Texas Pro-Gun Legislation Goes Into Effect Tomorrow

1. So in gun-friendly TX, you need a postgraduate training course and a shooting test to get a license, and in hoplophobic MA all that’s required is a 4-hour course and no shooting test. In TX, you can’t carry into bars and in MA I can. The TX list of prohibited places is three times longer than in MA. The MA license is good for 6 years and there’s no recertification required.

   I know that MA is a bad place gun-wise, but maybe TX ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be.

   • Fair enough, though “postgraduate training course” is a bit of a stretch, unless you happen to find defensive driving to be a mental challenge. Also, no idiotic printing prohibitions, and as of tomorrow, I only have to worry about brandishing if I intentionally display my weapon in plain view of another under circumstances where the use of force would be unjustified. I think I’ll stay here, thanks. 🙂

   • Yea no offense to anyone in Texas, I appreciate people who are proud of their herataige and what they have. But I dont get how a lot of Texas gun owners act like they are in the most pro-gun state, I mean that regarding the laws of course. Although, I do like the idea that y’all can defend your property.

     • Being unjustifiably proud is the zeitgeist of Texas.

     • It doesn’t help that people marginalize Texas as a huge gun supporting state

       • You know that one friend, the one who exaggerates everything? That’s why a lot of folks (that I know anyway) marginalize Texas. We’ve been there and/or lived there – we know it ain’t all that and a bag of chips.

         Boy who cried wolf…

     • We (by which I mean I) don’t. It looks like we are taking two steps forwards and only one back, but we are facing the wrong direction. I keep warning people, but they are mostly of the “proud to be Texan” type and don’t listen, or the “gov’t knows best” type, and listen with as shit-eatin’ grin.

   • Despite what the Texans would like you to believe, there are quite a few places in these United States more gun-friendly than Texas. PA for example. No law against open carry. CCW costs about 20 bucks, is shall-issue, no training requirement and is good for 5 years.

     • “Despite what the Texans would like you to believe”

       Actually Jim R, We in Texas don’t care what you believe. As far as I know, no one in Texas is promoting the state as “the most gun friendly”. The gun laws in Texas are good and getting better. I’m happy here because, ……. well because it’s Texas.

     • PA has their handgun “sales” registry in clear violation of their own laws against a registry.

     • As a native Texan, I can’t thank non-Texans enough for educating my fellow Texans and I about what we really think. We get it all the time. /sarc. Seriously, one of the drawbacks of being a Texan is that your state’s reputation precedes you. It’s not so much what Texans think as it is about what others insist we think (no, they insist). It’s like Chuck Norris jokes (no, he didn’t REALLY win a staring contest with the sun, and he didn’t REALLY put the “laughter” in “slaugher”). Those who already like Chuck Norris probably laugh and pass ’em on. Those who can’t stand him attribute the jokes to his “inflated ego”. Texas isn’t the best/most (fill in the blank) on any particular thing. Except one … the most electoral votes among the non-insane states. And as such is both loved and despised. And becomes a poster child for both sides. And a target. Hence, the reputation is created in the political sphere, not necessarily by its citizens. Don’t get me wrong, Texans are proud of our history, heritage, and wildly independent streak, but nobody here believes we’re some invincible bastion of awesomeness. We’re awesome in many ways, not so much in others. And contrary to the insistance that we believe we’re an invincible bastion of awesomeness, we’re actually quite concerned of losing what we have, and in so doing what it means for the rest of the nation (back to those electoral votes).

       • Well said.

   • It isn’t and it is. I lived in Texas a few years ago and I could pretty much buy any gun out there. I never got my CHL there so I don’t know the process. There were a lot of local and chain gun stores to choose from in the larger population centers.

     I just left MA and the the worse thing seemed to be the types of guns you can buy and the AWB. I got an LTC-A first shot, although I did know one of the police officers and I think the chief is a good guy. The problem in MA is the few strict moonbat laws and the whim of a police chief to strip your FID or LTC without due process.

     I did buy a lot of great guns while in MA and enjoyed my time there, but Kansas makes it so much easier to buy what I want with the CCL.

   • What Texas is cracked up to be will ultimately be your opinion. You can avoid “maybe” by researching both the state firearm laws as well as other non-legal factors that are important to you and then form your own opinion about where Texas ranks. Of course I am going under the assumption that the CCW laws are not the only factors you would consider.

