A great victory in Texas! 

Via Lonestar Voice: 

For years, the Texas Penal Code outlawed the carrying of Bowie knives. Yes -- the famous weapon of Texas hero and Alamo defender Jim Bowie, was illegal or carry in the Lone Star State. It frustrated knife rights activists and embarrassed Texas history buffs.

But the Bowie knife wasn’t the only illegal knife in Texas statute. Pretty much everything with a blade besides a common pocket knife was illegal for carry.

All of that changed in the 85th Session of the Texas Legislature when HB 1935 passed almost unanimously through both chambers.

After the law takes effect, all blades will be legal. The only two stipulations on carrying knives will be that 1) blades over 5.5 inches are still prohibited in places where guns are prohibited, and 2) that minors under 18 still cannot carry blades over 5.5 inches.

The bill had bipartisan appeal, stemming from Republicans’ general favor for bearing arms for self-defense, and Democrats’ practical concerns that racial minorities are disproportionately penalized for the possession of illegal knives.

In fact, the bill was co-authored by Rep. Terry Canales, a South Texas Democrat who last session tried to amend the open carry handgun bill to legalize the carrying of knives anywhere guns could be carried. The amendment was killed at that time by Rep. Larry Phillips’ motion to table. His motion prevailed by a vote of 72-53, with less than 30 of the House’s nearly 100 Republicans voting to overrule the motion and save the amendment.

That’s a far cry from the near-unanimous support that the far more ambitious HB 1935 received.

The House passed it 131-1 (Rep. Ina Minjarez dissenting), the Senate passed it 30-1 (Sen. Kelly Hancock dissenting).

Read more here.