The 85th Session of the Texas Legislature opened in Austin with a slew of pro- and anti-Second Amendment bills.

One of the bills filed in December by State Senators Robert Nicols (R-Jacksonville) and Joan Huffman (R-Houston) would remove the fees associated with the Texas License to Carry. The removal of fees would apply to new applications, duplicate, modified, or renewed licenses, Breitbart Texas reported. The NRA’s Institute for Legislative Affairs (ILA) praised the bill saying, “SB 16 will allow honest citizens at all income levels to have equal access to this vital personal protection option.” In a written statement obtained by Breitbart Texas. The current fee for a new application is $140 unless certain situations apply to lower or eliminate the fee.

“Texas has one of the highest license to carry fees in the country. SB 16 will make lawful carry more affordable for law abiding citizens across the state. No Texan should be deprived of their right to self-protection because of onerous licensing fees imposed by the state,” Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan said in a written statement in December.

State Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) filed SB 133 to create a “Second Amendment sales tax holiday. The pro-gun bill would create a tax exemption on firearms and sportsman supplies from the state’s sales tax during the last weekend in August, shortly before hunting season opens. Creighton filed a similar bill in the previous session, Breitbart Texas reported. The bill passed the senate 21-10 but died in the House Ways and Means Committee Chaired by Representative Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton).

Representative Drew Springer (R-Muenster) filed a bill to eliminate many “gun-free zones,” Breitbart Texas reported. The bill, (HB 560) amends Texas Penal Code 30.06(e) and deletes section 46.03 titled “Places Weapons Prohibited.” The bill also amends 30.06(e) to delete reference to section 46.035 of the Texas Penal Code titled “Unlawful Carrying of Handgun by License Holder.”

Licensed gun holders are substantially less likely to use guns or commit a crime, Springer told Breitbart Texas. He said he believes that it is “crazy” for a hospital to prohibit the lawful carrying by a licensed holder when there are no metal detectors at the facility.

Springer filed another bill, HB 606, to provide immunity to property owners and business owners who choose to not prohibit guns on their property for Texans with a License to Carry (LTC) by placing the 30.06 and/or 30.07 signs at their entrances. Another bill filed by Springer, (HB 403) would remove the minimum caliber requirement for live fire testing to obtain or renew a LTC.

Other bills reported by the ILA include:

Not to be outdone, Texas Democrats have loaded up with no less than nine bills deemed anti-Second Amendment by the ILA. “Don’t be fooled by attempts to package these bills as “sensible public safety measures” or “common-sense solutions to gun violence” – most, if not all of them are straight out of Bloomberg’s anti-gun playbook,” the ILA said in a written statement obtained by Breitbart Texas.

“(F)ormer New York City Mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg and his national gun control groups Everytown for Gun Safety/Moms Demand Action (along with their state partners at Texas Gun Sense), spent the interim plotting to bring misguided proposals to restrict your Second Amendment rights to Texas lawmakers.”

Those bills include:

Legislators have until March 10 to file additional bills.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.