Dallas News by Madlin Mekelburg 3/28/2017
AUSTIN — Two years after approving open carry and campus carry bills during the 2015 legislative session, Texas lawmakers are debating proposals that would give the state some of the laxest gun laws in the country.
The House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety heard hours of public testimony Tuesday on two bills that would allow Texans to carry a handgun (open or concealed) without obtaining a gun license and completing the required safety training. Any Texan who would ordinarily be denied a gun license would not be allowed to carry a gun.
"This bill means a lot to me because it means so much to my constituents and Texans everywhere," said Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, the author of one of the measures. "I don't think the government has the right to sell us back our rights."
If one of the bills passes, Texas would become the 13th state to allow "constitutional carry." North Dakota and New Hampshire passed similar laws this year, and Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming already have permitless laws in place.
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http://www.dallasnews.com/news/guns/2017/03/28/texans-carry-guns-without-permits-bill-house-panel-debating