El Pasoans protest Texas’ new permit-less gun carry law
EL PASO, Texas -- ‘Abbott failed Texas’, those are what some of the signs read at a protest in downtown El Paso on Thursday opposing the permit-less or 'constitutional carry' gun rights bill that was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Greg Abbott.
The new law states anyone over the age of 21 can carry loaded handguns in public with no permit, background check or safety training required -- which some people have an issue with.
“I greatly oppose this bill,” protester Stella Ortega said. “As a former law enforcement official you often go into a situation not knowing who has guns and this will absolutely throw everything in disarray for any law enforcement officer because you have to assume with this bill everybody and anyone can be carrying a gun.”
Ortega told ABC-7 that she’s not opposed to anyone who registers for and obtains a gun lawfully, but she’s concerned about virtually anyone now being able to buy a gun and carry it without a permit, with no training and conceal it.
Ortega went on to call the new law “ludicrous” after all of the shootings across the nation.
There are still some restrictions when the law takes effect on Sept, 1. You must be 21 or older, must not be prohibited from possessing a firearm in a public place under Texas law, or possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law. There are also several offenses you can't have been convicted of within the past five years.
There are two ways you can carry a handgun under this new law - completely concealed or openly in a holster. Even though you can carry a concealed weapon, that doesn't mean you can take a gun anywhere. Schools, election polling places, courts, professional sporting events and secured areas of airports - as well as many other locations - are still prohibited gun carry zones.
