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Several new firearm laws took hold in Texas on Sunday, loosening restrictions as to when and where weapons can be carried, one day after the state was rocked by a shooting in which a gunman killed seven and wounded at least 21. A man opened fire during a traffic stop in Midland, Texas, on Saturday afternoon, firing at random as he drove down the highway and into Odessa. The shootings came less than a month after a gunman killed 22 people in El Paso and wounded two dozen more. Texas has seen 4 of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern history. (Dugyala, 9/1)

Supporters of the new laws argue they empower law-abiding citizens who carry firearms legally and ensure they are not defenseless when violence breaks out. The backers also said these changes protect their constitutional right to bear arms. “It makes no sense to disarm the good guys and leave law-abiding citizens defenseless where violent offenders break the law to do great harm,” said Texas state Sen. Donna Campbell, a Republican, said earlier this year. Gun-control groups have criticized these laws, arguing that instead of protecting public safety, they put more people in danger. (Fung and Findell, 9/1)

Abbott has long been a staunch advocate for gun access. He has encouraged private gun ownership, at one point telling his fellow Texans to “pick up the pace” of their gun purchases because he was “embarrassed” that California led the US in gun sales. A pro-gun agenda has enjoyed support within the Republican-majority Texas state legislature, where ten bills became law at the end of the legislative session in June, and were signed into law by Abbott shortly thereafter. These went into effect on Sunday. (Van Wagtendonk, 9/1)

He said the law removing the limit on armed marshals at schools was prompted by a mass shooting in May 2018 at a high school in Santa Fe in which eight students and two teachers were killed. He also said the legislation allowing gun owners to bring their weapons to church resulted from a shooting rampage in November 2017 that left 27 dead at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs. But the governor added that there remains a "sense of urgency to arrive at solutions" to the rampant gun violence sweeping the state and country. (Hutchinson, 9/1)

“Four of the deadliest mass shootings in the last decade have taken place in Texas,” Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, a national group working to end gun violence, told NBC News. “Instead of following other states' lead and passing life-saving legislation, like background checks and strong red flag laws, Texas’ governor and legislature have made even more lax gun laws,” she said. (Kesslen, 9/1)

Here are the sweeping firearm laws going into effect. (9/1)