Constitutional carry legislation could soon come to the floor of the Texas Senate, according to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, even as some Republican senators are hesitant to support the proposal.
“We’re gonna come out with a strong bill, and I believe we’ll pass it,” Patrick said on Thursday at the same time the newly formed Senate Committee on Constitutional Issues was hearing testimony on the proposal.
That bill passed on a 5-2 vote on Thursday evening after hours of testimony.
Patrick made the comments during an interview with Dana Loesch on Thursday in reference to House Bill 1927, a priority of the Republican Party of Texas that would remove the requirement of individuals to hold a gun permit from the state.
That legislation was passed by a bipartisan vote in the Texas House earlier this month but has since been met with resistance in the Senate, as Patrick said last week that the bill did not have enough support to be debated in the chamber.
Patrick says he still believes that is the case, with it currently only having the support of 12 or 13 of the chamber’s 31 members. He added that while he is working to create more support, the legislation will reach the floor for a vote regardless.
“It’s rare that I do this. Usually, if you don’t have the votes for a bill, you don’t bring up a bill that’s going to lose, but this is an important issue,” said Patrick.
Indeed, it is tradition in the Senate that bill authors must prove they have votes committed towards their piece of legislation in order for the bill to even be brought up for debate.
According to rules passed by the Senate at the beginning of the year, 18 votes are required to bring a bill up for debate. Patrick left open the possibility of working around that system to get the bill passed.
“To pass a bill, we need all 18 Republicans to support it, unless I pull a rabbit out of the hat,” said Patrick. “And I may have a rabbit out of the hat if I don’t have 18 [votes].”
Patrick’s announcement comes after Gov. Greg Abbott stated his support for the proposal earlier this week.
“Once the Senate passes it out, the House and Senate will convene and work out any differences and get it to my desk. And I’ll be signing it,” said Abbott.
“This is something that 20 other states have adopted, and it’s time for Texas to adopt it, too,” he added.
No ads. No paywalls. No government grants. No corporate masters.
Just real news for real Texans.
Support Texas Scorecard to keep it that way!
