TexasCHLforum.com

I contacted Joan Huffman yesterday as well.

My big challenge with this bill is that while it leaves the LTC process in place, it provides no incentive for Texans to take the leap from unlicensed to licensed carry other than the already existing things (which few folks know about anyway), such as purchasing without background checks, exception from GFSZ, etc.

Here’s what I wish would be included:

Instead of extending 3006 and 3007 to cover unlicensed carry, I’d like to see that extension only apply to oral notification. If someone tells me ‘no guns here’, that should apply equally irrespective of what statute we’re carrying under.

But for the written notification aspects of 3006 and 3007, instead of EXTENDING this to unlicensed carry, I’d like to see it SHIFTED to unlicensed carry. This would mean that the signs have a force of law (Class C) for unlicensed carriers, but none for licensed carriers.

This does a few things: It assures that private property rights are sacrosanct in Texas: you tell me not to, and I can’t carry. But it saves us from the rampant expansion of signage that we should expect (exactly as it did when open carry passed). Remember the liberal politicians who printed signs of their own and went door-to-door passing them out for free to businesses? I do, and I expect it will happen even larger this time.

I asked Sen. Huffman to support this bill, and I suggested this amendment for her as well, because it provides a carrot (tangible benefits) to incentivize people to get their LTC, rather than the stick (Class A misdemeanor) they’ve used for decades. I have no idea if she’ll do either, but let’s hope that it happens at some level.