ACTION ALERT:
Please contact your lawmaker to take action against permitless carry! 

Please contact your Texas State Representative to oppose the "permitless carry" bills HB 1927 and HB 1911! It takes less than 3 minutes to email your representative here. 

The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops believes in the protection of all human life and opposes direct threats to innocent human life. We support reasonable measures to address gun related homicides and suicides.

Please take action to oppose HB 1927 and HB 1911 during the 87th Session of the Texas Legislature. Among other provisions, these bills eliminate the need for a license to carry a handgun in public if the person is not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law from carrying a handgun. These bills could be heard as soon as this week [on the floor Thursday, April 15, 2021] in the house chamber. Other bills that have gotten hearings or that have been filed on this issue include HB 1238, HB  2900, HB 1587, SB 540, HB 4386, and SJR 24. We will continue to monitor these bills during session too. 

Under current law, a person must obtain a license to carry, is subject to a background check and training requirements, and must carry a handgun in a shoulder or belt holster. These bills would weaken those protections and make Texans less safe by increasing the prevalence of weapons in our society in a very visible way through permitless carry. We are particularly concerned about the waiver of training requirements, which is essential to the protection of gun owners, their families, and society in general.

In this respect, Pope Francis has decried violence and the weaponization of society throughout his pontificate. In the aftermath of the mass shooting in Texas and other states in 2019, the Holy Father prayed for the victims, the wounded, and their families, stating, "I am spiritually close to the victims of the episodes of violence that these days have bloodied Texas, California and Ohio, in the United States, affecting defenseless people."

While the Church recognizes that recourse to self-defense is legitimate when necessary to protect one's safety and that many of our fellow Texans are lawfully-exercising their Second Amendment constitutional rights, this does not mean that the state cannot promote reasonable regulation of firearms to uphold the safety and wellbeing of all persons in our community. The increased prevalence of weapons in society does not promote a culture of life. In fact, recent mass shootings in Georgia, Colorado, and, tragically, in our own state bear out this reality.

Again, please use the OneClickPolitics tool in the link here to contact your Texas Representative. Thanks for your advocacy to promote common sense gun regulations!

Throughout the session, continue to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates!

The TCCB is a federation of all Roman Catholic dioceses in Texas.