Bill Referrals & Committee Hearings Will Begin Soon –
Your Participation Will Be Needed This Session!
The Texas Legislature convened in Austin last month for its 86th Regular Session and the number of gun control measures filed so far is unprecedented. And there’s more to come – the deadline for bill introduction is not until March 8.
New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s national gun control groups Everytown for Gun Safety/Moms Demand Action, along with their policy partners at Texas Gun Sense, continue working with anti-gun lawmakers to file countless misguided proposals that restrict your Second Amendment rights. Don’t be fooled by attempts to package these bills as “sensible public safety measures” or “common-sense solutions to gun violence” – they are part of Bloomberg’s radical agenda that targets law-abiding gun owners.
We reported to you last month on some of that legislation. Since then, even more gun control measures have been introduced, including but not limited to:
House Bill 930 by Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) repeals the Lone Star State’s “Castle Doctrine” law.
House Bill 1163 by Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) allows municipalities with a population of more than 750,000 to vote on whether to prohibit License To Carry holders from openly carrying handguns within city limits.
House Bill 1164 by Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) expands the prohibited places that apply to License to Carry (LTC) holders in Penal Code Section 46.035 to include facilities such as golf courses, amphitheaters, auditoriums, theaters, museums, zoos, botanical gardens, civic centers and convention centers, provided they are posted off-limits.
House Bill 1169 by Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) creates the offense of knowingly selling a firearm to another at a gun show without conducting the transfer through a licensed dealer, which would involve completing extensive federal paperwork and payment of an undetermined fee.
House Bill 1207 by Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D-Austin) makes it a crime for a person to fail to report a lost or stolen firearm within five days of the person becoming aware that the gun was lost or stolen.
House Bill 1236 by Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin) allows public colleges and universities to opt-out of Texas’ campus carry law. (An identical bill, HB 1173, was also filed by Rep. Rafael Anchia.)
What can you do to help protect your Second Amendment rights in the Lone Star State? Sign up as an NRA-ILA Frontlines volunteer to receive timely legislative alerts on firearm-related bills during this upcoming session. NRA-ILA will keep you posted as these measures are scheduled for public hearings. Our opponents plan to pack the hearing rooms to provide anti-gun testimony throughout the session, so gun owners and sportsmen need to show up and make their position known on these measures!
We also reported to you last month on several pro-Second Amendment measures that had been introduced early in session; these additional pro-gun reform measures have been filed since then:
House Bill 1009 by Rep. Will Metcalf (R-Conroe) clarifies the definition of “school-sponsored activity” in the Texas Penal Code to avoid the establishment of roving gun-free zones in buildings or areas that are not owned by or under the control of a school or postsecondary educational institution.
House Bill 1143 by Rep. Cole Hefner (R-Mount Pleasant) limits the authority of school districts to regulate the manner in which firearms and ammunition are stored in private motor vehicles parked on school property (including by school employees).
House Bill 1149 by Rep. James White (R-Woodville) ties eligibility for a License To Carry a handgun to the ability to purchase a firearm.
House Bill 1177 by Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) & Senate Bill 506 by Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) protect citizens from being charged with a crime for carrying a handgun while evacuating from an area subject to a mandatory order issued during a declared state or local disaster, or while returning home.
House Bill 1231 by Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Van) & Senate Bill 535 by Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) repeals the prohibition on carrying in churches or other places of worship.
Senate Bill 472 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) protects the rights of tenants to lawfully possess firearms in their residential or commercial rental properties and to transport their guns between their personal vehicles and those locations.
Be sure to contact your state lawmakers and urge them to oppose the bad bills and support the good ones!
Find out who your State Representative and State Senator are by clicking here.
Contact information for House members can be found here.
Contact information for State Senators can be found here.
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