AUSTIN (AP/CBSDFW.COM) – On the same weekend that the National Rifle Association gathered in Houston for their annual convention, Texas lawmakers passed a series of bills that would make it easier and cheaper to own and carry a gun in Texas.
The gun laws softened by the approved batch of bills were already among the country’s most firearms-friendly, allowing college students to carry handguns in class, putting potentially armed marshals in public schools and exempting the state from any future federal bans on assault rifles, high-capacity magazines or universal background checks. The hours required to obtain a concealed handgun license would also be cut in half.