The 1871 Deadly Weapon Law
When the Republican-dominated legislature reconvened for its regularly scheduled session in 1871, lawmakers had a much clearer idea of what types of weapon regulations they wanted to pass. The previous special session in 1870 surely fostered some interesting debates, and the implementation of the TPM law over the past year would have given them some feedback in terms of its effectiveness in reducing violence.
When we look at the three public carry bills introduced in this session, it is clear that Texas Republicans believed a TPM restriction simply was not enough to curb the violence plaguing the region. The three bills introduced have some important differences, but it is easier to make sense of them by discussing the successful bill first.
House Bill 115, introduced by Frederick Grothaus of DeWitt County in South-Central Texas, did two things. First, it superseded the existing TPM restriction with one that slightly modified the list of sensitive public gatherings at which all weapons would be prohibited. This section of the law was otherwise identical to the 1870 TPM regulation—notably in its application to long guns and steeper fine range.
More importantly, the Grothaus bill created a new, ambitious, and comprehensive public carry law. The first section stipulated that it would hereafter be illegal for anyone to carry “on or about his person, saddle, or in his saddle bags, any pistol, dirk, dagger, slung-shot, sword-cane, spear, brass-knuckles, bowie knife, or any other kind of knife manufactured or sold for the purposes of offense or defense.” There were some exceptions, such as for travelers, residents of frontier counties, peace officers, and people fearing an imminent attack. But otherwise, the public streets and spaces of Texas became weapon-free zones.
Importantly, this law applied to deadly weapons carried concealed as well as openly, marking a departure from the body of concealed weapon laws that had been so common in the South and made inroads in Texas during the 1850s. The landscape of communal life was different in the postbellum period, as was the landscape of firearm technology, and it seems Texas Republicans decided to adjust their regulatory approach in light of these changes.
Violating the deadly weapon law carried a fine of $25 or a brief stint in county jail. The fine was particularly high for this economically devastated, cash-poor, agriculturally dependent region. Law officers who neglected their duty to enforce it, or who turned a blind eye to violations, could be brought up on charges, fined up to $500, and summarily dismissed from their positions. The severity of these penalties clearly shows that Republicans took the weapon-carrying problem seriously, and that reliance exclusively upon a TPM approach had shown itself to be ineffective.