I think a lot of folks automatically assume that a red state like Texas must already allow residents to carry a firearm without a license, but that’s not the case. Even open carrying of a handgun requires a license in the Lone Star State, but some Republicans are hoping to change that with the passage of a constitutional carry law during the next legislative session.

Rep. Kyle Biedermann knows that some in his own party are likely to oppose the measure, but he also believes that the recent civil unrest around the country could help get some bipartisan support for his bill.

“We’ve been selling so many firearms and so much ammunition and a lot to people for the first time,” said Rep. Biedermann.

Biedermann represents District 73, which encompasses Comal, Gillespie, and Kendall counties. The state representative owns a hardware and hunting store in Fredericksburg and says he’s seeing gun and ammunition sales soar as efforts to defund the police continue to grow.

“They’ve doubled or probably tripled,” said Rep. Biedermann.

The state representative says sales are growing along with support for constitutional carry.

“I’m very, very confident that there are a lot of new people and a lot of people that maybe were not as in favor of constitutional carry before that will be in favor of it this time,” said Rep. Biedermann.

According to TheTexan.com, Biedermann even believes that some on the Left would support constitutional carry, which sounds kind of absurd at first but does make some sense. If you believe that policing is rife with racism, then any policy change that would reduce the need for encounters between police and black gun owners should be something that you support, right?

Unfortunately, I think Rep. Biedermann may be a little too optimistic in his assumptions. While there is absolutely a disconnect between the idea of defunding the police and adding more gun control laws to the books, the Left has mostly been able to ignore the inherent contradiction between the the two. Gun control groups like Everytown will even claim that “police violence is gun violence,” while lobbying to put more gun laws in place that will be enforced by armed law enforcement officers.

There is a portion of the Left that’s embraced the Second Amendment, but at the moment their position doesn’t hold much sway in the Democratic Party, which has wholeheartedly endorsed the Biden/Harris anti-Second Amendment agenda. As things stand, I suspect that the legislation will be a pretty partisan bill in the state house, and constitutional carry may prove to be an uphill fight, even in the Lone Star State.