AUSTIN — Republican candidates for the two most powerful state offices, including the GOP's front-runner for governor, want to allow licensed Texans to openly carry pistols in public, a notion that has failed for years to gain momentum in the gun-friendly Legislature.

Texas law limits the carrying of concealed handguns to licensed owners but allows open carrying of rifles when not done in a threatening manner. Handgun owners must be licensed and keep their weapon out of sight to carry publicly.

Attorney General Greg Abbott, who many political observers predict will succeed Gov. Rick Perry, said through a spokesman that he would push for legislation to allow concealed handgun license holders to tote their pistols openly if he wins the office.

“Critics were wrong to suggest that CHLs (concealed handgun licenses) would lead to O.K. Corral-type shootings, and they would be similarly wrong to suggest the same about open carry,” said Matt Hirsch, an Abbott spokesman.

That sentiment is shared, to some degree, by each of the four GOP candidates in the race for lieutenant governor.

Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who helped organize a rally at the Alamo this month that drew hundreds of armed protesters, said passage of an open carry law would be a priority if he is elected.

“We shouldn't have to prove that we need open carry; the opponents should have to prove why we shouldn't have it,” said Patterson, who authored Texas' concealed handgun law in 1995. “Anything that enhances liberty is a good thing unless there is a compelling reason not to do it.”

Jennifer Fuson, a spokeswoman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Violence, said the open carrying of firearms “intimidates the public, wastes law enforcement resources, and creates opportunities for injury and death.”

Additionally, “Open carrying poses particular challenges for law enforcement officers who must respond to 911 calls from concerned citizens about people carrying guns in public,” Fuson said.

In San Antonio, a 1993 city ordinance prohibits carrying a loaded firearm in the city's public parks, at public meetings of governmental bodies, at political events and at nonfirearms-related school or professional athletic events.

The gun-rights rally on the Alamo grounds was sparked by an incident in which three men were cited for disorderly conduct after carrying loaded rifles into a local Starbucks. Rally organizers said the arrests amounted to harassment. Police Chief William McManus defended the officers who ticketed the men.

“For the SAPD, this isn't about politics or about trying to stop people from exercising their constitutional rights,” McManus said. “It's about making sure that the state laws and city ordinances are upheld.”

Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and state Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston, both vying to become Texas' second-in-command, echoed their Republican colleagues' defense of expanded open carry privileges.

“It is hard to imagine Texas being one of six states that doesn't have some sort of open carry policy,” Staples said. “That needs to change. I support open carry in Texas.”

Seventeen states specifically allow open carry, and many states do not explicitly prohibit it in their laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Texas is one of less than 10 states that specifically block open carry of handguns, and Montana is the only state to allow it without a license, according to the NCSL.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, running for re-election, “supports passing legislation that allows ... some form of open carry in Texas for law-abiding citizens,” said Travis Considine, a Dewhurst spokesman.

Considine did not respond to requests to elaborate on what he meant by “some form of open carry,” which did not sit well with some Second Amendment activists.

C.J. Grisham, president of Open Carry Texas, called Dewhurst's language inanimate.

“I have no room for Dewhurst or his wishy-washy attitude in this state,” he said. “We don't talk about only supporting 'some form' of religious expression or 'some form' of free speech. Why would we do that with the Second Amendment?”

Lonnie Phillips, whose daughter Jessica Ghawi was killed in the movie theater shooting last year in Aurora, Colo., said open display of firearms is unnecessarily intimidating.

“Why should we, who choose not to own weapons, have to be intimidated by someone openly carrying a weapon?” said Phillips, of San Antonio. “My freedom not to have to carry a weapon to be safe is as paramount to liberty as (Patterson's) right to open carry.”

Tough sell

Despite support from top-of-the-ballot Republican candidates and a growing group of advocates, open carry has been a tough sell at the Capitol.

Proposals to allow concealed handgun license holders to carry handguns in college buildings and classrooms has seized most of the attention and appetite of gun-friendly legislators during the past two sessions, Grisham said.

He hopes a groundswell in support for open carry from Republican candidates and grass-roots activists, as well as armed demonstrations such as the Alamo rally, will change that.

“The reason open carry hasn't had enough steam is because everyone thinks the sight of guns is going to cause problems,” Grisham said. “So we are combating that by educating the public that the sight of a gun isn't something to be afraid of. If we can get rid of that stigma with AR-15s and AK-47s, we can get rid of it with a pistol.”

For the past two sessions, a bill to allow concealed handgun license holders to openly carry has been filed but has failed to receive a committee vote.

Alice Tripp, legislative director for the Texas State Rifle Association, the National Rifle Association's state affiliate, said she testified in favor of the bill last session but the Democrat chairman of Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee, Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, blocked the measure from a vote.

The likelihood of open carry passing in the 2015 legislative session is dependent upon who is appointed as head of the committee, Tripp said.

Pickett said the 2013 bill did not have support from leadership or members of the House and Senate during the session, adding that he wasn't “working in a vacuum.”

“You're asking all these people now that are running for statewide office trying to get as far right as they can, but the reality is there wasn't enough support in the Legislature to pass it,” he said.

“I'm not a big fan, but I didn't stop it. If there would have been support from the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker, it would have been signed into law.”

Last year's proposal, House Bill 700, would have allowed concealed handgun license holders to carry in public places except for schools, hospitals, prisons, government buildings and businesses whose majority of revenue comes from alcohol sales.

Patterson supports the idea mixing the two — letting students with concealed handgun license's openly tote pistols in the classroom.

“Why is it that a college campus is different than a mall?” Patterson said. “The idea that the 40 Acres (at the University of Texas) is somehow different from where the rest of us spend our time is just bizarre. ... Do you really think a misdemeanor or a felony possession of a firearm is going to stop someone from capital murder?”

Grisham agreed that college students should “absolutely” be allowed to carry handguns in class.

“A law-abiding citizen is going to act the same way whether he is in a park, a school or wherever,” Grisham said.

To obtain a concealed handgun license in Texas, a person must be older than 21, complete a four-hour course, pay about $200 in registration fees and pass a background check, a 50-question exam and a range proficiency exam, according to the Department of Public Safety.

Utah is the only state that allows open carry on college campuses, while five others allow concealed carry and 23 leave the decision up to the schools, according to the National Conference of Legislatures. The remaining 21 states, including Texas, ban guns in campus buildings.

Patterson and Grisham also consider bars and prisons off limits.

Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, the presumed Democrat nominee for governor, said through a spokesman that she “will always defend the right for honest citizens to own, purchase and sell guns” but did not directly address her stance on open carry.

This year, Davis voted for a bill to allow students to transport guns in their trunks on college campuses and supported one to expedite concealed handgun licensure, both Republican-led bills.

Former Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken, a Republican candidate for governor, said concealed handgun license holders should be allowed to carry openly in the same locations they can carry concealed.

Texas' primary elections are March 4, and the general election is next November.

kparker@express-news.net

Twitter: @KoltenParker