Governor Abbott Texas Constitutional Carry
Governor Greg Abbott makes Texas the 21st constitutional carry state. (Dan Z. for TTAG)

Governor Greg Abbott held a signing ceremony at the Alamo in San Antonio this morning to sign into law seven bills designed to extend and protect the right to keep and bear arms in the Lone Star State. It was a clean sweep for gun rights supporters in the just-completed legislative session, one of the most successful ever.

 

The most prominent of the seven bills is, of course, HB 1927, the one that makes Texas the 21st constitutional carry state in the nation. It’s good to see Texas turn green on the map below, the one that chronicles the truly remarkable progress the fight for gun rights has made in this country over the last 35 years.

The constitutional carry law won’t take effect until September 1. The other six new laws will . . .

  • Make Texas a Second Amendment sanctuary state
  • Prohibit the state from contracting with companies that discriminate against firearms industry-related businesses
  • Allow those who open carry to do so in whatever holster they choose (current law mandates a belt or shoulder holster)
  • Prohibit state government from shutting down gun and ammunition sales during a declared emergency
  • Allow travelers in the state to store any firearms they’re carrying in their hotel room
  • Exempt suppressors that are built, sold, and remain in the state from regulation under the National Firearms Act

The NSSF is particularly appreciative of the nondiscrimination law that Governor Abbott signed and issued this statement . . .

The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the firearm industry trade association, praised Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for signing SB 19, the Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination (FIND) Act into law. The law will now prevent “woke” corporations from profiting from Texas tax dollars and using those profits to fund efforts to deny those same taxpayers their Second Amendment rights.

Gov. Abbott held a signing ceremony at San Antonio’s Alamo for the FIND Act, and other gun-related laws, including state constitutional carry of firearms and the NSSF-supported legislation prohibiting the state government from closing firearm-related businesses during emergencies.

“Governor Abbott and the Texas legislature sent a clear message that Texas is not willing to sell out the Second Amendment rights of her citizens. Governor Abbott recognizes it is wrong to compel freedom-loving Texans to fund corporate gun control,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “This is what bold and decisive leadership looks like. This is what it means to put principle before profit and what it means to put an end to corporate boardroom activism that openly discriminates against the firearm industry. The National Shooting Sports Foundation is grateful for Texas leading the way on this model legislation to protect our rights and end corporate discrimination against lawful businesses.”

The new law requires corporations seeking to do business with the state and local government to certify that they hold no policies that discriminate against firearms or ammunition companies and will not implement any such policies while the contracts are in force. The law ensures that taxpayer-funded contracts aren’t used to benefit policies that discriminate and deny services to firearm and ammunition-related businesses. Texas taxpayers won’t be burdened with funding discriminatory policies that undermine their rights and throttle the businesses that provide the means to exercise those rights.

NSSF is especially grateful to Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for designating the FIND Act as priority legislation that was crucial to the state. NSSF thanks Republican state Sen. Charles Schwertner who sponsored the bill and Republican state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione who ushered it through the state’s House of Representatives. NSSF is also grateful to the NRA for their STRONG support of this groundbreaking legislation that is vital to the success of the firearm and ammunition industry.

60 COMMENTS

  1. God Bless Texas!!!
    This is the best leguslative session we have had in a long time. So many great gun bills. More to be done, but not bad at all 🙂

  2. That map is cool. It’s a bummer that KS was late to the carry party, but awesome to see it become one of the first Constitutional Carry states. Be

    • As a resident I was also surprised it took so long for Kansas to move to shall issue in 06. I was too young to be affected at the time though, so don’t know what the holdup was. Texas has been playing catch-up for years though, I think it’s funny that people seemed to hold up Texas as this pedestal of gun rights for decades when Kansas has had basically zero restrictions for 15 years. I’ve been a ccl holder for almost 10 years now and cc seems to be extremely common here.

      • Texas was mostly Democrat run until 30 years ago. Like most of the south was too. And California used to be republican. Times are changin

        • Remember that old time democrats were not all(or even most) gun grabbers. That was their corporate sponsors, that want that.

      • And all those nasty anti-gun rules the non-Texans like to point at were almost never enforced, unlike many other states. Was it NJ that was sending a woman from out of state to fucking PRISON for being caught with (gasp!) a fired .22 lr case in her car?

