Gun Laws

Ron Avi Astor, a mass shooting expert and UCLA professor, said the approach to gun law reform should begin at the community level, with discussions between parents, schools and residents.

Efforts by states to to raise the minimum age for buying a long rifle have been challenged in court by gun rights activists.

Las nuevas leyes incluyen medidas que traen cambios al voto, limitan el aborto, permiten que las personas porten armas sin licencia y prohíben que se enseñe la llamada "teoría crítica de la raza" en las aulas.

Some overlooked voting laws, permitless carry and a ban on critical race theory are among the newly passed legislation. Reporters at NPR’s Texas Newsroom partner stations break down some of the key items.

After several mass shootings in Texas, some Republican leaders — including Gov. Greg Abbott — pledged to try to prevent another incident from happening again. But stricter gun laws did not come out of the 2021 legislative session.

While the state’s new permitless carry law has received the most attention, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a slew of gun-related legislation during the 2021 legislative session.

Starting Sept. 1, anyone who legally owns a gun will be allowed to carry it in public without a license in Texas.

Starting Sept. 1, most Texans will be able to carry handguns in public without going through training or having to get permits. Law enforcement officers worry that could make their jobs more dangerous.

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.

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.