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Texas Moms Demand Action Applauds H-E-B For Prohibiting Permitless Carry In Its Stores

9.2.2021

Moms Demand Action Volunteers are Working With Businesses Across Texas to Post Signage Prohibiting Permitless Carry; Visit Tinyurl.com/TXSignage for Information

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots networks, released the following statements applauding H-E-B, one of Texas’s largest grocery chains, for joining the cadre of large and small businesses across Texas posting signage in its stores prohibiting permitless carry. Permitless carry allows people to carry loaded handguns in public without a background check or any safety training, dismantling the culture of responsible gun ownership that Texas’s License to Carry (LTC) helped promote. Moms Demand Action volunteers are working with local businesses across Texas to help them post signage prohibiting this dangerous practice in their establishments.

“H-E-B has a long track record of standing up for public safety – when open carry passed in 2015, they prohibited that dangerous practice in their stores – and we’re so thankful that they’ve continued that by prohibiting permitless carry,” said Norri Leder, a volunteer leader with the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Seeing that 30.05 sign prohibiting permitless carry on a business shows me that I won’t have to worry about untrained, unvetted people carrying handguns where I shop – it’s something I’m looking for when I’m deciding where to spend my money.”

When Governor Abbott signed permitless carry, Texas Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers hosted #AbbottFailedTexas protests in Dallas, Austin, Houston, El Paso, and San Antonio against permitless carry. Volunteers from as far away as Sutherland Springs and El Paso drove to Austin to testify in the newly-created Senate Committee on Constitutional Affairs hearing which advanced this bill, and volunteers organized thousands of calls and emails to lawmakers urging them to reject this dangerous legislation. Before the House vote, law enforcement officials joined gun safety instructors to hold a press conference urging lawmakers to oppose permitless carry. Earlier this month, doctors, law enforcement officials, leaders in the fight against domestic violence, and other advocates called on their senators to reject permitless carry, as have the editorial boards of the Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, and San Antonio Express-News. Poll after poll has shown widespread opposition to permitless carry legislation and support for requiring permits to carry guns in public. Nearly 60 faith leaders and nearly 30 veterans sent separate letters to the legislature announcing their opposition to this dangerous policy. 

More on HB 1927:

  • HB 1927 allows a person to carry an open or concealed handgun without a permit. This makes Texas one of the few states where it is legal to carry a concealed handgun in public without a permit and dismantles the culture of responsible gun ownership that Texas’s License to Carry (LTC) helps promote.
  • Prior to the enactment of HB 1927, Texas law required a person to obtain a criminal background check and complete firearms safety training, including live-fire training, in order to obtain an LTC. HB 1927 eliminated these safeguards, allowing unvetted and untrained people to carry handguns in public.