House backs open display of handguns in cars

The Texas House signaled approval Thursday for a bill that would allow people with gun carry permits to keep their handgun in sight if it is holstered anywhere while in a vehicle, closing what the bill author called a loophole in the current law.

"You're in control of the vehicle. You're inside of the vehicle," Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, who authored House Bill 3016, told the American-Statesman. "It's different than if you're out in a public crowd."

Texas law requires that a handgun not be visible in public unless worn in a shoulder or belt holster. Schaefer said adding his vehicular exception was a practical consideration — letting people store their handgun in compartments where it may be visible to a police officer — but also clarified what some people already believed to be true.

Some case law suggests that the open carry statute allows people to keep their handguns in close proximity, Schaefer said. Rifles, not limited by the statute, can also be openly displayed in a vehicle.

Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, said the bill created a second exception to the license to carry law, later telling the Statesman that the bill was not just closing a loophole. He opposed the bill on the basis that it was an expansion of license to carry, which he said he already disagreed with.

Yet, he said he thought the bill would provide comfort to drivers, who might otherwise have to keep their handgun on their belt while seated in the vehicle.

Schaefer agreed that it was an expansion of license to carry and Second Amendment rights but said, "It's not an earth-shattering change."

The House voted 87-49 in favor of the measure Thursday, with most Democrats voting in opposition. The bill will face a final House vote Friday.