Some Pro-Gun Bills are moving in the Texas Legislature and Anti-Gun Bills are not!

Last week, the Texas Senate passed two pro-gun measures – SB 299 by State Senator Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls), which protects Texas Concealed Handgun Licensees against charges of unlawful carrying of handgun if they accidentally or inadvertently display their firearms and SB 987 by State Senator Glenn Hegar (R-Katy), which allows the Texas Attorney General to seek a temporary or permanent injunction against a city or county that adopts a regulation in violation of the state firearms preemption law. Preemption protects law-abiding gun owners against a patchwork of confusing and conflicting local gun control ordinances across the state.

Also, the Senate Criminal Justice Committee unanimously approved SB 864 by State Senator Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels), another TSRA-supported bill which reduces the number of classroom hours required for an initial Concealed Handgun License from 10-15 hours to 4-6 hours. This would make it far more convenient for CHL applicants to obtain a license to carry and exercise their right to self-defense. SB 864 has been placed on the Senate’s Local & Uncontested calendar, and final action could be taken on the bill next week.

You’ll recall that the City of Austin and Travis County both recently considered, and pulled back from, adopting restrictions on gun shows which would have likely been outside the scope of their authority to adopt, as pointed out by Attorney General Greg Abbott (R). SB 987 would give that office statutory authority to legally intervene in these situations in the future.