AUSTIN, Texas — Texas lawmakers have given final approval to allowing people carry handguns without a license, and the background check and training that go with it.
The Republican-dominated Legislature approved the measure Monday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott.
The governor has said he will sign it despite the objections from law enforcement groups who worry it would endanger police and the public.
Gun control groups opposing it also point to the state’s recent history of major mass shootings, though those were primarily carried out with assault-style rifles.
Supporters of the bill say it would allow Texans to better defend themselves in public while abolishing unnecessary impediments to the constitutional right to bear arms.
Once signed into law, Texas will join nearly two dozen other states that allow some form of unregulated carry of a handgun, and by far the most populous.