Texas Legislature passes Bill for Constitutional Carry during Natural Disasters

On 29 May, 2019, H.B. 1177 was sent to Governor Abbott.  The bill will make Constitutional Carry legal in Texas, during evacuations when a "state of disaster" is declared and for 168 hours (one week) after the state of disaster declaration.

The law is another incremental step moving toward Constitutional Carry in Texas. It makes perfect sense when taken in the context of the Second Amendment:

A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.

In the basic understanding of reality of the writers and ratifiers of the United States Constitution, it would be local militias, made from local residents, that maintain order and provide for defense and security during emergencies.

The United States has a long history of spontaneous and organic organization of militias during emergencies. The Second Amendment is a guarantee the people will have arms available to form militias when necessary. The concept that the people should be disarmed during an emergency would be utterly foreign to the founders. It strikes at the foundational concept of the Second Amendment.

Texans have always had the right to bear long arms openly. It was arms worn on the person, such as handguns and belt knives, that were prohibited from being carried by the reconstruction government after the War Between the States, in 1869. At that time, a new Texas Constitution gutted the existing guaranteed right to keep and bear arms.

The reconstruction government was voted out of office. The reconstruction governor was forced to vacate the office he had lost by the threat of a spontaneously organized militia. The newly elected Democrats liked the ability to disarm blacks, Hispanics and anyone else they wished, so they kept most of the new power to disarm people when they voted in another Texas constitution in 1876.

During the last 24 years, Texans have been incrementally restoring the right to keep and bear arms, including arms worn on the person. Those in power have resisted the change; Texans have been electing leaders who respect the right, such as Governor Abbott.

It is expected that Governor Abbott will sign H.B. 1177.  From dallasnews.com:

Under current law, Texans who can legally own a firearm don't need an additional license to openly carry a long arm, like a AR-15. However, to carry a handgun openly or concealed, Texans must get a "license to carry," which requires taking a course, performing a shooting test, passing a background check and paying a fee.

Gun owners asked for these license rules to be loosened after Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast in 2017. Gun control groups like Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America oppose the bill, but the NRA supported it, saying it would allow Texans to protect themselves and their property from being looted after a hurricane or other natural disaster.

 In Progressive ideology, elites make the rules for everyone else. The facade of democracy is preserved by using the media to change public opinion to what the elites desire. The philosophy of Progressivism is diametrically opposed to the philosophy of the writers and ratifiers of the Constitution.

Republican Senator Joan Huffman opposed the bill. From statesman.com:

“I think it’s really, really poor public policy that is not thought out,” Huffman said. “I think you are creating a situation which will be very difficult for law enforcement because, instead of having to deal with rescuing people or helping people, they have to deal with situations about how to confront someone with a gun.”

 This view is emblematic of the Progressive philosophy.

Armed citizens are the natural allies of police during natural disasters. Police always have to worry about "confronting someone with a gun". H.B. 1177 simply means that citizens will not have to worry about police confronting them while they are exercising their Second Amendment rights.

Second Amendment supporters will continue to push for Constitutional Carry in Texas.  Recognizing the obvious need to be able to exercise Second Amendment rights during declared disasters is an incremental step in that direction.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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