     Texas is certainly far from perfect regarding but not limited to state firearm laws (isn’t my mindless Texas pride palpable?). Then again being required to follow any CCW law for the right to carry a firearm is already an infringement of 2A. The original classroom hour requirement was a notable inconvenience but If anyone truly thinks the CCW process in Texas was/is any kind of mental or physical challenge I have a long list of suggestions for them.

   • Fair nuff, but on my salary my CHL costs all in would likely be 1.5 months of income tax if I lived in Boston.

     • The Texas CHL is pretty expensive. The cost far exceeded my Texas state income tax for the entire 20 years I’ve lived here in the Lone Star state.

       • Texas does not have, and has never had, a state income tax. So, where do you really live?

   • Well then….”You can all go to hell, and I will go to Texas.”……………Mr. Crockett

   • Then stay out of Texas jackwagon!

     • …this message brought to you by the Texas Chamber of Commerce.

   • Ralph, you’re off your rocker. Given the recent restrictions MA has put in place, I can hardly ship to MA. Texas, on the other hand, is absolutely no problem. Wake up, man.

   • I agree. I am puzzled why Texas has not been legislatively more gun activist. Our Oklahoma legislature passed Open Carry TWICE. The first time we had a Governor veto.

2. “SB 299 by state Senator Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) and state Representative Kenneth Sheets (R-Dallas) protects CHLs against charges of unlawful carry for the accidental display of a handgun”

   • Question: I wonder if this law covers printing through cover garment?
     It would make carrying a lot easier.

     • I read that: 1. No such thing as printing. 2. Get out of your seat and walk across a crowded room with your OWB junk hanging out, oops, cover, no biggie. 3. Raise your shirt and show your junk, not so much.

       • I was in Lowes Hardware one day and a guy walking in front of me had KeLTec
         P-32 in his back jeans pocket. perfect outline of the gun. Jeans had worn inprint of the gun. Easily not concealed, but printing. Not concealed but covered? This is what I call printing or possibly a bulge through shirt, clearly carrying.

3. SB 299 is exactly why I support open carry. First of all, accidents happen. A shirt riding up doesnt mean your brandishing in my book. Second, might as well legalize OC if we are going to decriminalize my first point. Small steps I guess. But it feels like every small step we take, the grabbers take several.

4. Guns permitted in cars on university property — already legal in Virginia
   Open carry — already legal in Virginia
   Training course — no defined hours required, no proficiency test in Virginia
   Renewal process — fill out a renewal form in Virginia

   Texas, welcome to the free world.

   • The only downside to all that is the part about living in Virginia…

     • As opposed to living in TX?

       • I hated being stationed in Virginia, place has the worst road system ever. 35mph speed limits in the city, 55mph highway. God help you if you have to commute through the tunnel. Even with a gps you can miss your exit since the exits split into 2 different exits and you can’t see which lane goes where until its too late. Wish I had known at the time about open carry and non-resident permits, but I rectified that after I left.

     • Stinkeye, don’t know what part of Virginia turns you off. You’re entitled to your opinion, but states have been split off and wars waged over those words. 😉

       • I don’t really have a beef with Virginia – my point, obscured though it was, is that gun rights are almost never the sole determining factor in choosing a place to live. How many people do we have here who live in CA and NY?

         Anyway, I’m not worried about sparking a civil war. As I recall, it took Virginia a couple months to decide to join the Confederacy the first time around. 😉

   • Can’t take a single sip of alcohol while carrying – Virginia

     I don’t like having to trade my desire for personal self-defense for my fondness for enjoying a good beer.

     • Colorado – no explicit prohibition on drinking, just can’t be “under the influence” while in possession of a firearm.

       Recent (and challenged by 55 of our 64 Sheriffs) silliness notwithstanding, Colorado still seems to be a lot more “gun friendly” than Virginia. And Texas.

       • Don,
         Colorado is more gun-friendly than Virginia. Whatever you say. Now if you’ll excuse me, UPS just arrived with the twenty 30-round P-Mags I just ordered from Brownell’s.

       • From http://www.handgunlaw.us/states/virginia.pdf :
         Can’t carry in churches.
         Can’t carry on state university property.
         Can’t consume alcohol when carrying concealed.
         Can’t carry centerfire guns with 21+ round mags in several jurisdictions (without a concealed handgun permit)

         None of that is prohibited in CO.

