AUSTIN, Tex. — At the State Capitol here, a legal concealed gun is the equivalent of an E-ZPass.

To enter the sand-colored building, most people — schoolchildren on field trips, out-of-state tourists — must wait in line to pass through a security area outfitted with metal detectors and scanners. But those with state licenses to carry concealed firearms can enter in a matter of seconds. They simply hand their permit to a state trooper, who verifies its authenticity. No metal detector needed.

Just as Texas has long embraced its guns, so has the Capitol. Legislators have walked the terrazzo hallways, attended committee hearings, met with constituents in their offices and voted on the floors of their respective chambers while armed with licensed high-powered pistols tucked beneath their suits or slipped into their boots or purses.

Despite the widespread acceptance of concealed weapons, many lawmakers do not speak so freely about their weaponry. Discretion is a key element of the Capitol’s gun culture: One reason those with licenses were given a separate security lane was to avoid having them take out their guns before passing through the metal detectors.