On Tuesday in Harrisburg, House Republicans gave a first approval to a bill that would end the state’s longstanding requirement for all handgun owners to have a separate license to carry a concealed weapon on their person or in a car. The bill passed its first test in the House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 14 to 11… with all but one of the Republican members voting yes, and all 10 Democrats plus Republican Representative Todd Stephens of Montgomery County, voting no. The proposal here in Pennsylvania would be in many ways, similar to a new law just enacted in Texas, which upon passing, made Texas the 21st state in the nation to adopt the so-called “constitutional carry law.” Currently, all Pennsylvanians need to get a permit is to have a clean background check, two character references and $20 for the application fee. Lawmakers say that only set up a situation that creates unessessary hurdles for law-abiding citizens, who already have to pass a background check when they purchase their gun. They say it has no affect on law-breakers because by definition, they don’t care about the law anyway.