The Republican Governor of Texas on Wednesday enacted a law allowing the carrying of a weapon in public without a license, the latest in a series of measures to expand gun rights in conservative states in the United States. .

The law, passed in May by a Republican-dominated Senate and House of Representatives in the southern state, allows anyone aged 21 or over and not prohibited from owning a firearm. 'wear one.

It is due to come into force on September 1.

The text considers that the Constitutions of the United States and Texas allow citizens to carry a firearm and that, therefore, there should be fewer obstacles in the matter.

Governor Greg Abbott intends to preside over a promulgation ceremony for the text this Thursday, according to the Texas Tribune newspaper.

He had indicated that he would promulgate the law if the text was passed by both chambers.

"It's something that twenty other states have adopted, and it is time for Texas to adopt it too," he said in April on local radio WBAP.

A week after a dramatic shooting

But opponents, especially Democrats in Texas and across the country, have argued that loosening gun rules will generate more violence. They cited as an example the shooting in the Texas capital Austin which left one dead and thirteen injured last week, as well as that in a supermarket in El Paso in 2019 which left 22 dead and 23 injured.

The Texan elected to the House of Representatives of the United States Veronica Escobar estimated Wednesday that Greg Abbott had "chosen to betray the victims of violence by firearms" by promulgating the law.

"Despite strong support for legislation to prevent gun violence, Republicans, led by a cowardly governor, are more interested in attracting the attention of the gun lobby than they are in preventing violence. by firearms and to pay tribute to the victims and survivors of El Paso and across Texas, ”she tweeted.

Representative Vikki Goodwin asked the governor on Monday to veto the law after the shooting in Austin.

"We must intervene to break this vicious circle," she said.

World

United States: Fourteen injured in shooting in Austin, Texas

World

United States: Two dead and at least 20 people injured in Florida shooting

  • Violence

  • Weapons

  • Shooting

  • United States

  • Texas

  • World