Texas gun laws loosened

Hours after shooting rampage, Texas gun laws loosened

By RISHIKA DUGYALA

Several new firearm laws took hold in Texas on Sunday, loosening restrictions as to when and where weapons can be carried, one day after the state was rocked by a shooting in which a gunman killed seven and wounded at least 21.

A man opened fire during a traffic stop in Midland, Texas, on Saturday afternoon, firing at random as he drove down the highway and into Odessa. The shootings came less than a month after a gunman killed 22 people in El Paso and wounded two dozen more. Texas has seen 4 of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern history.

As some legislators and Democratic presidential candidates renew calls for gun control, the state is making it easier to carry guns in churches, schools, apartments and disaster zones.

Here are some of the laws, which were passed during the state’s 2019 legislative session and which took effect Sept. 1.

At schools 

• HB 1143 prevents public school school districts and open-enrollment charter schools from regulating how licensed individuals store their firearms or ammunition in their vehicle on a school parking lot.
• HB 1387 removes limitations on the number of faculty and staff that can be designated as armed school marshals per campus. Previously, there could only be one marshal per 200 students or one marshal per school building.

At places of worship

• SB 535 clarifies that places of religious worship are the same as other private properties: They must give notice if guns are banned on their premises. Churches, mosques and synagogues were previously off-limits.

After federal or state disasters are declared 

• HB 1177 allows citizens to carry firearms without a license — if they’re not prohibited by law from having a gun — for a full week after a declared state of disaster. The law also allows disaster shelters to accommodate those with firearms.

At apartments, homes and other private properties 

• HB 302 prohibits residential lease agreements from restricting lawful possession of a firearm by tenants, guests, owners and landlords alike.
• HB 2363 updates how certain foster homes can store their firearms. Previously, they had to store items separately in locked locations. Now, items can be stored together with a trigger-locking device in the same secured location.
• HB 121 defends License to Carry holders who trespass in a space prohibiting guns — as long as the holder promptly leaves the property after being asked.