Gun violence and gun control in Texas

The State of Texas is considered to have some of the most constitutionally adherent gun laws in the United States. Public concerns over gun control in Texas have increased in recent years as Mexican drug cartels continue to commit violent crimes closer to Texas' stretch of the Mexico–United States border.

The debate over gun control laws generally produces three arguments:

The majority of criminal justice activity in the United States takes place at the state and local levels. The U.S. federal government supports these local efforts through national leadership and financial assistance. However, the federal government has used its regulatory authority over interstate affairs to prohibit activities on a nationwide basis that are regarded as contributing to criminal activity. Title IV (State Firearms Control Assistance) and the 1968 Gun Control Act were two federal reactions to handgun violence. More recently, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was passed in 1993 and sets national minimum requirements for firearms purchases. The main focus of the Brady Act is to prevent felons from obtaining firearms.

According to the Open Society Institute, generally a lobbyist for gun control, in March 2000, Texas received a score of negative six (−6) when evaluated on the restrictions imposed by its gun control laws. Each state was scored on 30 criteria, with each criterion assigned a maximum numeric value between 0 and 7. States scoring highest on each criterion are considered to have the toughest gun laws. The only states scoring lower than Texas are Alaska, Louisiana, and Maine.

A factor for Texas' low ranking is its lack of minimum legal age requirements for gun possession.

During the 2009/2010 fiscal year, the Texas Department of Public Safety issued 123,325 concealed handgun licenses. During that same period, 622 applications were denied, 590 licenses were suspended, and 539 were revoked. Harris County issued the greatest number of licenses in Texas. Over 16%, or 20,564, of all licenses issued within Texas were issued in Harris County.

...
Wikipedia