  3. Abbott is soft on Gun Bills, he will sign any pro gun bill that crosses his desk but he does nothing to help them pass, but more than willing to take credit for them. Just like he waited until after the 21 or what ever days after a bill passes both houses, goes into effect regardless of being signed by the governor, to sign the open carry legislation.

    • You are mistaken in your legislative procedures.
      Bills that are passed by the House and Senate within 10 days of the close of the legislative session get 20 days after the close of the legislative session to be signed. The constitutional carry and suppressor bills were both past 3 days prior to the close of session, so Abbott had until June the 20th to sign them.

  4. It’s a very good start. We’ve been pushing hard for these type of corrections since reconstruction.

    Now we need to make it possible to enforce SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED via the supremacy clause and the 14th amendment by making it possible for a citizen to request the Texas Rangers to arrest ANY government operator for civil rights violations. The law merely needs to state that if infringement of the right to arms (minor infractions) by said operator appear to have been or are being committed, the investigating officer will instigate arrest immediately.

    This could be extended to protect freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, etc.

    It could possibly include language that if an operator is throwing a temper tantrum or otherwise appears to have lost self control, they may he arrested for oppression under the color of authority.

  5. The suppressor part is interesting. Please expand on that. This new state law doesn’t nullify the federal NFA and all its onerous forms and requirements does it? Certainly not, but what does it do?

    BTW- God bless Texas, I’m happy to be back!

    • This is definitely going to go through the courts.
      Don’t go building your own just yet.

    • As I understood it, the suppressor law applies only to devices made, sold, and used only in Texas. The argument being that because the parts of the suppressor and the suppressor itself don’t travel to or from another state then the federal government can’t regulate it because there is no interstate commerce involved, it’s a purely single state matter.

      • ah, but building your own and using it in TX affects interstate commerce because you probably WOULD have bought one from out of state… so it CAN be regulated as protecting interstate commerce regulations.
        Also, your metals probably aren’t mined and refined in TX, so that’s another reason to regulate.
        I’m not saying I agree with this, just that this is what congress has said about stuff in the past.

        • Dan from Detroit,

          You are absolutely, positively, and entirely SPOT ON with your comment. I could not have said it any better myself.

          We need either a far-reaching federal law or U.S. Supreme Court decision which finally ends the fictitious federal “authority” to “regulate” suppress both intrastate and interstate commerce.

      • So, Texas is trying the same ‘non-Interstate Commerce’ ploy that Kansas did, before Kansas told the guy with the homemade suppressors “well, sucks to be you, doesn’t it?”

      • “…because the parts of the suppressor and the suppressor itself don’t travel to or from another state then the federal government can’t regulate it because there is no interstate commerce involved, it’s a purely single state matter.”

        Not quite; reference Heart of Atlanta Motel (https://www.britannica.com/event/Heart-of-Atlanta-Motel-v-United-States).

        If interstate travel of any, that is any, element of the suppressor build required interstate transportation, the feds claim interstate jurisdiction.

        I am just truly amazed that the feds have not claimed interstate jurisdiction to eliminate home building of firearms, or any other gun control measure they fashion into law.

        • I can appreciate not having to renew LTC anymore.
          Returning to the way it was when Texas won as an independent Country.

          I’m in my hip break years so appreciate having an edge in survival in event of emergency.
          Proud of being 3rd Generation Texan.
          I was born in Roswell New Mexico due to my dad being stationed there.
          If you are in Fredrickburg and appreciate the Freedom our father and grandparents gave their youth and some their lives for, stop by Nemitz World War II Museum walk of Honor

    • “This new state law doesn’t nullify the federal NFA and all its onerous forms and requirements does it? Certainly not, but what does it do?”

      No, Texas law does not nullify NFA (that will take a SCOTUS ruling). State suppressor exemptions are the gun owners equivalent to the state marijuana laws. Federal enforcement of NFA for suppressors in states that legalize them will highlight the utter corruption of USDOJ; selective prosecution for political purposes.

  6. I’m a life long Texan and I just can’t believe how poorly this state is run under this governor. Great he signed these bills at a nice photo-op for him. But he’s done absolutely zero to solve our power problems. Real problems that affect real Texans. Now we are supposed to cut back on our air conditioning to save the grid and the worst heat is yet to come. We lost power for two weeks during the coldest weather of the winter because of “solar energy” (what a joke) now the are supposed to broil because our leaders won’t share power resourses with our neighbor states. How many people will die this time? Not a penny to fix it, only a bill that says to winterize whenever they get around to it. The rest of the state looks like a junk yard sprinkled with garbage. Houston is a sewer. This state looks like crap. Glad all these idiots from California are coming here to ruin what’s left. Thanks governor, you’re an idiot.

