Gun control group launches ad blitz against Texas constitutional carry (VIDEO)

Mom’s Demand Action and Everytown are buying up ad space in the Lone Star state in an effort to derail permitless carry legislation sponsored by “extremist lawmakers.”

The organizations are opposing HB 1911 and HB 375, now tracking in the state legislature, which would allow those legally able to possess a handgun to carry one in public under Texas law without a permit. Currently, over a million Texans have such permits, which allow both concealed and open carry.

“These bills are entirely unnecessary and fly in the face of the serious concerns raised by our trusted law enforcement officials,” said Lisa Epstein, with Moms Demand Action, in a statement. “If passed and signed into law, these measures would only make it easier for violent criminals to carry hidden, loaded handguns into public spaces we frequent daily with our families. Responsible gun owners in Texas know that the Second Amendment goes hand in hand with public safety.”

To be clear, the language of neither bill authorizes those currently barred from possessing a handgun the ability to have one if adopted into law.

The groups, both in the video above and in a full-page print ad published in the Austin American-Statesman, contend 91 percent of Texans support the current License to Carry system.

The statement comes from a poll of 1,200 adults in the state conducted in March by Survey USA paid for by Everytown. Some 91 percent of respondents when asked, “Under current Texas law, people are required to get a permit to carry handguns in public places. In order to get a permit, a person needs to have a clean criminal record and complete handgun safety training. Do you strongly support? Support? Oppose? Or strongly oppose requiring a permit to carry a handgun in public in Texas?” said they support or strongly support.