Open Carry Law In Texas

Trevor Burrus from Cato Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies showed how the use of guns for good are far greater than uses for the bad. “In the past 20 years, the cases of permit holders using their guns improperly are quite rare.”(Burrus 3). This is a problem for gun control because the valid arguable point for it is becoming increasingly smaller. This is also a problem for the media because they report vague negative gun usage rather than positive because a large majority of the media's reporters are liberal gun control advocates. Americans who concealed carry firearms are better off in a defense position rather than an unarmed civilian. “studies have found that Americans use guns defensively between 830,000 and 2.45 million times per year.” (Burrus 2). This is a problem because a very small percentage of gun related incidents make it to the news, therefore people think that there aren't as many firearm crimes than there is, and could potentially be unarmed in an emergency situation. Also this means that since there are this many people using guns defensively, there are people who die innocently because they are unarmed. From this, the government had make the laws that prevent people from being able to defend themselves in desperate defense

I feel like there's nothing wrong with having protection, but it's how you use your protection that determines weather or not it should be legal. Me personally would say that the open carry law should be legal because there's so much happening especially murders, and robberies. People of the United States need protection at least to carry around with them because you never know what can happen especially at night time. Now I don’t condone in people just using their protection to go wild with their weapon and shooting people with no reason behind it, but what I do know is that I want a gun of my own when I am old enough to purchase one just for protection, and to protect my future family. The new year brought a new law that's generated a lot of heat in Texas the open carry law of handguns. In Texas you can now openly carry a handgun in a hip or shoulder holster. You don’t need to conceal a gun like you did in the past. In Texas in order to openly carry a gun, you have to have a concealed- handgun license. You have to at least be 21 or older. You also have to complete classroom training and pass a shooting test. You have

The question of banning or permitting concealed guns evokes many more questions. According to Lott (2013), when the state legislative hearings were processed about concealed-handgun laws, the most usual concerns involved the problem of armed citizens who may possibly attack each other in the affected state that could follow car accidents, or even may accidentally shoot a dutiful police officer. However, the author argues, the evidence does not show the grounds for such fears: although 31 states have already had such concealed-handgun laws for many decades, there was only one case of a concealed handgun used in a shooting after a traffic accident. Moreover, that incident involved self-defense (Lott, 2013, p. 13).

Numerous bills have been proposed throughout the history and timeline of Texas. Though many bills have been introduced, only a few from the batch will proceed to the House and Senate committees for further speculation and debate. Bills do not instantly become laws over night. It could take weeks, months or perhaps years for a bill to become a law. There are processes and even sub-processes when reviewing a bill and determining whether or not it shall be passed. Public policymaking includes five important steps, which are agenda setting, policy formulation, policy adoption, policy implementation, and policy evaluation. With that being said, this essay will focus on Senate Bill 11 – the Texas bill that allowed individuals with a license to carry concealed handguns on campus and in campus buildings.

As of the beginning of this year 2016, Texas has now been an open carry state. Open carry simply means that every single 21 year old or older gets to purchase a gun if they choose to do so and wear it out on the streets. Texas had been going back and forth on whether or not to allow this to pass and in the end it did. Many Texans had mixed emotions about the open carry system and did not approve of it due to situation that might have occurred in their lives or others that hit them hard, and/or because of the sense of fear that guns just can have on a person. Texas’ citizens are usually portrayed as cowboys/girls, and westerners that live-eat-breathe all things country, and gun loving machines. In some cases that may be true but not all Texans are, for example the Valley. There are many views and opinions as to how others feel about Texas’ new gun control policy and they vary from great things that this new policy can contribute to this state, compared to negative aspects that it can lead up to. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with Texas now allowing the open carry system in this state. Yes, it might be frightening at first but to me there is nothing wrong with letting people carry guns. It is simply giving them their rights as a citizen of the United States of America.

Strict gun laws do not lower crime rates in fact they increase crime, there has been numerous tests that back this up for every issue there are people that oppose the idea. There are studies that have proven without debate that states that have the most restricting gun laws have the highest crime rates. Studies show that states that adopt “shall issue laws” reduce murders by 8.5%, rapes by 5%, assault by 7% and robbery by 3%, which translates to 1570 murders, 4177 rapes, 60,000 aggravated assaults and 12,000 robberies (Lott 1). So criminals respond strongly to deterrence threats and the thought of a criminal’s victim potentially being armed deters them. Shall-issue laws are laws that if you take a state certified state and pass a background check you can receive a concealed carry license, this means that you must conceal the weapon, generally a pistol. Benefits of concealed carry do not just benefit those who carry them or use them in self-defense. The very fact that those weapons are concealed keeps criminals uncertain as to whether potential victims will be able to defend themselves with lethal force. The most support for strict gun laws are in large cities where crime rates are the highest and shall-issue laws would help out tremendously, people that are uneducated on the real use of weapons know how useful they can be and they can save lives. Many of the supporters of strict gun laws have no knowledge on firearms and make their call strictly on emotion and not rational

Lott Jr. “States that implemented ‘shall-issue’ concealed carry laws reduced murders by 8.5%, rapes by 5%, aggravated assaults by 7%, and robbery by 3%” (Concealed Guns ProCon.org). Lott is an economist and political commentator who analyzed this data in a study during 2000. Also, states with more restrictive concealed carry weapon laws had a 10% higher murder rate. These statistics clearly reflect the advantages of having concealed carry policies and the disadvantages of not having policies implemented. These statistics also show that concealed carry does indeed deter criminal

About 4,400 colleges and universities in the United States forbid the carrying of guns on their campuses (“Colleges”). With more and more shootings on campuses, especially with the tragedy at Virginia Tech in 2006, the states are starting to rethink their position on whether guns should be allowed on campuses; especially in Texas, where Texans are known for their guns. Even with a state like that, however, the questions still remain: Will allowing students with guns make campuses a safer environment? Will it make students feel safer? As most controversial issues goes, there are two sides to the debate.

