How The Gun Laws In Texas Compare To Other States

San Antonio TX

07 June, 2021

11:14 PM

Description

By Grant Suneson, 24/7 Wall St. San Antonio 2021-06-07 As the only country in the world whose constitution enshrines the right to keep and bear arms without restrictions, it's no surprise the United States is absolutely saturated with guns. The country is a global outlier in private firearm ownership. The U.S. has about 4% of the world's population but its people possess almost 40% of the world's civilian-owned guns — nearly 121 for every 100 residents, according to a 2018 report by the Swiss-based Small Arms Survey. The strict partisan divide over the issue means that many states have very loose gun-ownership rules. And those with stronger restrictions in place can do little to stem the flow of firearms from less-regulated states. One bill currently before the House Judiciary committee, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, would even force states with stricter gun laws to accept concealed carry permits issued in states with less stringent laws. In 2020, the gun control laws in Texas ranked as the 15th weakest in the country, as the laws received an A grade from the Giffords Law Center. Texas had 12.6 gun deaths per 100,000 residents in 2020, the 24th lowest rate among all states. Texas is poised to allow its residents to carry handguns without a license unless they're prohibited by state and federal law from possessing a gun. Texans are already allowed to openly carry long guns, including assault-style semi-automatic rifles, in most public spaces without a license. (Texas is a major source of assault weapons trafficked to Mexico and Central America.) To determine the states with the best and worst gun laws, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2020 Annual Gun Law Scorecard from the Giffords Law Center, which ranks states on the strength of gun laws and policy and assigns a letter grade. Can't see the rest of the article? Click here to view the original story.This story was originally published by 24/7 Wall St., a news organization that produces real-time business commentary and data-driven reporting for state and local markets across the country.