Texas To Loosen Gun Restrictions In Wake Of El Paso Shooting

Texas will loosen their restrictions on guns with ten new Republican-backed laws set to take effect in September. The Lone Star State, which has some of the most lax gun laws in the country already, will loosen restrictions on guns in places of worship, apartment complexes, foster homes, and schools.

USA Today reported on some of the soon-to-be in effect laws:

House Bill 1143 prevents school districts from prohibiting employees and other visitors at school campuses to store firearms in locked vehicles.

House Bill 2363 lets foster parents possess firearms “in a safe and secure matter … for personal protection purposes.”

Senate Bill 535 will reduce penalties for people who carry guns at “churches, synagogues or other places of worship” that prohibit firearms. …The bill treats places of worship in the same way private businesses are treated: They can still post signs prohibiting firearms, but will reduce penalties for people who unknowingly carry.

[…]

House Bill 3231 “curbs the ability of municipalities” to restrict gun sales at the city level.

“Those with evil intentions will violate the law and carry out their heinous acts no matter what,” argued Texas state Rep. Donna Campbell, a Republican.

Over the weekend, an armed man shot up an El Paso area Walmart, murdering 22 people and injuring dozens of others. The horror was only compounded when a male shooter unloaded in Dayton, Ohio, on Sunday, the day following the El Paso attack. The Dayton shooter murdered nine people and injured more than a dozen others.

More severe gun control measures have been pushed in the days following the attacks, including from the White House. But according to a CNN fact-check, stricter background checks, which have been lofted by President Donald Trump, would not have stopped either shooter.

The CNN fact-check asked: “Would strengthening or expanding background checks have prevented the alleged shooters from purchasing firearms?” The answer: “Doubtful.”

“There is no indication that the shooting in Dayton, Ohio, would have been prevented by proposed universal background checks or legislation to bolster the federal background check system. The alleged El Paso, Texas, shooter purchased his firearm legally and there is no evidence that he had a criminal history that a background check would’ve caught,” CNN reported.

Another potential mass shooting was seemingly underway at a Walmart in Missouri on Thursday until an armed off-duty firefighter thwarted the attack.

“An off-duty firefighter who had a firearm with him stopped a potential attack from taking place at a Walmart in Missouri after a 20-year-old man showed up to the store with a rifle, body armor, and over 100 rounds of ammunition,” The Daily Wire reported.

“His intent was not to cause peace or comfort to anybody that was in the business,” said Lt. Mike Lucas of the Springfield Police Department. “In fact, he’s lucky to be alive still to be honest.”