Constitutional Carry Doesn’t Look So Good In The Texas Senate

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The Texas House last week passed a Constitutional Carry bill for the first time. Now the bill heads to the Texas Senate where as of Monday, April 19th, Republicans lack the needed votes to pass the measure.

The announcement Monday by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick may surprise some, but it shouldn't. Constitutional Carry has been a priority for Republicans for years but it has never gained much traction until this year in the Texas House. If I had to bet, Texas Republican Senators were not counting on having to pass a bill this year on Constitutional Carry.

According to the Texas Tribune, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick hasn't come out for or against the bill, but did say he would meet with the groups involved.

“If we have the votes to pass a permitless carry bill off the Senate floor, I will move it," Patrick said in a statement. "At this point we don’t have the votes on the floor to pass it. I plan to meet with law enforcement who oppose permitless carry and with the [National Rifle Association] and [Gun Owners of America] who support it to see if we can find a path that a majority of senators will vote to pass.”

This will now put the Lieutenant Governor in a spot that he isn't used to. Under the microscope of the Texas Republican grassroots organizations that have been pushing the legislation.

Patrick can be very persuasive if he truly wants a bill to pass. The question is, does he want this bill to pass? It wasn't a priority piece of legislation for him or the Governor.

I would encourage those of you who want to see Constitutional Carry become law to contact your State Senators and urge them to pass the legislation.