MOSCOW (Sputnik) – "New Open Carry Law goes into effect today. Please read through our brochures for further information on the new law," Texas Harris County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Friday.
Texas allowed carrying rifles and shotguns in the open, but the old open carry did not apply to handguns.
Open carry is not allowed on the premises of a school or any other educational institution, as well as school or educational institution transport and any other location where activities sponsored by a school or education institution are being held.
With the passage of the new Texas law, there are now 45 US states that allow carrying weapons openly. Open carry is banned in California, Florida, Illinois, New York and South Carolina.
Texas, where carrying handguns in plain sight was banned just after the Civil War, is now the largest state to allow open carry.
The new Texas open carry comes amid a growing number of mass shooting incidents in the United States, which has prompted calls for greater gun control.
Americans have the right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the US Constitution.
