I cannot even begin to prove this, but the thought keeps occurring to me: Has Texas become a more polite motor-vehicle-driving society since the advent of concealed-carry laws?

More than 20 years ago, I opposed the idea of allowing Texans to carry handguns concealed under their jackets, or up their pants legs. My fear was that the guns would produced shoot-outs at four-way stops at intersections.

Happily, that hasn’t occurred.

The 1995 Texas Legislature enacted concealed-carry legislation and Texans have been toting firearms under their clothes.

Which brings me back to the question about road courtesy.

Is it possible the potential for the guns being in people’s cars prevented motorists from flipping each other off when they get cut off on the highway? Has it prevented those from rolling down their windows and yelling out four-letter words?

I know I am far less prone to give someone the finger these days than I was prior to the enactment of the concealed-carry law.

Open-carry laws are another matter.

Texas allows folks to pack weapons on their hips, in holsters, in plain sight.

The Dallas police shooting produced a serious dilemma for emergency responders reacting to the gun violence that erupted at the end of that march through downtown Dallas. Were the spectators who were packing heat in the open suspects in the hideous massacre? How do cops respond when they see someone with a rifle or a semi-automatic pistol?

I do not feel safer when I see someone carrying a weapon in the open.

As for the licensed Texans who are carrying guns concealed, well, I don’t necessarily endorse the idea. I’ve grown to accept it.

I also have learned to mind my manners at the wheel of my car.