In a move seen as a win for gun advocates, Texas is set to become the largest state in the U.S. to allow its citizens to openly carry handguns.

On Friday, the Texas House of Representatives voted 96-35 to allow residents with concealed-handgun licenses to openly carry holstered guns in public. A similar measure was approved by the Texas Senate last month; both bills must be squared before being forwarded to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has indicated that he supports the idea.

After several years of no movement on the issue, recent renewed efforts by gun enthusiasts, which are a powerful group within the Texas Republican party, have pushed the legislation through the GOP-controlled legislature.

Not content to rest on their laurels, gun-rights groups are also calling for legislation to permit some students and university employees to carry concealed handguns on college campuses. Last month, the Texas Senate approved what is referred to as a a campus-carry measure, and The Texas House will likely pass a companion measure, which Mr. Abbott also agrees that he supports in principle.

Despite its reputation for being lax on firearms, Texas currently bars its residents from practicing handgun open-carry, making it one of only six states, including California, New York and Florida, to maintain this policy.  Those who want to carry handguns in public must obtain concealed-weapons permits, reportedly extremely difficult to get, and keep the weapons out of sight.

However, Texas does allow its citizens to openly carry long guns in public. The contrasting policies have led to gun-rights groups carrying assault rifles into restaurants and stores and along sidewalks flanking the Texas Capitol building, to bring attention to what they believe is a nonsensical legal inequity.

“We are seeing historic progress in Texas,” said Terry Holcomb Sr., executive director of Texas Carry, a gun-rights group. Holcomb noted that open-carry legislation had never even been approved by a Texas legislative committee prior to 2015.