On the same day this month that a gunman opened fire at the Dallas police headquarters, Texas governor Greg Abbott signed the "Texas House Bill 910", a law allowing Texans to openly carry their handguns in public.
More commonly known as “open carry”, the Bill sailed through the Republican-dominated House and Senate, making Texas the 45th US state to allow licensed citizens to carry handguns in plain sight.
Abbott signed the Bill into law at a ceremony held in a popular gun store and shooting range in Pflugerville, Texas. The event took place on the same day Dallas police shot and killed a lone gunman who opened fire at the city’s police headquarters.
Widely opposed by Democrats, gun control advocates and Texan law enforcement agencies, the ‘open carry’ Bill originally contained a provision prohibiting police from stopping anyone to check for a gun licence simply because they were carrying a handgun openly. However, after pressure from law enforcement, the provision was removed.
"'Open carry' has passed so now we must deal with the realities of it," Austin police chief Art Acevedo said. "It's going to put a lot of folks at risk and make the greater community uneasy at times.
“If two individuals walk in to a bank when a robbery is taking place and one is a concealed carrier while the other is an open carrier, who do you think the bank robber will shoot at first? The guy who poses the threat, of course.
“It will undoubtedly create a lot more work for law enforcement here. Folks will be calling us whenever they see someone they don’t recognise in their neighbourhood toting a handgun.”
Majority favour guns
Debate in Texas doesn’t centre around whether or not individuals should be allowed to own guns. A recent poll, jointly conducted by the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune, showed that 77 per cent of voters believed people should be allowed to carry handguns in public.
“It’s because of ‘yee’ and ‘haw’: It’s just that kind of place,” says Democratic state representative, Alfonso ‘Poncho’ Nevárez, who received death threats from gun advocates for his public opposition to the ‘open carry’ Bill.
Nevárez was assigned a security detail after gun rights activists confronted him at his state office in Austin in January. The event prompted fellow house members on both sides to show solidarity with their colleague by wearing “I am Poncho” stickers.
Gun-toting opponent
“I’m a gun owner,” says Nevárez. “I have a gun under my jacket right now. You’re not talking to someone who is anti-gun. I’m part of that culture.
“But this ‘open carry’ law isn’t necessary. Republicans are just trying to make a small but vocal minority, that controls their republican primary, happy.
“What really gets me is how we turned a deaf ear to the police, who opposed it from the start. We politicians spend our days applauding the people who serve and protect us, using them in our campaign speeches. Then the moment they need something from us, we turn our backs. It’s hypocritical. We lacked guts.”
Another controversial Bill was passed in the 84th Texan legislative session: Senate Bill 11, or “campus carry”, allowing licensed gun owners to carry concealed weapons on college campuses.
Opponents of the Bill managed to gain one small victory, adding a proviso that college officials could still designate certain areas as gun-free zones. The amendment didn’t please everyone though.
“We don’t believe we should have to ask permission from our appointed officials to simply exercise a right on land that we collectively own,” says Michael Newburn of the national gun rights organisation, Students for Concealed Carry.
"At 18 years of age, you can take an oath swearing allegiance to defend these here United States against all enemies with your life. I don't see why someone who can take an oath like that at 18 can't also lawfully carry a firearm on campus at 21."
