News4SA by Riane Roldan, The Texas Tribune and Alain Stephens, The TraceSunday, August 11th 2019
As the nation reels from mass shootings in California, Texas and Ohio, many lawmakers and politicians find themselves navigating familiar territory in the latest national debate on gun control.
In Texas, there aren't currently any laws banning the possession or the purchase of weapons like the AK-47 the shooter used to kill 22 people and injure dozens more. And during the last legislative session, lawmakers expanded the bandwidth of some gun laws. One new law will allow handgun owners to carry concealed firearms without a license in the case of a disaster evacuation. Another removes the cap on how many school marshals can carry guns on public school campuses. But other lawmakers are calling for tighter gun control in the state, including State Rep. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, who on Monday sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott Sunday requesting an emergency special session to address gun violence.
As lawmakers are poised to revisit gun issues, here's a look at the basics tenets —and the latest changes — in Texas gun laws.
What types of weapons can you legally purchase or own in Texas?Under Texas law, most types of weapons can be purchased and possessed with few exceptions. Under federal law, and reiterated in Texas criminal code, rifles with a barrel length of less than 16 inches and shotguns with a barrel length of less than 18 inches are generally prohibited. Exceptions are made to such weapons, as well as machine guns and silencers, if the purchaser registers the weapon with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and pays a $200 tax.
In Texas, you must be at least 18 years of age to buy a rifle, and at least 21 years of age to buy a handgun from a licensed dealer. Under federal law, its is generally illegal for someone younger than 18 to possess a handgun outside of certain situations such as defending oneself against an intruder or for hunting.
Between 2013 and 2017, the most recent five years for which data is available, average yearly gun sales increased by 101 percent compared to earlier yearly averages between 2000 and 2004, according to data from Small Arms Analytics.
What are the laws on purchasing firearms?Texas law, mirroring federal regulations, prohibits certain groups of people from purchasing or possessing firearms, including felons and people convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors. But the website of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun control advocacy group, says there are "notable gaps" in the law prohibiting perpetrators of domestic violence from purchasing handguns, chiefly because it doesn't apply to people convicted of assaults against a current or former dating partner unless the defendant has been married or lived with the victim, for example.
More:
https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-texas-gun-laws
