MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — On Wednesday, Sept. 1, Texas laws passed during the 87th Texas Legislature will go into effect statewide, including House Bill 1927, also known as the “permitless carry” law.
It allows Texans age 21 and older to openly carry handguns without a license or training as long as they aren't a felon or charged with domestic violence.
This adds another element local law enforcement officers have to work with.
When the bill was signed into law the Texas Senate required the Texas Department of Public Safety to offer a free online course on gun safety, but no training is required and that's the biggest worry for local police departments.
"This is going to happen and there will be people who will be carrying their weapons so the public just needs to be prepared for it," said Hewitt Police Chief Jason Devlin.
He expects more guns in people's hands as Texas moves to permit-less carry, but they're prepared for whatever happens.
"We just automatically assume as law enforcement everybody is armed anyway so that's just how we kind of deal with our business because guns are so prominent and we know that we encounter them when we come in contact with people," said Devlin.
As law enforcement, officers will uphold the law and people's legal rights, but with permit-less carry not requiring training, responsibility relies heavily on the gun owner.
"Even though there isn't a required class the public has to go through now to carry a firearm, it's still really important to brush up on the safety, and even go through a class because its only going to be able to teach you things that you might not have known before," said Cierra Shipley, spokeswoman for the Waco Police Department.
Waco Police along with Hewitt Police are stressing the need for gun education since gun ownership just got easier.
They want people to know about storage, cleaning, usage and most importantly: Gun safety.
"You have that weapon in your possession, you carry a ton of responsibility for it and I think that's very important that people understand that and they recognize that," Devlin added.
Devlin said Hewitt PD will be treating permit-less carry like license to carry and open carry; not a big change with protocols.
Officers can still disarm an individual when believed to be necessary.
The state requires law enforcement officers to go through a legal update course when new laws are put in place, so local police are prepared.
With the permit-less carry law it will be up to the user whether they carry it open or concealed.