hear Arizona is AMAZING!

    #texassucksdontmovehere

    • Same with Florida. Go somewhere else! We have sinkholes, hurricanes and sea level rise. And Florida Man. You never know where he’ll strike next, like Mayhem. Beware!

20. Doesn’t Senate Bill 772 go against the requirement of businesses to display the .06 and .07 signage? And now that this is a law does this mean that a business that doesn’t wish to display the signs no longer gets a call from the AG for not following the law and displaying the signs?

    • @Andy. There is no requirement to display 30.06 & 30.07 signage unless you intend to bar concealed carry or open carry or both from your business, which is a personal choice unless it’s a bar that derives 51% or more of it’s income from alcohol consumption., then a 51% sign( no guns at all ) is required. Texas is a property rights state. You can prevent gun carriers from entering your establishment, it’s your choice, but you assume responsibility for their safety if you do. This is how it was explained in the Texas License to Carry Weapons class.

21. Glad to see that Texas is moving in the right direction, but I really didn’t care for the heat. Retired to Wyoming. 4% sales tax, no state income tax, constitutional carry, and Weatherby just opened their new factory in Sheridan. People squawk about the temp when it hits 80 degrees. I don’t have air conditioning and don’t need it. Nice having a 70 dollar monthly electric bill. Liberals are warned not to bring their politics here from the communist states. Trout fishing 15 minutes away, and more deer and antelope than you can shake a stick at.

    • David, we looked in WY but couldn’t find any place not bothered by high winds. Do you know of any?

    • “more deer and antelope than you can shake a stick at”
      And yet, somehow I’ve struck out drawing a tag 4 years in a row. Even a doe antelope tag!!
      I’m hoping with all my preference points, I’ll get better news when the results are released tomorrow.

22. I will be supporting Trump in the next election, but Abbott sound like presidential material for the following cycle.

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