License to Kill

Arrests Involving Texas Concealed Handgun License Holders

Introduction

The bill was originally introduced in the Texas legislature in the late 1980s. By 1993 it had passed both houses of the legislature, but was vetoed by then-Governor Ann Richards. George W. Bush championed the concealed handgun bill in his 1994 gubernatorial election challenge to Richards, promising his signature on the legislation if elected to office.² Bush was elected governor that November, and signed the bill into law the next year.

To receive the standard four-year license, applicants must submit an application—with fingerprints, photograph, proof of age and residency, and $140 fee—to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).³ An additional fee is required for the mandatory 10 hours of firearms proficiency training. The DPS then has 60 days in which to conduct a background check on the applicant. At the end of the 60 days the agency must either grant or deny the license. The law stipulates, however, that the DPS may suspend the 60-day "mandatory issuance" period for up to 180 days if more background investigation is warranted. Since the Texas law took effect in September 1995, 151,433 individuals—one percent of the state's adult population—have obtained concealed handgun licenses.⁴

In promoting the law, and defending it after passage, many "shall-issue" proponents have dismissed public safety concerns expressed by the legislation's critics. The law's most vocal defender has been its primary author, Texas State Senator Jerry Patterson of Pasadena, Texas. In a December 1996 article in Texas Lawyer magazine Patterson promised, "What the past year has shown is that responsible people can behave responsibly." Like Patterson, organizations such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) maintain that only "law-abiding" citizens apply for and receive concealed handgun licenses. At an April 18, 1996 press conference in Dallas, NRA head lobbyist Tanya Metaksa asserted, "As we get more information about right-to-carry, our point is made again and again....People who get permits in states which have fair right-to-carry laws are law-abiding, upstanding community leaders who merely seek to exercise their right to self-defense."

Yet unlike "shall-issue" laws passed by other states, the Texas law contains a mechanism—albeit a limited one—that offers a glimpse of how "responsible" and "law-abiding" some of its license holders are. The Texas concealed handgun law is unique in that it requires law enforcement agencies to report incidents involving license holders to the Department of Public Safety. Under the law, such reports are required to be made only where a violation regarding illegal carrying or discharge of a firearm has occurred and only when the license holder has been arrested. In practice, a majority of arrests appear to be reported by law enforcement agencies to the licensing authority. Discerning the details of such incidents, however, is extremely difficult because of broad confidentiality provisions contained in the law.⁵ Yet research conducted by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) reveals that many Texas license holders have been arrested for a wide range of crimes.

According to the Department of Public Safety, from January 1, 1996 to October 9, 1997 Texas concealed handgun license holders were arrested for 946 crimes. Of these, 263 were felony offenses. Felony crimes for which license holders were arrested include: murder/attempted murder; kidnapping; sexual assault; assault; weapon-related offenses; drug-related offenses; burglary; and, theft. During this same period, concealed handgun license holders were arrested for 683 misdemeanor crimes, including: 120 instances of assault; 194 weapon-related offenses; 215 instances of driving while intoxicated; and, 24 drug-related offenses.

This study details arrests reported to the Texas Department of Public Safety and offers analysis as well as additional information on specific incidents gathered through Violence Policy Center research.

Section One: Arrests details felony and misdemeanor arrests reported to the Texas Department of Public Safety and offers Violence Policy Center analysis of the information. The section also offers detailed information gathered by the VPC from additional sources on specific arrests, including one arrest for aggravated kidnapping and three arrests for murder or attempted murder. The section also offers detailed information on such common arrests as driving while intoxicated and unlawful carrying of a weapon. The section also offers detailed information on one reported suicide involving a license holder as well as one reported unintentional shooting.

Section Two: Recommendations contains a series of Violence Policy Center recommendations regarding the Texas concealed handgun law.

1) Eligibility criteria in the Texas law allows an individual with prior felony adjudication as a juvenile to apply for and obtain a license 10 years from the time of adjudication. The law also allows individuals with many Class A, Class B, or disorderly conduct misdemeanor convictions to apply for and obtain concealed carry licenses five years from the time of conviction. Such convictions include: assault; false imprisonment; terroristic threat; illegal discharge of a firearm; theft; criminal trespass with a weapon; and, driving while intoxicated. Individuals with Class C misdemeanor convictions, with the exception of disorderly conduct or family violence, face no restrictions on concealed handgun licensure. Such convictions include petty theft and leaving a child in a vehicle.

2) Both Governor Bush and Lieutenant Governor Robert Bullock had initially indicated that they would support a voter referendum on whether to retain the law if passed. Lobbyists for the National Rifle Association, however, refused to accept a referendum. Bush and Bullock eventually changed their positions. While a referendum provision was added to the bill in the House by a one-vote margin, it failed to be attached in the Senate and the conference committee removed it. Despite a Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas poll showing that a majority of Texans supported a referendum on the issue (79 percent), Governor Bush signed the legislation as promised in 1995.

3) The Texas law restricts carrying handguns into businesses that derive 51 percent or more of their income from the sale of alcohol consumed on the premises; the premises of a high school, collegiate or professional sporting event or interscholastic event; correctional facilities; hospitals and licensed nursing homes; permanent amusement parks covering at least 75 acres and in counties of at least one million people; established places of religious worship; and, meetings of government entities. Businesses that derive 51 percent or more of their income from the sale of alcohol, hospitals and nursing homes, amusement parks as defined by the statute, established places of religious worship, and meetings of government entities are required by the penal code to post designated signs giving notice that it is unlawful to carry a handgun on the premises. Concealed handgun license holders may carry in public or private driveways, streets, sidewalks or walkways, and parking lots or garages of restricted premises. Other places that concealed handgun license holders are not prohibited from carrying their handguns include: restaurants—as long as the business does not derive 51 percent or more of its income from the sale of alcohol consumed on the premises, theaters, day-care centers, museums, libraries, public parks, grocery stores, malls, and concerts. However, such locations may post a criminal trespass sign that would ban license holders from carrying their weapons.

4) According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, between September 1, 1995 and September 4, 1997 a total of 151,433 adult individuals obtained concealed handgun licenses in Texas. Of these, 111,955 (74 percent) were white males. The demographic profile of concealed handgun license holders is not representative of the population of Texas as a whole. According to the Department of Public Safety, while white males aged 21 and over account for nearly three quarters of concealed handgun license holders in Texas, they account for less than a third of Texas' total population. According to the Texas State Population Estimates and Projections Program at the Texas State Data Center, there were an estimated 12,698,243 adults aged 21 and over and an estimated 3,865,199 white males aged 21 and over in the state of Texas in 1996 (the most recent year available).

5) The process of tracing arrests involving concealed handgun license holders is difficult because of the Texas law's broad confidentiality provision that limits the department's ability to disclose virtually any information about concealed handgun license holders to the public. The law stipulates that the department may only identify whether an individual currently possesses a license. No information is provided about prior criminal histories, reasons for denial, suspension, or revocation—including crimes committed after licensure. The department does provide a list of arrest incidents involving license holders, but the only identifiers provided by the department are the licensee's: date of birth; sex; race (limited to black or white); zip code of residence; incident date; arrest text description; and whether the incident involved family violence. The department may not disclose the name of the arrested licensee. Occasionally, news articles covering high-profile incidents will note whether the suspect has a concealed handgun license, but otherwise the public is not alerted to alleged crimes involving license holders. The law's confidentiality provision—which in effect makes concealed handgun license holders a protected, privileged class—makes it extremely difficult to identify possible flaws in the law.