A few years ago, Texas took a giant step by giving back the right to carry a weapon to its citizens after a terrible shooting in a Luby’s Cafeteria in which 23 people were killed and 150 were held hostage. Today, Texas is poised to become the largest state in the U.S. to allow citizens to openly carry handguns, a change long sought by gun-rights activists.On Friday, The Texas House of Representatives voted 96-35 to allow residents with concealed-handgun licenses to openly carry their guns in public in holsters. A similar open-carry measure passed the Texas Senate last month; the two open-carry bills must be squared before being sent to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has indicated support for the idea.
In contrast to its reputation for being permissive on firearms, Texas is...