         So, what does VA allow that CO prohibits? New transfers of mags > 15 rounds and private-party transfers without a background check. I don’t like either of those new CO laws and will help fight them here, but they don’t really apply to me right now. I have about 35 30+ mags for my guns that use them, and I haven’t yet been involved in a private-party transfer outside of my immediate family.

         (And those two things that CO only recently started prohibiting are currently being challenged. The magazine restriction, especially – it’s challenged by 55 of our 64 Sheriffs. Even without the challenge, the mag size restriction is completely unenforceable; I could drive up to Wyoming, buy 20 new 30-rd mags, and bring them home. If I “assert” that I possessed them prior to 01 July 2013, the burden of proof is on the state – I don’t have to prove that I possessed them prior to that date.)

       • I was happy to hear that VA finally got rid of their 19-year-old “one handgun a month” law last year. That was a good step.

   • Hey, Roku. Tell me something about Virginia. I couldn’t figure it out when I was there a couple weeks ago. Can you consume intoxicants while open carrying?

     The only info I had to go on was handgunlaw.us’s (pdf) fact sheet for VA, and it says “In Virginia you are not allowed to consume by law.” I wasn’t sure if that applied to both concealed and open carry, or concealed only. I ended up simply leaving my gun at home most of the time I was there.

     • Matt,
       Interestingly enough, you can’t carry concealed and drink, but you can open carry and drink. Several of my friends have tried carrying a subcompact over dark clothes and report no problems, due to the condition white obliviousness of most people. I have not been game enough to try this.

       • Thanks, man. I’ll remember that the next time I’m up there. I don’t really have any sexy holsters, though, so I’d have to do something about that.

5. In Washington

   >A CPL is 60 bucks and requires no training or tests
   >open carry legal without permit
   >carrying a slung rifle won’t get you charged with disorderly
   >few gun free zones, definition of bar is any place off limits to 21 or younger (v texas which is 51% of revenue) which is easier
   >court houses required to check weapons
   >no restrictions period on carrying guns in the state capitol.

   I’ll stay in the evergreen state.

   • Make sure you fight the rtarded Seattle Mayor and his mandatory victim stickers for businesses that want their licenses renewed.

   • Forgot SBR’s are also illegal in Washington.

6. From the sound of all of you, you would think Texas is a bad place to own guns. It’s not. Why not compare it to a few other states, like New York, etc?

   • I dont think anyone is saying Texas is a bad place to own guns. I didnt say that and I dont even think it. In fact the only reason I dont live there is because my ex wife didnt want to.

     That said, my point and Im sure most others is that most Texans seem to act as if they live in the most gun freindly state.

     • “Most” Texans? Do you have some stats on that? I don’t know any Texans who think that. The only people I see who think that are lefties on HuffPo who all think Rick Perry’s Texas has the loosest gun laws in the world.

       I’ve been donating money and calling my legislators and the governor for years to get campus carry like some other states have. We came closer than ever this time, so maybe next time it’ll go through. It’s past time we had open carry too, and we’re working for that. It takes a long time to get laws passed in Texas, and that’s considered a feature, not a bug.

       • Yup, the state legislature only meets every 2 years. A lot of Texans know we aren’t the best gun rights wise and are fighting to make it so. Where states like Cali and the east coast are slipping back Texas gun owners are pushing. Stupidly enough, the giant attempted power grab by the Feds has woken gun owners up and mobilized them here.

   • I don’t see anyone saying it’s a terrible place, just that it is nothing near what it’s acolytes portray it as.

     • find me a place where its as good as they say it is, then get back to me.
       unless we’re talking about the local army navy store….

   • The main reason I don’t live in Texas is because while one may always add another layer as needed against the cold, there’s a limit to what one may remove as needed against the heat — unless one uses a potato peeler.

     • True, but southerners never have to shovel four feet of sunshine out of their driveway just to leave their house…

7. Here in Oregon, I took an online test that took me all of 20 minutes for my concealed carry certificate. Took that to the Sherriff’s office, and with no more hassle than your standard NICS check, I had my concealed permit less than two weeks later. Open carry is legal, and it’s legal to pack heat in schools. We also don’t have any “assault” weapon or magazine capacity limits.

   Being a gun owner in Oregon is not bad, not bad at all.

   • Well, outside of Multnomah county anyway.

   • We Northwesterners have it pretty good. The fight is going to be to keep it this way and to make it better.

   • oh ya, well in cali we don’t have to register our ar-10 22’s. yet.

