Julia Harte

July 14, 2014, The Wall Street Journal

Activists bringing rifles into Texas chain stores in recent weeks have put the state at the center of a national fight over “open-carry” laws, reinforcing many Americans’ perception of the Lone Star State as a haven for gun rights.

In reality, Texas has one of the nation’s more restrictive laws on the carrying of handguns—a policy that firearms-rights groups and state legislators are fighting to change. Those efforts, however, have been unsuccessful: Legislation in recent years proposing to allow people to carry handguns visibly has stalled.

Now, some Texas gun-rights supporters are concerned that negative publicity over the recent protests will make their struggle even tougher.

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