The term “gun control” deals with the regulation of the selling, purchasing, and using of firearms in America. The availability of firearms to the public has been causing serious debates around the country because of the diversity in the people’s cultures, judgment, and religions. Many people thought the provision set by the Second Amendment when it was ratified can perfectly be applied in the society today. However, the understanding of people about the Second Amendment and how they interpret it change over time. They cannot agree with each other about the meaning of the historical evidence (Karlan, 2013). Research and polls found that people in the rural areas tend to support the right of gun owners while those in urban areas encourage gun control. Due

Because of many incidents involving handguns, and any other type of gun, the government has been trying to push a gun ban law. As a result of this rumor and possible law, there have been numerous outbursts of support and resistance. Some people believe that banning firearms would be a benefit to our nation’s safety and its population’s safety, while others oppose this proposal and say that guns are not the ones that need to be controlled, people should be the ones that are controlled. During this decision, people from different organizations have expressed their own views and thoughts. Gun control has both positive and negative effects on U.S. citizens.

Concealed carry increases crime. It is quite weird but concealed carry can also lead to more crimes, as much as it can get rid of them a lot of studies have shown that enactment of “shall-issue” laws skyrocketed the number of crimes. If the crime starters wanted to kill people with guns they wouldn't go get a concealed carry to kill. Based on a 2009 Econ Journal Watch, a school study, aggravated assaults increased between 1977 and 2006.

Some believe that concealed handguns will increase the possibilities of an argument becoming more lethal, and that our society will be safer if we have fewer guns on our street instead of more. However, most responsible adults respectfully follow the laws and tend to not misuse their handguns, or rifles. The belief is public safety should be handled by professionally, trained and qualified police officers, not citizens who hold little or possibly no experience training. Well, with responsible armed citizens on our streets, it gives us another form of safety because one will be able to protect the public rather than rely on the police force. Police are not always able to be at the scene in time to stop crimes from happening, according to the ‘Self-defense-Mind-Body-Spirit’, the average police response time is an estimated 10-12 minutes. Citizens who are trained properly and at the scene of the crime will be able to go into action quicker and possibly save lives depending on the type of chaos. Nonetheless, Between May 2007 and Mar. 11, 2014, there was a reported 622 citizens killed, along with 14 law enforcement officers nationally by citizens who have legally been permitted to carry a concealed handgun. Another issue with open carry is that a police officer responding to a crime may not immediately be

If firearm control is not regulated now, what would be the outcome and its effects on society in the future. As of now the laws of gun control have little to no effect on crimes committed using a gun. It’s a known fact that firearms are the most used lethal weapon during violent crimes, here in the State of Texas. As a concerned resident of the state, I am motivated to bring to the attention of our law enforcers, that stricter laws on firearms should be enforced. For the reasons of safety in our neighborhoods and environments to establish healthy relations within the community, to reduce the influence of firearms to children at a young age, especially by social and mass media and greatly reduce the rate of death around us by firearms. This can be achieved by establishing new laws within society, that will lead to a change in certain behaviors, thus reducing firearm influential rate.

As of January 1, 2016, Texas law permits individuals to straightforwardly convey their handgun in the event that they are authorized by the Texas state or whatever other condition of The United States with a few special cases. The state requires the transparently conveyed handgun to be in a shoulder or belt holster of the authorized person(Dps.texas.gov). Individuals over the age of 21 can have a permit and convey their gun anyway they wish to and wherever they wish to with the measures of wellbeing. There are sure confinements on the open convey of handgun on the general population of Texas, for example, individuals once sentenced wrongdoing is not permitted to convey any gun. So also, minors under 18 are additionally not permitted to convey any gun or handgun unless there is their parent's nearness.

There is a growing crowd that believes having a law that allows individuals to carry a concealed handgun will reduce crime because the criminal is less likely to attack someone if he has to think twice whether that person is carrying a concealed handgun or not. The thought is that concealed carry laws makes you safer in your everyday life because there is less of a chance of being victimized. Although the statistics don’t bear this fact, the loudest voice sometimes gets the most attention and press coverage. New Hampshire’s state motto is “Live Free or Die.” Although the phrase came from a toast written by General John Stark, New Hampshire’s most famous soldier of the American Revolutionary War, the motto appears on the states license plates and is commonly known among the locals to mean that everyone in the state carry’s a concealed handgun, and they would rather die than to give them up. The locals believe this is why their crime rate is so low. However, being such a small state, with less urban areas and good economy, concealed carry becomes more debatable. My goal in this paper is to show that concealed carry laws don’t reduce crime or make America safer. I will also talk about laws that have been enacted all over the United States to allow gun enthusiast to carry, but the evidence doesn’t support a decrease in crime rates. To achieve this goal, I have researched several sources online, which I have documented and have cited the sources at the end of my paper.