Brad,
Not trying to bust balls and you are right that Texas doesn't deserve to be run down, but look below.
Ownership/Purchase license or permit of some sort required:
HI, DC, IL, IN (for a short while longer?), MD, MA, MI, NE, NJ, NY, NC, SD
A couple more have(had?) 1 gun a month rules (looking at you VA)
So, 13 or so out of 50 states are arguably worse on ownership and/or possession in some way than Texas is.
I guess the point this makes is that merely being no worse than Federal law for purchase and possession does not a "good" gun state make, it's almost a given considering how few of the states currently without such restrictions had any to get rid of in the first place.
Carry rights are now what really define a "pro-gun" jurisdiction in any meaningful way.
Judging by the regs of the majority of states (which includes Texas) not in the "bad" group the baseline for a truly "good" gun state versus "needs improvement" is now something like:
State pre-emption of local laws, more-or-less full reciprocity, no State-level NFA restrictions, Shall-Issue CC with permitless OC, (lightly limited to Federal "sensitive places" / minimal State analogs), and "Restaurant, if not Bar, Carry" plus Castle/Stand Your Ground laws.
If we look across the board that seems to be the "new standard" more or less.
That makes the ultimate goal, as based on the best laws in the various "Good" states be something like:
All of the above with AK-style Const. Carry (absolute reciprocity for all non-prohibited persons, visitors included, in the state), state preemption of all local weapons laws (to include knives and other non-firearms), CC/OC carry at 18 if not lower, few if any state-restricted locations (campus carry, public buildings must have security and provide storage if restricted), with possession and carry legal in public and in bars/restaurants unless intoxicated/impaired per driving regs, and absolute civil liability protection for justified use of force.
Though I might have missed some things.
