Texas lawmakers pass bills easing access to firearms

I applaud the article for taking the unusual step of actually linking the Legislation. What passed is somewhere between practically meaningless, objectively a good a thing, and eyebrow raising.

SB 1362 restricts the use of ERPOs, often called "Red Flag", firearm confiscations in Civil cases. In relation to criminal charges they can still be used. I generally support ERPOs but there needs to be more oversight of them. Despite Nicole Golden's statement to the contrary they ARE abused in Civil Courts, primarily by Police. There are a handful of examples from Colorado in 2020 alone.

SB 1596 removes state level penalties for possessing Short Barreled Weapons. This is basically meaningless because they are still federally regulated and the BATFE will absolutely rain bricks on people who violate these kinds of laws.

SB 3053 makes it impossible for Cities to run "Gun Buy Back" programs. This is silly and I have to wonder why the legislature even took it up as an issue.

HB 668 extends the renewal period for concealed carry licenses by 30 days. It's fairly meaningless since Texas is already a "Constitutional Carry" State where if you're not prohibited from carrying by law you can carry without a license. I again wonder why the legislature bothered with this.

HB 1234 Reworks the appeals process if someone has been medically denied from obtaining a CCW. It forces the responsible board to provide 30 days to appeal the decision and requires documentation from the panel members as to WHY an applicant is being denied. This is common sense stuff. No Government Board should be able to deny a permit without stating the reason(s) why and providing an appeal process.

SB 706 is a firearm carry reciprocity bill that requires the State of Texas to honor concealed carry permits issued by other States and publish information regarding reciprocity on the website. Someone who has a CCW from another State already has a permit, likely one with HIGHER requirements than Texas itself has, so I'm failing to see the problem with this one.

It's a mixed bag but there's nothing awful in here.

There's at least one bill they didn't pass, allowing firearms in polling places, which would have been objectively terrible.

4 comments

Ah yes, because it was prohibitivly difficult to get them before... This is exactly what we needed.
I applaud the article for taking the unusual step of actually linking the Legislation. What passed is somewhere between practically meaningless, objectively a good a thing, and eyebrow raising.
SB 1362 restricts the use of ERPOs, often called "Red Flag", firearm confiscations in Civil cases. In relation to criminal charges they can still be used. I generally support ERPOs but there needs to be more oversight of them. Despite Nicole Golden's statement to the contrary they ARE abused in Civil Courts, primarily by Police. There are a handful of examples from Colorado in 2020 alone.
SB 1596 removes state level penalties for possessing Short Barreled Weapons. This is basically meaningless because they are still federally regulated and the BATFE will absolutely rain bricks on people who violate these kinds of laws.
SB 3053 makes it impossible for Cities to run "Gun Buy Back" programs. This is silly and I have to wonder why the legislature even took it up as an issue.
HB 668 extends the renewal period for concealed carry licenses by 30 days. It's fairly meaningless since Texas is already a "Constitutional Carry" State where if you're not prohibited from carrying by law you can carry without a license. I again wonder why the legislature bothered with this.
HB 1234 Reworks the appeals process if someone has been medically denied from obtaining a CCW. It forces the responsible board to provide 30 days to appeal the decision and requires documentation from the panel members as to WHY an applicant is being denied. This is common sense stuff. No Government Board should be able to deny a permit without stating the reason(s) why and providing an appeal process.
SB 706 is a firearm carry reciprocity bill that requires the State of Texas to honor concealed carry permits issued by other States and publish information regarding reciprocity on the website. Someone who has a CCW from another State already has a permit, likely one with HIGHER requirements than Texas itself has, so I'm failing to see the problem with this one.
It's a mixed bag but there's nothing awful in here.
There's at least one bill they didn't pass, allowing firearms in polling places, which would have been objectively terrible.
Take a hint. Arm yourselves.
It is time for anti-Nazi Neighborhood patrols
They want you dead. They want your stuff. They want to rape your daughter and force her to birth their children.
It's fucking Texas! Are we allowed to have grenade launchers now?