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Texas to allow carrying handguns without permit or background check

Texans will soon be allowed to carry handguns without a permit, background check or training.

State lawmakers approved a controversial bill Monday that would lift some of the remaining gun-carry restrictions in the Lone Star State — and Gov. Greg Abbott has said he plans to sign it into law.

“This is a simple restoration of Texans’ constitutional right under the Second Amendment, a right of the people to keep and bear arms,” said Republican Sen. Charles Schwertner, according to the Texas Tribune.

The bill faced opposition from gun safety advocates as well as law enforcement groups, who said the changes to the law would put people in danger.

“Are you aware there are a large number of families on both sides of the aisle who are literally afraid of your legislation?” Democratic state Sen. John Whitmire said, according to the Tribune.

The Republican-dominated legislature approved the measure Monday, May 24, 2021, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott. AP Photo/Eric Gay, File

But the National Rifle Association backed the bill in the Republican-dominated legislature, saying it was “the most significant gun-rights measure” in Texas history.

Texas lawmakers have given final approval to allowing people to carry handguns without a license, and the background check and training that go with it. AP Photo/Eric Gay, File

“A right requiring you to pay a tax or obtain a government permission slip is not a right at all,” said Jason Ouimet, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action.

Texas, which already allows public carry of rifles without a license, has 1.6 million people licensed for handguns. The state has allowed handguns to be carried since 1995.

The new bill faced opposition from gun safety advocates as well as law enforcement groups. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

There are almost two dozen other states that allow some type of unregulated handgun carry, but none have a population as large as Texas.

There would be some limits on the new law if it goes into effect as expected.

Federal background checks would still be required for some purchases. The law says anyone over 21 can carry a gun except those who can’t because of a violent crime conviction or who are otherwise legally barred from having a gun.

State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) speaks in favor of House Bill 1927, the permitless gun carry bill, at the Capitol on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, in Austin, Texas. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP

Businesses can still ban guns on their property.

Some El Paso lawmakers criticized the bill, coming after 23 people were shot to death at a Walmart in that city in 2019. This year’s legislative session is the first since that mass shooting, the Tribune noted.

Rep. Joe Moody (D-El Paso) said community members wanted “something better.”

“All they wanted was some accountability,” he said in a floor speech, according to the Tribune. “Yet here we are.”

With Post wires