   • I just hope it stays that way when I return home eventually. Otherwise I will be looking for a different state to retire in. There are a lot of idiots in Portland and Eugene that do their best to screw the state up. I guess they want the entire state to look like 13th street in Eugene and Burnside in Portland.

8. Vermont. Alaska. Arizona. Wyoming & Arkansas (sorta).

   When Texas gets Constitutional Carry, they can brag about how uber pro-gun they are. They’re obviously way better than some (e.g. Maryland, New Jersey, New York) but they’ve still got a ways to go. I do congratulate them on making improvements, and hope that the changes are simply the first in a path on the road to truly non-infringed carry.

   • Woohoo Texas is better than New York? Thanks for that.

9. Add to the list that 1 September is switchblade day!

   Texas has a lot of room for improvement, but we are going the right direction. We still have a long legacy of democratic control. Ann Richards was governor not so long ago.

10. I’m not sure just what a c0ckle is, but that picture gives the ones in me ticker a warm fuzzy of ginormous proportions.

    • Zappa?

11. Wisconsin check in.
    OC no lic required
    W/ ccw carry in state parks oc or cc ok
    Work in state office cc ok
    State capital ok
    4 hours training
    $50 5 years
    Bars ok if not drinking
    From dropping application to license arrive, four days
    Law passed in 2011 49th state
    Miissed by one veto override vote in 1996
    Only AR15 murder I can remember was by off duty cop.
    1,000ft school zone doesn’t apply for ccw holders

12. Interesting reading the replies from other states. NC just passed a pretty comprehensive “omnibus” gun bill allowing CC in restaurants and bars among other things. But our guns laws and their wording still stink however with way too much left up to interpretation by LEO’s, lawyers and judges. For example the definition for CC is “on the person or within arms reach or within “ready access” “. Yet most instructors tell you that a gun on the seat beside you in a vehicle is not considered concealed. We still have a long way to go.

13. Missouri

    Carrying within the standard list of “prohibited places” is not illegal. Only simple trespass if they see it and ask you to leave but you don’t. A cop was my instructor and kept emphasizing that point “your life, a $100 fine.”

    We can drink but not be intoxicated. carry in churches, schools, etc. all legit if you have your permit. OC is bit screwy b/c it is up to the local jurisdiction, but if the gov’s veto override happens, then anyone with a CC permit can OC and police can not use the sight of a weapon to make a Terry Stop.

14. All of the pro gun laws listed here were put forth by Republicans. In CA, all of the anti gun laws under consideration were put forth by Dems. Just an observation.

    • Wait a minute, are you saying there’s a correlation between anti-gun laws and the democrat party? Preposterous!

15. How the hell do you post this right after the three are charged with disorderly conduct and say TX is getting better? Not.

    • To be fair, that was in San Antonio…

    • Heck, you’re right! The actions of a couple jerkoff city cops do completely invalidate the legislative progress that’s being made.

16. The problem with Texas is that its reputation precedes it. Of course, this cuts both ways. The perception of rural prairie towns and cowboys, rednecks, and the like perpetuate the “gun paradise” stereotype, regardless of whether it is appropriately deserved. On the flip side we have major metropolitan commercial centers like Dallas, Houston, Austin,and their outlying suburbs. These cities never get the justice they’re due, because of the aforementioned reputation (not necessarily associated with guns). However, in this case the reputation is especially dangerous because people, even those within the state don’t recognize that these areas are growing increasingly more liberal, assuming the stereotype applies equally to all prions of the state, when in reality there are some extremely liberal areas of the state.

17. “Unfortunately, this year we didn’t see campus carry or open carry, but we’re getting closer.”

    I said the same thing 2 years ago….and two years before that too.

18. I’m not a native Texan, but my dad was and my uncle, mom, and brother live there. While I realize people either love or hate Texas, I personally can’t get back there fast enough. I love everything about the state…. the attitude, the feel of freedom…it’s in the air…it’s been my favorite place on earth since I was very small…and I’m talking about a tiny town of 400 people in the panhandle.

19. I live in calif but travel to AZ often.

    I can and do carry concealed in AZ every time i am there as there is no CCW needed.

20. I’m native Texan and will live in no other state.Little pissant yankees that run their mouth about Texas don’t bother me in the least. I mean thats the only thing yankees do good is run their mouth with lies and bullshit. Bitter little pissants ! Texas like a whole other country !

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