In trigger-happy US, Texans can now carry unlicensed guns
The state of Texas in the US is all set to remove one of its last major gun restrictions after lawmakers approved allowing people to carry handguns without a licence, and the background check and training that go with it.
The Republican-dominated legislature approved the measure on Monday, sending it to governor Greg Abbott, who has said he will sign it despite the objections of law enforcement groups who say it would endanger the public and police.
Texas already allows rifles to be carried in public without a licence. The measure sent to Abbott would allow anyone age 21 or older to carry a handgun as long as they don’t have felony criminal convictions or some other legal prohibition in their background.
But without the state background check, law enforcement groups worry there would be no way to weed them out in advance. The bill does include stiffer penalties for felons caught illegally carrying guns.
The bill won’t prevent businesses from banning guns on their property, and federal background checks for some gun purchases would remain in place. Texas has no state requirements for background checks on private guns sales.
Gun control groups oppose the measure, noting the state’s recent history of mass shootings, including those at an El Paso Walmart, a church in Sutherland Springs, and a high school outside Houston. Texas has some of the loosest gun laws in the US and has more than 1.6 million handgun licence holders.
Supporters of the bill say it will allow Texans to better defend themselves in public while abolishing unnecessary impediments to the constitutional right to bear arms. Once signed into law, Texas will join nearly two dozen other states that allow some form of unregulated possession of a handgun. AUSTIN: