The Impact of Texas' Permitless Carry Law

What’s the story? 

• A recent Texas gun law has allowed handgun owners to carry without training or obtaining permits. Since going into effect last September, police forces have stated their worries about a newly armed public. 
• While soon-to-be 25 states allow permitless concealed carry, Texas is one of the most populous states in the U.S., making the acceptance of permitless handguns a new fact of life for a significant portion of Americans. 
• Statewide shooting statistics have yet to be released since the law was enacted, however, law enforcement officers are reporting an increase in the number of guns they encounter. 
• In and around Houston, prosecutors are receiving a growing number of cases involving gun brandishing or shootings over parking spots, poor driving, loud music, and personal relations. El Paso is seeing a rising number of people legally bringing guns to parties and opening fire. In the town of Eagle Pass, more and more drunken arguments are escalating into shootings. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez of Harris County, which includes Houston, commented:

“It seems like now there’s been a tipping point where just everybody is armed.” 

• Metropolitan police departments and major law enforcement agencies opposed the handgun law when it was before the State Legislature in the spring of 2021. These groups worried about losing training requirements necessary for a permit as conditions could become more dangerous for officers. These concerns were overthrown by gun rights activists arguing that Texans should not need the state’s permission to exercise their Second Amendment rights. 

The continued gun debate in Texas 

• The Republican state is continuously debating more than just handgun licensing gun laws — gun control advocates have pushed to raise the age limit to purchase an AR-15-style rifle after the elementary school shooting in Uvalde. 
• Debate especially flared up after a federal court in Texas found that a state law prohibiting adults under 21 from carrying a handgun was unconstitutional. Gov. Greg Abbot (R-TX) gave his approval:

“What I believe in is that the Second Amendment provides certain rights, and it provides those rights to adults.”

The national debate

• The disposal of gun regulations is bringing on a national argument about crime. While the effect of allowing more people to carry guns legally is extensively debated, a recent series of studies have found a link between laws that are lenient on handgun possession and regional crime. Some are raising the possibility that more guns lead to more thefts of weapons and more shootings by the police. Stanford Law School professor John J. Donohue III weighed in:

“The weight of the evidence has shifted in the direction that more guns equals more crime.”

• Michael Mata, president of a local police union in Dallas, reported that he has seen no increase in violent crime since the new permitless carry law, adding that there are “absolutely” more guns on the street. Many other law enforcement officers feel that the connection between the new law and spontaneous shootings is quite apparent. 

How do you feel about more states adopting the permitless carry law?

-Jamie Epstein

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / Rdlamkin)