As part of an ongoing series on American gun culture (see previous posts like this, this, and this), another article caught my eye today, specifically about the gun culture in Texas.
Apparently, the Lone Star Sate allows licensed gun-carrying lawmakers and members of the public to enter the state Capitol in Austin through a faster, no-wait security lane, while regular, unarmed visitors must line up and go through the security metal detectors. Which of course, begs the question of what those metal detectors are actually looking for...
Then, just this last week, a new law took effect in Texas allowing handguns to be worn on the hips in holsters, or in Dirty Harry-style shoulder holsters, in a so-called "open carry" display of machismo. Apparently, in doing so, Texas joins more than 40 other states that already have some form of open carry law, although Texas is the most populous.
The pro-gun group Open Carry Texas claim that more public weapons will deter would-be criminals. What is even stranger (to me at least) is that the law applies to Texans with active state-issued concealed handgun permits, so that, if they have a licence to carry a concealed gun, they are now allowed not to conceal it...
Next August, additional legislation will come into force allowing students and faculty members at Texan universities to carry concealed handguns on campus (although prohibiting openly carried guns). Well, that's going to help, isn't it?
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