Texas is getting new gun laws.
But they’re not restrictions on firearms like those Ohio’s governor proposed days after Sunday’s mass shooting in Dayton. As the state mourns the 22 killed in a shooting in El Paso, 10 laws affirming Texans’ right to keep and carry guns are set to take effect Sept. 1.
The new rules come as Democrats and some Republicans call for tighter regulations on firearms after two tragedies that shook the country this weekend. They reflect many Texans’ embrace of expanded access to guns even after several high-profile shootings in the state, as gun-rights advocates argue that armed citizens can stop attackers.
The massacres in El Paso and Dayton probably won’t prompt a rethinking of the laws enacted earlier this year and set for September, said Harel Shapira, a professor at the University of Texas who studies the gun-rights movement. If anything, he told The Washington Post, those who call for broader access to firearms for self-defense may “double down” after the latest shootings.
And Texas is not alone in relaxing gun laws after deadly attacks, he said.
“A lot of legislatures are responding to these shootings by saying, the way to make our country safer and the correct thing to do is not to restrict access to guns, but actually to make it easier for people to have access,” he said.
