Guns have been a part of Texas history since the year it was founded in 1845. It was written in the Texas State Constitution that citizens reserve the right “to keep and bear arms, in the lawful defense of himself and the state.” This thought is still very prominent in many parts of Texas. Texas has loose gun laws compared to that of other states around the country. Governor Greg Abbott has ensured in his eight years as governor that gun laws would be protected and that he has done. With constitutional and campus carry laws, and the right to carry in places of worship, Texas has had more guns in public places than ever before.
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Current Gun Laws in Texas
Constitutional Carry- A law called House Bill 1927 or also widely known as the “constitutional carry” law passed in September of 2021 in Texas. Under this law anyone over the age of 21 is able to carry a gun without a license to carry. In order to do so one also has to be able to purchase a gun by federal and state law and cannot be convicted of certain misdemeanors for up to 5 years. This law also does not require people to be citizens of Texas to do so. This is an example of the very loose gun laws in the State of Texas.
Campus Carry Law- Along with the constitutional carry bill, Governor Greg Abbott agreed to Senate Bill 11 which allows guns to be carried on university campuses. One must have a Handgun License to do so but they are easily acquired. According to the law, public Universities have the right to decide where handguns will be restricted on campus, however some places on campus are not allowed to be restricted.
What Guns Are Allowed? - Texas gun laws also set age restrictions on certain firearms. For instance, anyone 18 or over can purchase and own long guns which include shotguns and rifles but only 21 or older can purchase and own a handgun. This however does not mean that 18–20-year-olds cannot carry a handgun in public. A federal judge ruled that a proposed Texas law was unconstitutional as young adults have fought in militia bearing arms, therefore they have a constitutional right to do so now. The law also states what kind of guns are not permitted. Machine guns are not allowed to be possessed by civilians in Texas but what defines a machine gun is where it can get complicated. The all-too infamous AR-15, notorious for being known as a weapon of choice for mass shootings, is deemed as being a non-machinegun. The classification of a machine-gun in Texas is a fully automatic firearm, whereas the AR-15 is commonly referred to as a semi-automatic rifle but can be reverted to fully automatic quite easily.
Mass Shootings in Texas
In 13 years, Texas has had eight mass shootings. The oldest shootings happened at Fort Hood in 2009 & 2014, the first one killing 13 and injuring 31. The shooter opened fire at the army base due to Islamic extremism. The second one killed three people at the base and injured 12, this one was caused by “behavior and mental health” (Milley) issues. This was classified as a mass shooting because the Government revised the requirements to only three deaths in 2013. The next to happen was in 2016 in Dallas at a Black Lives Matter Protest. The gunman killed 5 police, injured 9 others and 2 civilians as well. At the time, President Barack Obama and the mayor of Dallas had said that the “new open carry law added to the confusion at the chaotic scene as police had to consider whether people legally carrying guns might be threats” (Cai). The next mass shooting was the largest of the eight at the Sutherland Springs Church which killed 26 people and injured 20 more. This attack happened because the Air Force failed to report the gunman's past domestic violence issues and he was allowed to purchase the gun. The next classified mass shooting was a school shooting by a 17 year old student who took his fathers gun to school. He killed 10 in the Santa Fe High School and injured 13 more, even with “an active shooter plan and two armed police officers” (Cai). In August 2019, there were two mass shootings in Texas. The first happened on the 3rd of the month at a Walmart in El Paso leaving 23 dead and 26 injured. This attack was believed to be racially motivated as the gunman posted racist hate speech before the shooting. The next attack was at the end of the month, when a 36-year-old shooter went on a shooting rampage killing 7 and injuring 27. A family friend had told the news that the gunman had “a long history of mental problems and making racist comments,” (Cai) yet he was still able to access a gun. The most recent mass shooting is another school shooting that killed 21 and injured 17. The Robb Elementary school shooting sparked outrage across Texas, and the country when news was released of police officers waiting over an hour before taking action. The mass shootings that have occurred over the years in Texas can be prevented in the future with stricter gun laws, access to mental health help, and the downfall of extremism.
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| Timeline of mass shootings in Texas 2009-2022 with killed and injured statistics. |
Statistics In Texas
2021 Survey Done by The University of Texas about guns in Texas.
In 2021 Texans purchased 1.6 million guns. Although this is a lot of guns being bought, the rate at which people are buying guns in Texas is dropping as the Texan population continues. The percentage of adults living with a gun in the house has dropped 6% from 2000 to 2016 as well. These statistics may be a step in the right direction, however, homicide rates in Texas due to gun violence are still high and gun violence in Texas costs about $16.6 billion per year. A survey completed in 2021 by The University of Texas shows that the people in Texas are split on whether gun control laws should be more strict, left alone, or less strict. The survey also shows that most people are in support of background checks and more than half also think that adults should not carry guns in public without a license.
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Gun owners in Texas per 1000 people with a color key. |
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