The law that went into effect Sept. 1 allows anyone 21 years or older to carry a handgun in public without need for a permit or training.
guns In Texas
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Texas Legislature 2021
Abortion ban, permitless carry, elections bill: The week that solidified Texas’ hard right turn after the 2020 election
Texas’ new near-total abortion ban, one of the most restrictive in the nation, punctuated a week that brought into stunning relief just how far the state’s political pendulum has swung to the right since the 2020 election.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Analysis: New laws reflect Republican lawmakers’ focus on their right flank
From abortion restrictions to guns, the Texas Legislature’s regular session Republican victories were just the beginning.
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State Government
666 new Texas laws go into effect Sept. 1. Here are some that might affect you.
The new laws will affect abortion access, social studies curriculum and cities that trim the budgets of law enforcement.
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Criminal Justice
Two years after Walmart mass shooting, El Paso leaders see inaction and betrayal by Texas officials
In what some people call an affront to the families of the 2019 shooting victims, Texas Republicans expanded gun rights earlier this year when the state Legislature passed a permitless carry bill.
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Texas 2022 Elections
Analysis: Texas issues that play on the national stage
The issues getting attention from Gov. Greg Abbott are doing double-duty: They’re attractive to Republican voters in Texas — and beyond.
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Politics
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick waffles over whether he still supports stronger gun background checks
In September 2019, he said he was “willing to take an arrow” and go against the National Rifle Association by pushing for Texas to extend background checks to gun sales between strangers. On Thursday, he sat next to NRA leader Wayne LaPierre as an expansion of gun rights became law.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texans can carry handguns without a license or training starting Sept. 1, after Gov. Greg Abbott signs permitless carry bill into law
Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other Republicans who were initially noncommittal about the bill were under immense political pressure this session from conservatives and gun rights advocates, who have long lobbied the Texas Legislature for permitless carry.
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Criminal Justice
After Austin shooting, advocates and Texas Democrats renew calls for action on gun violence
State Rep. Joe Moody, a Democrat from El Paso, said a special legislative session already planned for later this year should also address gun violence.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas Republican leaders promised action on gun safety after the El Paso shooting. Instead, they passed permitless carry.
The Legislature passed a bill allowing Texans to carry handguns without a license or training — an expansion of gun rights so divisive Republican leaders in previous years refused to touch it.