Texas Senate Passes Bill to Allow Carrying of Concealed Handguns

The state Senate on Monday approved a bill that would allow Texans to carry concealed handguns.

Sen. Gene Green said the measure would give law-abiding citizens a chance to fight back at crime, but Sen. Ted Lyon, a former police officer, said it would lead to more violence.

“People are scared to go outside their homes. This would give the people the ability to go through the training, satisfy the requirements and still be able to protect themselves,” said Green, a Democrat.

Lyon, also a Democrat, said law enforcement groups opposed the bill. He noted that the Senate was debating the measure the day a memorial was held at the Capitol for law officers killed in the line of duty.

The bill goes to the House, where Green said it stood a good chance of passage.

Lyon attempted to amend the bill to make handgun license applicants take a psychological test, but that effort failed, 16 to 13.

He said the amendment would have taken the “wild, wild West” out of the proposal. “A handgun is generally an instrument of death. To let just anybody have a pistol is a serious problem. It subjects a lot of people to needless dangers.”

But Green said the legislation has safeguards. License applicants would have to undergo gun training, and their past would be checked by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The review, he said, would take about four months.

To be eligible, a person would have to be 21 years old and a lawful resident of Texas.