Texas laws regarding firearms come from Texas' more violent past, especially during Reconstruction following the Civil War. First, towns and counties and then the state as a whole adopted restrictions on personal weapons in an attempt to either curb the violence of the era or disarm certain parts of the population. To many, it seemed the civilized thing to do. Texans (at least white ones) could still be armed while traveling, and those with influence could become special deputy sheriffs, deputy constables, Cattleman's Association rangers, etc. which allowed them to legally carry firearms. Much of Texas was rural and privately owned and it really wasn't that much of an issue. Long guns were not restricted and for a long time, the pickup with a gun rack holding a rifle or shotgun was a common sight. Not everyone felt a pressing need to carry a handgun with long guns so easy to hand.
Carrying a prohibited weapon was a misdemeanor, not a felony and the law was used not to restrict or prohibit weapons to the the general public so much as to give LEOs something to hang on suspects they might be handling for other reasons. Persons carrying weapons but not otherwise involved an any illegal activity were generally ignored unless they made it impossible to do so. So for many years, Texans could carry with the tacit permission of LEOs even though they did so illegally. It was kind of like speeding less than 10 miles over the limit where you are generally given a pass unless you are doing something else wrong. But not very many felt the need to carry and not very many did though it was not uncommon for a business owner to be armed while taking the day's receipts to the bank. (My father bought a gun in the 1950's after a stranger followed him home from work, but he never carried it, either on his person or in the car. What he did keep in the glove box was a blackjack which was and still is a prohibited weapon, more illegal than a firearm. To him, it was less offensive.)
As the state became more urbanized and suburbanized, and less rural, such tacit permission became less the norm. City cops were often much less forgiving than rural deputies. Mainly because the encountered more people with guns committing other crimes than they did people with guns acting legally. This led to stricter enforcement and more attention being paid to the issue of guns. The sea change in attitude towards guns came in the '60s as it did in most of the rest of the country. The Kennedy and King assassinations, civil unrest over Civil rights and Viet Nam, big city riots, led to GCA '68 and local LEOs couldn't overlook firearms as easily.
At the same time, Texans had become used to the unofficial lax attitude towards firearms. To most people, the system was working and didn't really interfere with anyone's legal use of arms so there was no need to rock the boat. But as noted, outside influences did rock the boat. Besides federal law, Texas started getting an influx of people moving in from other states. Many of them brought different attitudes regarding firearms. Some, like you, felt there should be more freedom and fewer restrictions, but I think more felt there should be stronger laws and tighter restrictions. In the midst of this growing dichotomy, the Luby's incident happened in Temple which sparked the push for the formal legalization of concealed carry which we have today.
Freedom in any area is something we have only until the area is addressed by the law. Once the law is involved, true Freedom is lost and all we are free to do is what the law allows or does not restrict or prohibit. Laws may change, but once the precedent is set that a freedom is subject to legal restriction, all that is left of that freedom is argument over how much it should be restricted.
