Texas allows guns to be carried without a permit.
The criticism and horror of the new law are huge.
Austin - A controversial law has been passed in the US state of Texas.
In the Lone Star State in the south of the country, carrying weapons is permitted from September 1st without a permit.
The law was signed on Wednesday by Republican Senator Greg Abbott.
Accordingly, anyone who is at least 21 years of age and is not subject to any express restriction on carrying weapons may carry a weapon in public.
Texas Passes Controversial Gun Act: Carrying Guns Allowed Without Permit
Texas is thus the most populous state in the USA that allows the so-called "open carry".
In more than 40 other US states, carrying a weapon openly is already partially or fully permitted.
The new regulation was passed by the Republican-dominated Senate and the House of Representatives in Texas in May.
Proponents argued that the U.S. and Texas constitutions allow guns to be carried in public.
Senator Abbott announced that he would bring the law into effect if both houses of parliament passed it.
Texas: Big criticism of the new gun law - "I don't get it"
But the criticism of the new law is great.
“I don't understand why firearms should improve something in everyday life,” said Democrat Diego Bernal, for example, who voted against the law.
Opponents of the new regulation come mainly from the ranks of the Democrats.
They argue that easing the use of guns could lead to an increase in violence, citing the firearms attack in the Texas capital Austin, in which one person was killed and 13 injured last week, and the shooting in a supermarket in El Paso 2019, in which there were 22 dead and 23 injured.
MP Veronica Escobar accused Abbott on Twitter of "betraying the victims of gun violence."
The Democrat Vikki Goodwin had unsuccessfully appealed to the governor to veto the law.
US President Joe Bide is campaigning for stricter gun laws
It was only in March that US President Joe Biden reacted with several deaths after a firearms attack in the state of Colorado and spoke out in favor of stricter gun laws. "We have to act," said Biden. "We can save lives." The Democratic President called on the Senate to pass two bills that have already been passed by the Democrat-dominated House of Representatives, with which gun buyers and owners are to be scrutinized more strictly. "That shouldn't be a party-political matter," he warned and called for war-like weapons such as assault rifles to be banned.
(md with AFP / dpa)