Texas House Committee Passes Open Carry for Concealed License Holders — Campus Carry on Hold

By a vote of 7-2, the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety passed a bill which will allow Texans with concealed carry licenses to openly carry firearms. The bill, HB 910, authored by Chairman Larry Phillips (R-Sherman), will now move to the House Calendars Committee where it will be scheduled to go to the floor for a vote by the entire Texas House.

While Phillips authored the bill, eighty Republican co-authored the bill. This gives the bill more than enough support to pass the bill once it reaches the House floor. The Texas Senate passed a companion bill, SB 17, on March 16^th strictly along party lines.

Governor Greg Abbott has repeatedly said he will sign any open carry bill that the Texas Legislature passes and sends to his desk.

The two votes against HB 910 came from Democrat committee members Poncho Nevárez (D-Eagle Pass) and Eric Johnson (D-Dallas). Democrat Joe Moody (D-El Paso) voted with the Republican majority in passing the bill forward. During a public hearing on March 17^th, Chairman Phillips told Breitbart Texas he expected to receive bi-partisan support for the bill.

During the hearing Chairman Phillips responded to claims that campus police and city police chiefs oppose the bills by reminding people that those police officials are employed by mayors and college officials who are opposed to the bills. He also reminded people that most law enforcement officials were against the original concealed carry laws and later found that most of their fears never came to reality.

Authors of HB 910:

Phillips | Flynn | White, James | Riddle | Guillen

Co-Authors of HB 910:

Anderson, Charles “Doc” | Anderson, Rodney | Ashby | Aycock | Bell | Bohac | Bonnen, Dennis | Bonnen, Greg | Burkett | Burns | Burrows | Button | Capriglione | Clardy | Craddick | Crownover | Darby | Elkins | Faircloth | Farney | Fletcher | Frank | Frullo | Galindo | Geren | Goldman | Huberty | Hughes | Isaac | Kacal | Keffer | Keough | King, Ken | King, Susan | Klick | Krause | Kuempel | Landgraf | Larson | Laubenberg | Leach | Lozano | Metcalf | Miller, Rick | Morrison | Murphy | Murr | Otto | Paddie | Parker | Paul | Peña | Phelan | Price | Raney | Sanford | Schaefer | Schofield | Shaheen | Sheets | Sheffield | Simmons | Simpson | Smith | Spitzer | Springer | Stephenson | Thompson, Ed | Turner, Scott | VanDeaver | White, Molly | Workman | Wray | Zedler | Zerwas

HB 937, the House Campus Carry Bill, authored by Chairman Allen Fletcher (R-Cypress) was not voted on by the committee today. Chairman Phillips indicated he would hold the bill until the Senate version, SB 11, is referred to his committee. SB 11 also passed last week along straight party lines in the Senate.

Breitbart Texas will continue to follow this bill as it progresses to the House floor for a final vote.

Bob Price is a senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and on Facebook.