Texas gun laws: Weapons will be allowed in churches and on school grounds
Oh, noes...
Texas gun laws: Weapons will be allowed in churches and on school grounds
Quote:
A series of new firearm laws go into effect in Texas on Sunday, just hours after a shooting left seven people dead in the western part of the state.
The laws will further loosen gun restrictions in a state that's had four of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern US history. They will make it easier to have guns just a month after a shooter stormed a Walmart in El Paso and killed 22 people.
Here are the sweeping firearm laws going into effect:
Weapons on school grounds
House Bill 1143 says a school district cannot prohibit licensed gun owners, including school employees, from storing a firearm or ammunition in a locked vehicle on a school parking lot -- provided they are not in plain view.
Kris Brown, president of gun violence prevention advocacy group Brady, criticized the bill going into effect September 1.
"Many states took the opportunity in the last two years to learn lessons from the tragedies in Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, Parkland, and the every day gun violence that plagues our citizens, and enacted new laws to protect public safety through expanded background checks and extreme risk laws," Brown said.
"Texas lawmakers, instead ... doubled down on an NRA led agenda to encourage guns everywhere, no matter the risks and costs to safety."
Seven people were killed, in addition to the gunman, and at least 21 others were wounded in a mass shooting in Texas. The gunman, who has not been identified, fled from state troopers who had tried to pull him over. The gunman then hijacked a United States postal van and indiscriminately fired a rifle at people before the authorities shot and killed him outside a movie theater in Odessa.
Marshals at schools
House Bill 1387 loosens restrictions on how many armed school marshals a school district can appoint.
Guns in foster homes
House Bill 2363 allows some foster homes to store firearms and ammunition in a safe and secure place for personal protection. Proper storage must be followed, the bill says, including putting firearms and ammunition together in the same locked locations.
? Joel Angel Ju?rez for CNN Dina Rodriguez, right, is comforted after attending a vigil for her son, Javier Rodriguez, 15, a sophomore at Horizon High School in Horizon, Texas, Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. Rodriguez was among the 22 killed in the shooting at a Walmart on Aug. 3 in El Paso.
Weapons in apartments
House Bill 302 bans homeowners or landlords of rental property from prohibiting residents from lawfully possessing, carrying, transporting or storing a firearm or ammunition in the property.
Handguns during a disaster
House Bill1177 prohibits residents from being charged with a crime for carrying a handgun while evacuating from a state or local disaster area.
Firearms in places of worship
Senate Bill 535 clarifies the possession of firearms at churches, synagogues or other places of worship. It allows licensed handgun owners to legally carry their weapons in places of worship -- and comes nearly two years after a gunman killed 26 people at Sutherland Springs church.
"We have learned many times over that there is no such thing as a gun free zone. Those with evil intentions will violate the law and carry out their heinous acts no matter what," state Sen. Donna Campbell, co-sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. "It makes no sense to disarm the good guys and leave law-abiding citizens defenseless where violent offenders break the law to do great harm."
The bill will make things clearer, she said.
"The existing statute is confusing and clunky when it comesto clearly stating the rights of licensed Texans to carry on the premises of a church. This bill provides clarity of the Legislature's intent to treat churches in the same manner as other privately owned establishments in Texas."
The spin is very clear. I guess allowing Sen. Donna Campbell's statement in there is to illicit some type of reaction from the Bloombergers. I enjoy seeing a politician that understands how free kill zones work.
