How Did Texas Become Known As a Gun-Friendly State?

[EEllis]

There is also the difference between the letter of the law and how things were enforced. For years cops would basically use the knife and gun laws against people who they thought of as undesirable while ignoring offences from solid citizens. So if you were one of those solid citizens the state was pretty darn friendly and if you weren't? Well that's the thing isn't it.

You mean that's not the way it is now?


Well put EEllis.

Less than it used to be especially with city cops. I think some would put their own mothers in jail.

[Gaidheal]

Part of the myth (Wild West) comes from the "Westernization" of Texas, which historically was really more "Dixie" than "Wild West", in fact. East Texas still has lots of cotton in it, back in the day it was part of the so-called "King Cotton" industry of the south and that is why Texas was prepared to surrender land that was too far north in order to qualify as a slaveholding state pre-Civil War. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Texas leaders looked to the future and heavily played down their southern and Confederate culture and past. They invented the notion of Texas as part of "The West" and imported cowboy imagery, the idea that Texas was a heavy cattle economy (part of the economy was but it used to be dwarfed by other concerns) and so on. This is where the hat wearing, boots and giant belt buckles comes from. Also, they started erecting Alamo hero statues all over the place, naming roads in their honour, sometimes renaming roads that were honouring typical Southern figures, like Lee and Jackson. The net effect is that in 2011, when I was preparing to immigrate, I assumed that Texas was like southern Arizona, right down to open carry, old western towns with saloons and tumbleweeds skittering by. Was I ever shocked by the reality of San Antonio and Austin!

So, that Western mythbuilding (now very much a valid part of Texan identity, that is how these things work) moved Texas into the South-West rather than the Deep South and along with the cultural shift came the expectation that it was like the other Western and South-Western states but in fact, Texas never really was like that, for the most part and certainly not its populous parts.

Historically, too, rural Texas was much less inclined to enforce laws that locals didn't really consider relevant to them, especially on upstanding citizens (white Texans, not blacks, hispanics or those damn yankees). Thus, in theory, you couldn't have your pistol on your belt when you went into town to get some lunch and have a beer before heading back for another 6 hours of work but in practice, many could and did. Also, even ignoring the ... selective enforcement of many laws, Texas had quite a problem with corruption, especially in its law enforcement at various times and some still argue it does today.

Personally, I feel Texan laws are actually quite gun friendly; you are not going to be arrested for having loaded firearms in your vehicle (unless you have a loaded pistol on display and no justification). People will not look at you oddly when you are unloading weapons from your vehicle and into your home. Ranges are reasonably common, though in some areas face nuisance suits and complaints (comes with urbanization, inevitably). You can carry a pistol on your person since 1995 so long as you qualify for and acquire a licence, some consider the system overly burdensome (some imagine it is unconstitutional, actually but I think they are wrong and need to study some jurisprudence), especially in terms of cost but we can at least avail ourselves of that. We don't need any such licence to purchase, possess and have in our homes any number of firearms and the state imposes no additional restrictions on firearms generally beyond what the Federal laws mandate.

There are some odd and unnecessary restrictions but CHL holders are pushing these back by virtue of being demonstrably more law abiding than any other group in the state and not simply on firearms laws. The longer we keep doing it right the more ammunition we provide for our representatives to argue that we are unnecessarily burdened by such restrictions and can be trusted to carry weapons responsibly any way, anywhere, any time.

[WildBill]

1. Stereotype of the American cowboy
2. Pre-civil war reality
3. Movies
4. TV
5. Post-civil war frontier reality

I also believe that Texans are known for being independent and very protective of their family and property.

Of course when you get to know the laws of the various states, Texas is much better than most.

However, I don't think most people are aware of the specifics of each state.

I am sure there are many people from other states who think that there aren't any gun laws in Texas.

Some probably think we still hang horse thieves.

[Oldgringo]

One of the first few things people say to me when they hear that I am living in Texas is something along the lines of it being a lawless gun haven. Granted, there is no doubt that Texans have a fondness for guns. But that said, of the states I have lived in, Texas has the least gun-friendly laws. It's always been a big mystery to me how Texas has earned its reputation. Maybe people just assume that the laws match the gun enthusiasm down here.

Cowboy movies.....

[rogersinsel]

We have good laws and good people. Texans act and think differently than most others and I don't think they'd understand anyway. If we applied Texas laws to California, New York or Jersey I think those states would slide off the shelf into the ocean. Most people I've know who have visited from other states really like us and our state once they try us out. Were not a nanny state or welfare state, but we are a personal freedom state. That applies to a lot of things, but guns are one. We have one thing that those other states cannot boast of and that is a low crime rate. It is not an accident that states which are gun free or heavily regulated have higher murder rates and mass shootings than we do.

