Only in Texas, the state which gave us George W Bush and "Mission Accomplished" could give the world an Open Carry law for handguns that requires a concealed-handgun permit, making the concept of concealment at best transparent, at worst absurd.
Brownbag your handgun by all means.
OTOH, challenging someone to show their concealed-handgun permit while they are wearing a visibly holstered firearm does bring new meaning to the words "risky" and "impertinent". Folks will freak out, whether it's in retail establishments or in the workplace and many ad hoc regulatory activities will prove to be challenging, for example an amendment to allow open carry on college campuses. Many new de facto and de jure senseless legal restrictions will abound, as will the endless Killeen Luby's Cafeteria hypotheticals.
More fine-grained analysis is needed relative to existing law once the laws are enacted actually could indicate some interesting issues in regards to issuance, although in contrast with other concealed permitting states Texas might not have the differences between state and local agencies that can reveal some potential bias in terms of who gets a permit.
The Texas House of Representatives on Friday voted 96-35 to allow residents with concealed-handgun licenses to openly carry their guns in public in holsters. A similar open-carry measure passed the Texas Senate last month; the two open-carry bills must be squared before being sent to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has indicated support for the idea.
In contrast to its reputation for being permissive on firearms, Texas is one of six states, including California, New York and Florida, that currently bars citizens from openly carrying handguns. People who want to carry handguns in public on their person must obtain concealed-weapons permits and keep the weapons hidden.
Texas currently allows citizens to openly carry long guns in public, however. That has spurred gun-rights groups to carry assault rifles into restaurants and stores and along the sidewalks adjoining the Texas Capitol, to highlight what they see as a senseless legal distinction.
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AUSTIN – The state House on Friday gave preliminary approval to legislation to end Texas'125-year ban on the open carry of handguns, despite repeated efforts from Democrats to delay debate and water down the bill.
House Bill 910 by Sherman Republican Larry Phillips would allow anyone with a concealed carry license to also openly carry a handgun in a shoulder or hip holster. While open carry of rifles and shotguns is legal in Texas, the same has been illegal for handguns since Reconstruction.
CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — At McBride’s Guns in Central Austin, gun sales are up in advance of an open carry law potentially being passed at the state Capitol. But Cedar Park Police Chief Sean Mannix says there are several unanswered questions attached to the law.
“What are the requirements of open carry, what about proof of eligibility?” he said. “Will people have to carry it with them?”
All 84 of his officers attend training on a daily basis for a variety of reasons, and even more training will be required if the bill passes.
“I will say that’s just a reality,” said Mannix. “It is going to be difficult for the beat cop to know who should have a gun, who shouldn’t have a gun, and frankly there are people out there who shouldn’t own guns.”
Mannix also serves as the chair of the Texas Association of Police Chiefs. He worries open carry could make situations, like ones involving an active shooter, more dangerous.
“The last thing you want to see is somebody with a gun who’s not a police officer at an active shooter situation not immediately responding to commands to drop their weapon and get on the ground,” the chief said.