TX House to make gun owners' names secret

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http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-gunpermits_18tex.ART.State.Edition1.42e4b95.html

ID may be concealed with gun

House expected to pass bill to make license holders' names private

09:12 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 18, 2007

By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected]

AUSTIN – More than a quarter of a million Texans are licensed to carry concealed firearms, but their identities would be hidden along with their handguns under legislation expected to pass the House today.

The bill by Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, and three other House members would make private the names of people who hold concealed-handgun licenses – information that is now public under state law.

"The personal steps a Texan takes to protect him or herself should not be a matter of public record," Mr. Rose told colleagues in a hearing earlier this session, calling the decision to carry a concealed handgun "a private, personal decision to protect themselves and their families."

Supporters say that it's a matter of personal privacy as well as safety and that the "concealed" element is lost if someone can just call up the Texas Department of Public Safety, give them a name and address, and find out if that person has a concealed-carry license.

The DPS is required to tell the license holder the name of the person asking about them. That, opponents say, blows holes in the argument that criminals would use the information to their advantage, since most wouldn't inquire if they knew their target would be notified. They also say the licensee may get an advantage if a would-be attacker is aware that he or she is probably packing heat.

Opponents, mainly open-government advocates, also argue that the public has the right to know – as a check and balance on state officials – who is being allowed to carry guns and whether the law is being applied fairly and correctly.

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