- roger

[MechAg94]

I don't know if any State that, overall, has more liberal gun laws. Yes, there are some that are more liberal on a given issue, but overall not many.

Maybe my frame of reference is skewed being from Alaska (receiving the coveted "0" point score from Brady) and spending a few years in Utah.

You happened to live in 2 of a handful of states with better gun laws than Texas.

However, I think the general view you mention is due to Movies as well as the way self defense is enforced in this state. There are a number of cases each year that are no-billed by grand juries in Texas that would easily see people dragged through the court system in many states.

I think our willingness to use the death penalty and things like that add to the sterotype.

[Vol Texan]

Guns and Ammo put developed an article last year, listing the most gun friendly states. Many Americans would be surprised to learn that Texas ranked #14.

Sure, we do have a generally gun-friendly culture here, but our laws don't always reinforce that. For instance, I'm sitting here in Florida visiting my mom this week. Some of the laws are funky (OK to go to a restaurant that serves alcohol, but don't sit in the bar area with your concealed handgun). But one thing is glaring: no form of 'no guns' signs are valid here, and there is no analog to our 30.06 sign. Put simply, any private business owner can still ask anyone to leave for any reason, but once they've opened their business to the public, they cannot summarily exclude me from carrying by just posting a sign. Private property rights are still protected, but this is balanced by protecting my right to carry unencumbered as well.

Thanks to Alice Tripp, Charles Cotton, and all the others who work tirelessly to remove obstacles to our RKBA, and help advance us toward #1 on this list, a little bit more each year.

http://www.gunsandammo.com/network-topi ... ners-2014/

States were ranked numerically in each of these five categories:

• Right-to-Carry: Each state was evaluated on whether it allows individuals to carry handguns, concealed or openly, with or without permits. If permits are issued, we evaluated whether they are issued on a “may issue” or “shall issue” basis and how readily ordinary citizens can obtain them. Close attention was paid to how restrictive state laws were in prohibiting carry in places such as restaurants, banks, parks and the like. In states where open carry is legal, we evaluated whether that right is prevented by municipal ordinances. A “perfect 10” included states such as Arizona and Wyoming, which allow permitless carry but also “shall issue” permits to allow residents to carry in reciprocal states. Scores trended downward from there based on the factors listed previously.
• Modern Sporting Rifles: We evaluated the types of restrictions states and their respective municipalities place on semiautomatic firearms not regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA). These restrictions include limits on magazine capacity as well as banning or requiring registration based on cosmetic features such as bayonet lugs, pistol grips and folding buttstocks.
• NFA: Machine guns, suppressors (“silencers” according to the NFA), short-barreled rifles (SBRs) and shotguns (SBSs), Any Other Weapons (AOWs), and Destructive Devices (DDs) can only be purchased and owned in accordance with NFA laws. States can and do restrict these items in a complicated patchwork of laws across the nation. We examined which states restrict the ownership of NFA items and which do not. States that do not restrict ownership and compel Chief Law Enforcement Officers (CLEOs) to sign licensing documents were given top marks.
• Castle Doctrine: English common law established that a man’s home is his castle and he has a right to defend it. Laws that regulate the use of force to prevent death, serious bodily injury or forcible crimes vary significantly from state to state. We examined the statutes and case law in each state and ranked them accordingly. States that allowed the use of force, including deadly force, in defense of life were given the highest score if the right applied anywhere someone has a right to be. States that impose a duty to retreat before using force were ranked accordingly, and jurisdictions that severely restrict a citizen’s ability to use a firearm in self-defense were given the lowest scores.
• Miscellaneous: This category included a variety of substantive issues such as state constitutional provisions, state firearm law preemption, purchase/registration requirements, percentage of gun ownership, shooting range protection statues, availability of ranges and access to the shooting sports. States with a healthy firearms industry presence were noted, as were the attitudes of citizens toward the shooting sports and established shooting ranges.

[The Annoyed Man]

Okay, I'm the minority in this thread, but Texas is very gun-friendly when all gun laws and self-defense laws are considered. I don't know if any State that, overall, has more liberal gun laws. Yes, there are some that are more liberal on a given issue, but overall not many.

Chas.

