Pro-gun Texas? The large print giveth and the small print taketh away

Actions speak louder than words. Put your money where your mouth is. I’ll believe it when I see it. A few common phrases that describe one idea: It doesn’t matter what you say if you don’t act accordingly — a concept that Texas state officials do not seem to understand.

Texas claims to be a bastion of liberty in the United States. Texas also claims to be unabashedly pro-gun — a state where people are free to exercise their right to keep and bear arms. But the state’s actions show those claims are just words.

Texas talks about being pro-gun. But by its actions, Texas doesn’t care about gun rights.

In reality, Texas has several laws that prohibit individuals from carrying arms in certain locations. The most notable of these laws is a ban on carry in locations that derive 51% or more of their proceeds from the sale of alcohol. While some might immediately react that it seems like a good thing to keep guns out of bars, they miss the actual effect and application of the law.

First, the law applies to any and all businesses that derive 51% or more of their proceeds from the sale of alcohol — not just bars. This includes several other venues and restaurants within the state — places where people take their families and have a right to be able to protect them.

Second, this law prohibits everyone from carrying in those locations, even if you are not drinking at all. Texas has a different law that already makes it illegal to carry a firearm while drinking alcohol.

Want to visit a business that happens to sell more alcohol than food and make the conscious decision not to drink so that you can protect yourself, your loved ones, and your community? Too bad — Texas doesn’t care. Worse, Texas is broadcasting to every criminal that peaceable people will be unarmed in these places.

This blanket ban isn’t just ridiculous; it is unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that the Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms in public. Clearly, no historical basis exists to let Texas authorities ban peaceable people from bearing their arms in these locations.

The most interesting part? Texas agrees.

Recently, the Firearms Policy Coalition and some of its members filed a lawsuit against Texas challenging this and a couple of its other carry bans. In what seemed like a positive development, Texas responded to the lawsuit by agreeing that it can’t ban bearing arms in these locations.

But actions speak louder than words.

In a recent turn of events, Texas filed a brief to kick the case out of court. Why? Standing. Texas claims that the plaintiffs lack the right to challenge the law. The kicker? Texas still goes on to admit that the law is unconstitutional.

Gun rights litigators are very familiar with this tactic to get a case dismissed. When a government knows it will lose on the merits, it will invoke standing to keep its law on the books. We see it all the time in California, New York, New Jersey, and other anti-gun states. But Texas? That’s a new one.

These legal gymnastics are astounding from a state that claims to be pro-gun. Texas admits that what it is doing is unconstitutional — that it is unlawfully restricting the rights of peaceable Texans — but it simply doesn’t want to give the court the opportunity to make that decision and strike these laws down. It’s actively and knowingly fighting to keep unconstitutional laws on the books.

Texas boasts about freedom. Texas talks about being pro-gun. But by its actions, Texas doesn’t care about gun rights. By its actions, Texas cares about stopping gun rights advocates from succeeding in court. Texas wants to eliminate a case that challenges laws it admits are unconstitutional.

It brings to mind another common phrase: With “friends” like these, who needs enemies?