Even though it has suffered some setbacks lately, the measure referred to as 'Constitutional Carry,' which would allow anybody who can legally buy a gun to carry it without any license or training, remains alive in the Texas House, over the objections of San Antonio's police chief, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
William McManus, like many Texas big city police chiefs, say 'Constitutional Carry' is a bad idea, largely because police officers arriving at a fluid crime scene, would have no way to determine who is the bad guy and who may be gun carrying citizens.
"I'm not an anti gun person by any means, but I don't necessary feel that Constitutional Carry is in the best interests of public safety," he said.
Some opponents have taken to calling the bill 'criminal carry,' because they say it would allow criminals who purchased a gun legally before they were convicted to carry the gun without restriction, something Constitutional Carry supporters say is not entirely true.
Supporters of 'Constitutional Carry' have long argued that the Second Amendment doesn't say anything about paying a fee to the government or undergoing training to exercise the fight to 'keep and bear arms.' They say any effort to impose fees or mandatory training on people who wanted to exercise constitutional rights to speak freely or to avoid illegal search and seizure would be laughed out of court.
McManus says he is looking at the issue from a public safety point of view.
"I think it becomes an officer safety issue, an added officer safety issue, if Constitutional Carry were passed," he said.
A dozen states, including notoriously liberal Vermont, currently allow people to carry guns with in license or training.
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