Texas Senate considers allowing open carry of handguns

^{Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout.}

A bill lifting some of the state's restrictions on handguns may be among the first passed out of the Texas Senate this legislative session.

Debate began Monday afternoon in the upper chamber on legislation that would allow permit holders to carry holstered handguns openly.

Senate Bill 17 has 14 co-sponsors in addition to its author, state Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls. It is the first measure to come to the Senate floor that is not related to Gov. Greg Abbott's emergency items.

“In other states that have taken this step … it’s been deemed pretty much a non-event,” Estes told his colleagues as he introduced the legislation. “We have searched really hard far and wide for problems, and we haven’t found any.”

State law currently allows the open carrying of long guns like rifles and shotguns. Handguns may only be carried in a concealed fashion by those who obtain a license.

Senate Democrats are expected to offer a slew of amendments to Estes’ proposal.

Passing an open carry law would be a “huge mistake,” said state Sen. John Whitmire, who said he favored the state’s existing handgun law because it keeps “everyone will be guessing whether you are packing or not.”

Whitmire, D-Houston, said the change would increase risk to police officers. Responding to the scene of a crime, he said, they might now be faced with several people with firearms and have no way to determine the bad actors.

“Have you thought about what dangers you’re fixing to expose on law enforcement?” he asked during the debate.

Senate Bill 17 is among a slate of high-profile gun bills up for consideration this session. So far it is one of two that have made it out of committee. The other is Senate Bill 11, which would allow handgun license holders to carry their firearms on college campuses. Both bills passed along party lines 7 to 2, only opposed by the panel's Democrats.

So-called “constitutional carry” legislation, which is favored by vocal factions within the gun rights movement and would repeal handgun permitting rules altogether, has yet to receive committee hearings in either chamber.

A House panel is set to consider two gun bills — one permitting open carry with a license and another allowing concealed carry on college campuses — Tuesday morning.