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A new Texas law is set to go into effect next month that will allow more weapons on school grounds, inside of churches, and prohibit landlords from banning registered gun owners from living in their apartment buildings or homes.
This bill was passed before the shooting in El Paso last weekend that took 22 lives and injured dozens more, but it appears Texas is going to keep with it despite the attack.
Texas has some of the laxest gun laws in the US, and coincidentally, the state has also been home to 4 of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in the history of the United States.
Texas is a “shall-issue” state, which means that as long as an applicant passes the basic requirements, they cannot be denied a firearm. 41 states in the US are shall-issue including Ohio, which also saw a mass shooting this past weekend that left 9 dead.
If you are buying a handgun from a private individual in Texas, no permit, firearms registration, or background check is required for it to be legal. There is no mandatory waiting period for a handgun and no limit for handgun magazine capacity.
House Bill 1143 allows gun owners to store firearms or ammunition in a locked vehicle on school property, as long as it is not in plain view. So it’s fine to have a loaded handgun in your glove compartment as a teacher, as long as the car is locked.
House Bill 302 will ban any homeowners or landlords from prohibiting tenants from lawfully storing or possessing a firearm or ammunition on their property.
And finally, Senate Bill 535 allows any licensed handgun owners to carry their weapons in churches of all types. The previous ruling on this subject was murky in Texas, and this really ‘clears up’ the issue, allowing Texas residents to treat a church or place of worship as any other privately owned building.