    Reply

    • The governor of Texas has zero ability to add money to any of those power companies’ budgets. This is a mostly deregulated market.

      • I have to call bs on your reply. The governor leads the legislature and they have the power over ERCOT as shown by the two meaningless bills they passed last week. They could take any measures they want to strengthen strengthen our grid, they just won’t because of poor leadership. Texas is the laughingstock of the country.

      • In Texas the legislative branch dances to the governor’s tune. Maybe in Detroit its different.

        • As near as I can tell, the GOP legislature doesn’t dance to Progressive/neo-marxist Whitmer’s tune, but they did dance to Progressive Snyder’s tune, with great vigor.

          Florida legislative leadership won’t let pro-gun bills come to a vote, because of one anti-gun Republican donor.
          In Michigan, it was an anti-gun Republican governor.

        • This is not the case at all. Texas has a weak Governorship. It was built that way on purpose after Reconstruction. During the legislative session, the Lieutenant Governor is more powerful than the Governor.
          Also, ercot is not a regulatory body. Perhaps you are thinking of the puc.

    • “We lost power for two weeks during the coldest weather of the winter because of “solar energy”

      Wrong, the grid failed because of miss management and poor preparation for climate change. There are plenty of areas in the United States that utilize solar power along with wind turbines, for a major portion of their power grid supply and yet they had no major problems during winter.

      Poor, invalid planning is what happens when you do not take climate change into account when establishing your maintenance and repair operations.

      The fact is, Texas receives only about 4% of their power from solar sources:

      https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/fiscal-notes/2020/august/ercot.php

      And like JWM says, in Texas the power market is just about totally deregulated so you can’t blame so-called ‘job killing regulations’, it was just mismanagement by state regulators who did not require the grid operators to establish a robust lines aresystem capable of handling erratic climate disruption.

      A major problem is that most of the Texas gas supply linesare above ground and are not properly desiccated, meaning they freeze off when temperatures drop below zero because they are not prepared for the inclement weather

        • Don’t be ridiculous, everyone has known about climate change for a long, long time. In Texas in particular, the climate changes from Fall to Winter long about January, so a big blizzard in Feb could happen anytime before the climate changes to Spring around March-April. The real question is how some fools think they can alter that, hasn’t been done yet.

        • No religion involved, the black out occurred because the managers of the power grid in Texas ignored the climate disruptions that were forecast.

      • The reality is that now 20% of our power in Texascomes from wind energy, and you can check the link you included for that. We are the country’s largest renewable energy provider.
        We haven’t been building new natural gas power plants, and instead cities like Austin have continually relied on more and more renewables.
        All of those renewables failed.
        That was the entirety of our reserve. 20% or more of our capacity was pulled right offline, because we trusted way too much in wind power without dispatchable natural gas power plants to back them up.
        When 100% of the reserve was gone, it didn’t take much of a disruption to cause a catastrophe.
        The exact same thing is going on right now in the heat. So many people have moved to Texas, and we didn’t build enough traditional power plants to keep up. So right now, when the heat is really coming on, the wind has stopped. As it tends to do during the summer days. So we are maxed out on capacity with no reserves again. If you would like to verify any of this, I suggest you actually read the link you posted.

        • That is why Pete Wilson was recalled in Ca. The ENRON fiasco and not having the little power stations that are needed to get over the hottest parts of the day. You design a big plant to run at a certain capacity and that is where it is most efficient. It can be throttled up some, but the increased load during the hottest part of the day needs some help. Enron was glad to furnish expensive power, same problem, different decade.
          AS far as heating goes, you need a second source of heat. Having a second source of power and a room that has it’s own AC makes for a great retreat for the whole family.

  7. I recall conversations with county deputies, city cops and state troopers in Arizona back before the new gun laws. Always has been an open carry state. But officers and their commanders all differed on what that really meant, on how to enforce laws. Was a handgun in a belt holster concealed if it poked out below a suit jacket? Or some other coat or windbreaker? If your intent was not to conceal, did it matter if you accidentally did so?

    The responses covered the spectrum from one officer who’d arrest anyone with a gun to others who insisted it was illegal to make such an arrest.

    Took a long time for Arizona to get it right. Long past due for TexAss to catch up with their propaganda.

  8. The dishonesty an the part of the gun grabbers is hindering progress on stopping violence. Instead of focusing on guns, look at WHO is committing the violence, and WHY. But the progs are afraid of the truth. WE ALL KNOW who is committing the violence, but that particular group is politically protected from the consequences of its own actions. Until there can be an honest conversation about WHO and WHY, the violence will continue, and the progs will keep trying to take away our rights rather than deal with the problem.

  9. Better get out the mops and buckets since the streets will soon run red with blood!!

    ROFLMAO….. At some point you almost have to feel sorry for anti-gun liberals. Almost.

    • First time I heard the streets were about to run red with blood was when FL was passing “shall issue” in 1987, comes up literally dozens of times since, every time gun laws were loosened in any respect in any of the 50 states, almost as though some central agency was suggesting talking points. And thru 34 years now that *I* know of, it has never happened, but we still continue to hear it.

      • Yes, there’s no danger whatsoever in untrained, unlicensed individuals carrying guns because they all act so responsibly.

        “UPDATE 5/27/21 @ 10:43 a.m.

        MILTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – The name of the person killed in a shooting in a parking lot has been released.

        The shooting happened around 5:55 p.m. Wednesday at the Go-Mart in the 300 block of Summers Addition Road.

        When police arrived on scene, they detained Carl Rose Jr. and secured a gun from him.

        James Anthony Oldham, 54, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, was shot multiple times and died at the scene.

        According to the criminal complaint, Rose witnessed an active domestic involving Oldham and his wife. Rose walked over there and pointed a gun at Oldham. Then Oldham started towards Rose. The complaint states Rose walked backwards then stopped when Oldham got between him and a white pickup truck.

        Milton Police say an altercation developed between Rose and Oldham where Rose shot Oldham. Police say Oldham turned and ran from Rose, who continued firing shots. He shot the victim approximately five times in the back. Oldham died from his injuries.

        Milton Police say the shooting was an isolated incident and the public is not in danger.“

        https://www.wsaz.com/2021/05/26/shooting-reported-in-cabell-county/

        • I have news for you Miner49er. Trained police officers, that you support, shoot the wrong person all the time. On purpose or in a negligent discharge.

  10. Congratulations to the governor and members of the legislature who enacted the legislation that he signed.

  11. I was so proud that Governor Abbott honored by father-in-law Jack Wilson at the signing ceremony.

  12. Texas DID NOT get Constitutional Carry, we got Permitless Carry with unconstitutional infringements. Still it’s a step in the right direction.

    • Texas is now more safe than California or Georgia. This is a huge step in the right direction. And even more can be done later.

  13. Proud to be 2nd Generation Texas Citizen
    And proud of my dad and uncles as members of the Greatest Generation
    Pleased to not having to pay for a Right anymore

    • It was a moving experience to see my dad’s photo up there with some information on where he was stationed during the war.
      Like many who came back, he rarely talked about the war.
      As children, we would hide but within ear shot of their discussion about what they experienced.

      • My dad would not talk about WW2, even when asked. He served a full career in the Air Force, and even after my commissioning and graduation from flight school, he would only talk about his different training assignments, and that he served in Guatemala and “the Pacific”.

  14. @Texas Gal
    “If you are in Fredrickburg…stop by Nemitz World War II Museum walk of Honor”

    Hosted a coupla tours of the museum, a while, while back.

  15. Good for you, Sam I AM
    My sister in law in law, Vicki works there gathering photos and information the place on the Honor Walk.
    Memorial weekend we she took us on a tour and was able to get a picture of my dad’s place

    • A military service person can also just get a brick for the walkway.
      My husband did what they called the kiddie cruise, go in at 18 and come out at age 21
      Will probably have a brick done and placed near the Navy Tinder ship he was on.
      That’s all he will allow since never was in combat

      • “Will probably have a brick done and placed near the Navy Tinder ship he was on.
        That’s all he will allow since never was in combat”

        Logistics is the beating heart of the military. And probably the least respected. Patton’s army ground to a halt because he was moving so fast logistics could not keep up. The old platitude, “They also serve who only stand and wait” is an important reality.

  16. “Memorial weekend we she took us on a tour and was able to get a picture of my dad’s place.”

    Excellent !!

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