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To live in Texas is to live surrounded by guns.
Each morning, people strap guns inside suits, boots, bras and bellyband holsters that render them invisible. They stash firearms in purses and tool boxes and even take guns to protests at the state Capitol. wapo.st/3tfaJxH
Each morning, people strap guns inside suits, boots, bras and bellyband holsters that render them invisible. They stash firearms in purses and tool boxes and even take guns to protests at the state Capitol. wapo.st/3tfaJxH
Neighbors tuck guns into bedside tables, cars and trucks. They take guns fishing, to church, the park, the pool and the gym. The convention center even hosts gun shows where shoppers peruse AR-15’s and high-capacity magazines outlawed in other states.
Texans have purchased about 5.8 million firearms since 2020, more than any other state, according to a Washington Post estimate based on federal background checks.
Texans have purchased about 5.8 million firearms since 2020, more than any other state, according to a Washington Post estimate based on federal background checks.
It has been legal to openly carry guns like rifles for generations. But Texas’s gun-friendly attitude isn’t just a relic of the Old West and ranching: Many restrictions on handguns were loosened only recently. wapo.st/3tfaJxH
Last year, the rate at which Texans purchased guns was nearly double that of California, according to a Washington Post estimate. wapo.st/3tfaJxH
Unlike California and some other blue states, Texas has no state firearm sales registry, no required waiting period to buy a gun, no law guarding against the mentally ill or violent having weapons, no restrictions on the size of ammunition magazines and no background checks for guns purchased in a private sale.
Experts said it’s difficult to estimate how many guns there are overall in Texas.
The attraction to guns has grown not despite the state’s increased numbers of mass killings — Texas has had the most of any state from 2015 to this year, 30 in total — but because of them, according to gun owners.
The attraction to guns has grown not despite the state’s increased numbers of mass killings — Texas has had the most of any state from 2015 to this year, 30 in total — but because of them, according to gun owners.
While a majority of Americans favor stricter gun laws and say it’s too easy to obtain a gun, many Texans see guns as a solution to the problem, not the problem itself. wapo.st/3tfaJxH
Without their weapons, more than two dozen gun owners said in interviews, they feel nervous.
They worry about crime, after a spike in murders during the pandemic, even though rates of homicide and other serious crimes are largely down this year in the United States. They also say they worry about government overreach and societal collapse.
They worry about crime, after a spike in murders during the pandemic, even though rates of homicide and other serious crimes are largely down this year in the United States. They also say they worry about government overreach and societal collapse.
They take solace in knowing that they’re armed and that someone else around them probably is, too; some relish spotting the telltale imprint of a concealed gun.
“It’s part of being Texan,” said Will Moravits, 45, a seventh-generation Texan. wapo.st/3tfaJxH
“It’s part of being Texan,” said Will Moravits, 45, a seventh-generation Texan. wapo.st/3tfaJxH
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