Texas poised for unlicensed carrying of handguns

Texas is poised to remove one of its last gun restrictions after lawmakers approved allowing people to carry handguns without a license, and the background check and training that go with it. The Republican-dominated Legislature approved the measure on Monday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has said he will sign it.

Gun control groups also oppose the measure, noting the state's recent history of mass shootings. Texas already has some of the loosest gun laws in the country and has more than 1.6 million handgun license holders. Supporters of the bill say it would allow Texans to better defend themselves in public.

Once signed into law, Texas will join nearly two dozen other states that allow some form of unregulated carry of a handgun. The measure sent to Abbott who would allow anyone age 21 or older to carry a handgun as long as they don't have violent crime convictions or some other legal prohibition in their background. But there would be no way to weed them out without the state background check currently in the licensing process.