Texas House passes bills making it easier to carry guns

AUSTIN, Texas, May 5 (UPI) -- The Texas House passed 13 gun bills lowering permit costs for some and reducing the number of hours required in classroom instruction for a permit.

The bills would cut permit costs in half for military and National Guardsmen, and allow concealed handguns on college campuses, The Houston Chronicle reported Saturday.

Elementary schools could also get school marshals under the legislation, The Dallas Morning News said.

Heated arguments took place over the passage of the bills, which would nullify the new federal gun control laws, The Dallas Morning News said.

Any cities or counties that attempted to enforce the new federal law would lose state grant money and the Texas attorney general would sue and pursue fines against law enforcement officials who tried to enforce the law.

Rep. Chris Turner, D-Arlington, said the passage of the bills into law would only serve as a political statement against Washington and would cost taxpayers money. If the bills become law, he said, it would be challenged, the state attorney general would go to court and Texas would inevitably lose.