In the balance, Texas is a fairly gun-friendly state. Yes, there are those of us who have lived in states like Arizona, Alaska, etc., where the state takes an even more libertarian view of gun-control than Texas does; but if you really think that Texas isn't gun-friendly, then I invite you to go live in California for a while, where I lived most of my life until moving here. Compared to California, Texas is a veritable gun-Shangrila.

This state is made up of basically three kinds of people: Tejanos, Transplant Tejanos in Spirit who are trying to become Tejanos as fast as possible (my category), and "Californians (or other stater) living in Texas........for now".

That third category has probably added significantly to the mix in the last decade.

And finally, Texas is a conservative state, not a libertarian state. I find that conservatives want gun laws - just not too many of them - and they want them strictly enforced just like they want all other laws strictly enforced (as long as there aren't too many of them either). I'm not making a value judgement here, I'm just calling it like I see it. I think this explains why there are so many conservative Texans who prefer licensed open carry to unlicensed open carry, or who would prefer licensed concealed carry only and no open carry of any kind. They like guns. They believe than an armed society is a polite society. But they also want there to be strict controls on who can carry them—controls that will permit most people to do so, but will effectively bar those who can't be trusted as good citizens from doing so. Hence they like licensing, as long as it is a shall issue and not a may issue proposition.

So you have define "gun-friendly" for yourself. Is it an "anything goes" libertarian description, or is it a "regulated guns for most, but not everybody" conservative description? The degree of shift between the conservative and libertarian side of gun rights is measured by the number of laws in place controlling their acquisition, possession, and use.

Having lived most of my life, until 2006 when I moved here, either in California, New York, or France, I can testify that Texas, all things considered, is a gun-owner's paradise compared to either of those three places.

[ELB]

Guns and Ammo put developed an article last year, listing the most gun friendly states. Many Americans would be surprised to learn that Texas ranked #14.

#12, actually. Indiana was #14.

That list is OK in gross terms, but when it comes to differences of a few points on a subjective scale, the difference between Indiana and Texas and any other three-point is probably non-existent on their scale.

I think Texas is a pretty gun-friendly place that can and should be even more gun-friendly. People who do not have real experience and knowledge of Texas often seem to have wildly off-the-mark perceptions of Texas, and more than a little jealousy of Texas's reputation. (This pretty much parallels what I found when I was stationed overseas -- the complaints about America were frequently as off-base and envy-based as other Americans' complaints about Texas). Thus when they find something they think they can criticize Texas for, their envy finds a way to vent. The latest fad for this is open carry. I would like to see it pass, but it is a very small advancement in exercising actual gun rights, as far as I am concerned, mostly a political symbolic. Something like HB308 or Campus Carry is far, far more important. But OC gets all the press, so Texas must be repressive on gun rights since so many others have OC. It's practically Massachusetts! I see this on other (out of state) gun boards all the time.

Btw, the legislature didn't just decide to ban open carry in 1871 -- the post Civil War era in Texas was a very violent time in Texas. Many confederate "guerrillas" continued their violent ways after the war, but directed against their fellow Texans and newly freed blacks, and joined by other criminal elements who were able to operate in a place where legal authority was weak. This is what the Legislature was reacting to -- with the wrong remedy, but it was not something out of the blue, nor was it some punishment or oppression imposed by the Yankees. A lot of those old gunfights were a result of this, and became fodder for newspaper stories to entertain the people back east, and for the 50's westerns.

[anygunanywhere]

Okay, I'm the minority in this thread, but Texas is very gun-friendly when all gun laws and self-defense laws are considered. I don't know if any State that, overall, has more liberal gun laws. Yes, there are some that are more liberal on a given issue, but overall not many.

Chas.

Charles speaks the truth. Go to handgun law.us and research the other states' laws. Our laws are much better. Easier to understand. Our 30.06 sign law is a classic example compared to other states where hu buster signs have force of law. Men and women like ChRles and our freedom loving statesmen have advanced our 2a freedoms considerably over the years and will continue to do so.

[jmra]

Okay, I'm the minority in this thread, but Texas is very gun-friendly when all gun laws and self-defense laws are considered. I don't know if any State that, overall, has more liberal gun laws. Yes, there are some that are more liberal on a given issue, but overall not many.

Chas.

Charles speaks the truth. Go to handgun law.us and research the other states' laws. Our laws are much better. Easier to understand. Our 30.06 sign law is a classic example compared to other states where hu buster signs have force of law. Men and women like ChRles and our freedom loving statesmen have advanced our 2a freedoms considerably over the years and will continue to do so.

Lived in a couple other "gun friendly" states that weren't nearly as convenient to carry in as Texas.