Texas Constitutional Carry Is Official, Will Begin in September

As of the time of this writing, twenty US states officially recognize their residents’ inherent right to bear arms without the imposition of governmental permitting hurdles. Vermont led by example in this area, thanks to the particularly narrow wording of its state Constitution. Vermont’s legal language has never allowed for state-level restrictions on methods of firearms carry, so it is considered the first of America’s fifty states to recognize that the Constitution essentially serves as Americans’ permit – more by intrinsic prevention than by the retroactive action that other states have had to employ subsequently. For decades, Vermont stood alone in this distinction. TFB has covered some Constitutional Carry-related news from time to time, and a sampling of those past articles is listed below.

• Texas Permitless Carry on the Horizon? 3 Bills are Currently on the Line
• Concealed Carry Corner: Pros And Cons of Constitutional Carry
• Iowa Becomes 19th State To Establish Constitutional Carry For Firearms
• Utah Adopts Constitutional Carry
• Montana Constitutional Carry Bill Has Been Signed into Law
• Constitutional Carry Now In Effect In Oklahoma
• BREAKING: New Hampshire Is Now A ‘Constitutional Carry’ State
• Breaking: Missouri Legalizes Constitutional Carry
• Indiana House Votes to Eliminate License to Carry by March 2022

In 2003, Alaska’s House Bill 102 was signed into law by then-Governor Frank Murkowski, making the USA’s largest and second-youngest state its next Constitutional Carry state. Arizona became the third in 2010, and over the eleven years since, a further seventeen states have followed suit. In chronological order, these are: Wyoming, Maine, Kansas, West Virginia, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arkansas, Utah, Montana, Iowa, and Tennessee. Now with Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s June 16th signature, the Lone Star State will become the USA’s twenty-first to recognize their citizens’ right to Constitutional Carry. House Bill 1927 was introduced into the Texas State Legislature’s 87th session in early 2021, with a February 12th filing date. This was not the gun-loving state’s first flirtation with Constitutional Carry attempts, as similar bills over the last ten or so years have been put forth, but unfortunately, none previously were able to gain sufficient traction.

Thanks in large part to continual pressure from constituents, as well as lobbying and grassroots efforts fueled by numerous pro-2A organizations like the Firearms Policy Coalition, Gun Owners of America, and Texas Gun Rights/the National Association for Gun Rights, HB1927 passed the requisite voting procedures in late May 2021. The Texas House recorded its vote on May 23rd, the Senate on the 24th, and the bill was sent to Governor Abbott’s desk as of May 28th. The governor had previously stated that he would sign, so it was expected by many to be finalized soon after. It took a bit longer than it should have, but HB1927 finally received its last sign-off on June 16th. Texas’ new Constitutional Carry law will go into effect later this year, as of September 1st. Congrats to all freedom-loving Texans on winning this long-awaited and hard-won battle in the difficult fight to protect the right to bear arms, and hopefully we will soon see more states add to this growing list. See you at the range!