Firearm laws in Texas changed September 1 to benefit law-abiding citizens using guns for self-defense.
The Texas Tribune reports the changes mean “landlords won’t be able to prevent tenants or their guests from carrying a firearm.” The changes also mean concealed carry license holders who are church-goers will be able to carry their guns with them for self-defense.
The effort to allow congregants to be armed came in response to the November 5, 2017, shooting of Sutherland Springs churchgoers.
The Dallas Morning News reports that houses of worship will still be able to bar guns if they so choose, but doing it will require giving “notice to their congregations.”
Another change that took effect September 1 allows gun owners to carry guns for self-defense in the wake of a natural disaster. The new law allows Texas gun owners to carry a gun for 48 hours after an evacuation order, with or without a license to carry.
CNN reports that another new law allows “licensed gun owners” to keep a gun locked in their vehicle at school. The idea behind this law was to give teachers and school staff the ability to flee to their vehicles to retrieve a gun for self-defense and/or classroom defense should an attacker enter school grounds.
September 1 is also the day Texas officially removes the cap on the number of armed teachers a school district can have. Breitbart News reported that Texas previously limited the number of designated armed persons to one per every 200 students, but the new law allows the district to allow more teachers and/or staff to be armed for classroom defense.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.