U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- As Texas gun owners wait for Gov. Greg Abbott to sign legislation allowing permitless carry of sidearms in the Lone Star State—so-called “Constitutional Carry”—establishment media is pushing the negative in an attempt to portray the governor and gun rights supporters as being outside the mainstream. It’s the sort of situation that can produce accusations of media bias.
For example, CBS News reported, “The Republican-dominated Legislature approved the measure Monday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has said he will sign it despite the objections of law enforcement groups who say it would endanger the public and police.”
But the legislation “does not allow anyone prohibited under state or federal law from possessing a firearm to carry a firearm,” the National Rifle Association pointed out. NRA supported the bill.
Rarely does the establishment media acknowledge that armed criminals don’t bother with licenses, background checks or training requirements, and never have.
The vote on House Bill 1927 was 82-62 in the Texas House. The Senate passed the bill with a 17-13 vote the following day.
“Gun control groups also oppose the measure,” CBS News added, “noting the state’s recent history of mass shootings, including those at an El Paso Walmart, a church in Sutherland Springs and a high school outside Houston.”
But those shootings involved perpetrators armed with rifles, a fact apparently overlooked by reporters.
Perhaps to downplay the ability of legally-armed Texans to respond to such attacks, the New York Times observed, “More than a million people in Texas have permits to carry handguns…In 2019, when a man in a trench coat opened fire with a shotgun in a suburban church outside of Fort Worth, more than half a dozen people who had gathered for the service responded by drawing their own firearms.”
The Times report failed to acknowledge that one of those armed citizens, Jack Wilson, fatally shot the gunman within seconds after the killer opened fire, saving possibly several lives. One-shot to the head brought the murderer down, and it was all live-streamed by the church.
The Sun couldn’t resist observing, “The state of Texas is one step closer to turning into the Wild West as state lawmakers seek to pass an unprecedented gun proposal.” But that’s not accurate either, because there are about 20 precedents set by other states that have already adopted “constitutional carry” legislation.
Rolling Stone chimed in, reporting “Texas is on the verge of becoming the most-populous state in the nation to allow permit-less carry of handguns, meaning any adult who can legally obtain a gun can take it to town, without any training or certification. It’s the firearms equivalent of abandoning drivers (sic) licenses.”
The magazine ignores the fact that legally-armed Texas citizens are already “taking their guns to town,” and they have not been a threat to public safety other than in the wild imaginations of anti-gun extremists.
CNBC was quick to quote former Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo—now police chief in Miami—who declared during an interview, “From chiefs to sheriffs to police labor, we do not support permit-less, open carry.”
Acevedo is no stranger to gun politics, having criticized Congress in the past for failing to adopt tougher gun control laws.
But KIRO, the CBS affiliate in Seattle, Washington, quoted Republican State Sen. Charles Schwertner, the bill’s chief sponsor, stating “This is a simple restoration of Texans’ constitutional right under the Second Amendment, a right of the people to keep and bear arms. I think it is a bill that is the strongest bill I’ve seen in my legislative career regarding the rights of our Second Amendment.”
AmmoLand News reached out to Abbott’s office to find out when the governor will sign the bill. The governor’s office did not quickly respond.
Several news agencies, including the New York Times, have reported a poll conducted by the Texas Tribune and University of Texas “showed a majority of Texans do not support unlicensed carry, with 59% of those polled saying they oppose the measure. Results were split along political party lines with 85% of Democrats opposing the bill and 56% of Republicans polled supporting it.”
Unlicensed firearms carry by law-abiding citizens is an idea that has been gaining traction, at least in conservative states where Republicans hold legislative majorities and governors’ offices. With Texas coming aboard, more than 20 states will have abolished the permit requirement, though such permits will remain available allowing armed citizens to utilize state reciprocity for carrying concealed in other states.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz hailed passage of the legislation. In a tweet, Cruz observed, “I applaud Texas legislators for passing this landmark legislation to make constitutional carry a reality and to protect the right of law-abiding citizens.”
KIRO’s report said Giffords, the gun prohibition lobbying group founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, former astronaut and now U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, also conducted a survey finding 71 percent of Texas gun owners “supported keeping universal background checks for gun purchases.” It’s not clear what that has to do with Constitutional Carry, but under the state’s permit system, applicants must go through another background check regardless whether they have passed such a check when buying a gun.
NRA chief lobbyist Jason Ouimet said in a prepared statement, “A right requiring you to pay a tax or obtain a government permission slip is not a right at all, that’s why the NRA is proud to have worked closely with state leaders and legislators to pass the most significant pro-Second Amendment measure in Texas history. Our members worked tirelessly to provide the crucial grassroots support to make constitutional carry a reality and restore the rights of law-abiding Texans.”
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
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