Dear Texas NRA Member:
Thursday, April 8, is shaping-up to be a busy day in Austin on legislation affecting your Second Amendment rights!
At 9:30 a.m., in Room E1.028 of the Capitol Extension, the Senate State Affairs Committee will hold public hearings on the following measures:
Senate Bill 18, by Sen. Brandon Creigton (R-Conroe), establishes that firearm and ammunition manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, suppliers and retailers are essential businesses that shall not be prohibited by state or local officials from operating during a declared disaster or emergency. This bill ensures that law-abiding Texans can exercise their constitutional right to purchase and own firearms during future disasters or emergencies, regardless of any statewide or local officeholder’s personal politics.
Senate Bill 19, by Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown), discourages banks, payment processors, insurers, and other financial services providers from discriminating against members of the firearm and ammunition industries. The legislation prohibits businesses that engage in this practice from contracting with governmental entities in the Lone Star State. Taxpayer dollars should not be used to benefit the bottom-line of corporations that are actively working to erode the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Texans.
Senate Bill 20, by Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels), protects the ability of hotel guests to lawfully possess handguns and ammunition in their rooms, and to transport them directly en route between their vehicles and their rooms. Hotels frequently fail to include information on their websites, or in reservation notices, to inform guests about restrictive firearms policies. This forces gun owners, upon arrival, to consider leaving their firearms in their cars or trucks and make them susceptible to theft, in order to comply with policies they knew nothing of in advance.
Senate Bill 550, by Sen. Drew Springer (R-Muenster), eliminates the requirement that a holster for an openly-carried handgun by a License To Carry holder be a belt or shoulder holster. This change will allow LTCs who carry openly to choose the type of holster that best suits their personal situation and self-defense needs.
Senate Bill 1253, by Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood), affirmatively preserves the ability of Texans to obtain a License To Carry for reciprocal purposes with other states, even if the licensing requirement for lawful carry of a handgun is eliminated (*Note: none of the permitless carry proposals moving in the Legislature repeal Texas’ License To Carry law*).
Please contact your State Senators and urge them to support these measures!
If you are interested in attending the committee hearing to testify for any of these bills, you will need to visit the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) tents outside the north entrance to the Capitol (UT campus side) before entering the building. You must obtain a wristband after providing proof of COVID vaccination or after completing a free COVID testing onsite and receiving a negative result. The wristband will be necessary to enter the committee room and masks are required to be worn while in the committee room except when testifying.
Information on parking at the Capitol Visitors Parking Garage can be found here: SPB – Capitol Visitors Parking Garage (texas.gov)