Constitutional carry became law in Texas back in 2021, it basically means you don't need a license to carry a handgun if you're legally allowed to own one. It's been pretty controversial, supporters say it's about freedom, critics worry about safety. What's everyone's take on this?
Has constitutional carry actually changed anything in Texas?
- Thread starter Shane
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TexasGopher
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- Jun 30, 2025
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It's more of a permitless carry system than true Constitutional Carry. There are still too many restrictions on where you can carry.
Stewie
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- Sep 13, 2025
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From what I’ve seen, it hasn’t turned Texas into the Wild West like some feared. Most folks who carried before still do, and responsibly. The biggest change is just fewer people paying for permits… and maybe a few extra “don’t print” lessons learned the hard way
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Printing is no longer illegal in Texas.
Raven
Well-known member
No documented or statistical change in public safety. That I can find, for whats its worth.
That is because there has been none. There were none when we got concealed carry. Crime rates don't change, mostly because so few people actually carry. Criminals still can attempt to rob people and be 90-95% sure of not encountering a person with a gun.
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Don't believe anything has changed statewide and for me nothing has changed. Still get the license, carry concealed (except ranch/deer lease) and still carry in the same places I have carried since 1980.
That is because the chance of presence of a gun really does not dissuade bad guys significantly in terms of attempting crimes. In the grand scheme of things, probably 90% or more of the people we associate with in a given day are not carrying a gun. From a bad guy perspective, those are still pretty good odds.
The only place where guns make a stats difference isn't in crime rates, but with individual crimes. It is the sort of deal where the officer has to determine if the crime against you was attempted (rape, robbery, murder, etc.) or if it was successful, but since you had a gun, it wasn't successful (hopefully) you suffered less as a result. However, a crime still occurred, a lesser crime maybe, and will still go on the books as a crime statistic. On one scenario, let's say, it is the stat of murder and you are dead and in the other, you defended yourself and survived and so the crime is attempted murder.
