Texas gov candidate Wendy Davis supports open carry law

The Wild West tradition of openly carrying your six-shooter on the street has long been banned by many cities in Texas. But the state’s next governor could change that.

Rising Democratic star and gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis has joined her top Republican rival in supporting a proposed “open carry” law. It would allow people with concealed handgun licenses to wear a pistol on their hip, in full view, while in public.

Davis has said she supports expanding gun rights in Texas. But in a statement to The Associated Press, she said that includes open-carry — a position that puts her at odds with her own party but could keep her from alienating gun rights advocates in a deeply conservative a state where the Second Amendment is sacrosanct.

Davis’ position now aligns her with her Republican gubernatorial rival, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, marking her latest effort to eliminate it as a wedge issue in the campaign.

The state senator from Fort Worth said such a law should allow private property owners to determine whether weapons could be openly carried on their property. She also said background checks and training requirements would “help ensure that only mentally stable, law-abiding citizens may carry, whether concealed or open.”

But her party and influential Democratic colleagues, including a fellow state senator running for lieutenant governor, disagree.

“There is little or no public safety justification for open carry,” said Emmanuel Garcia, spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party.

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