Come Friday, and the Texans are going to make true the phrase that “everything’s bigger in Texas”.
They are now legally allowed to carry blades that are longer than 5.5 inches.
They wouldn’t be permitted to carry blades longer than 5.5 inches to a set of defined places like schools and universities; school-, college- or sporting-events; amusement parts; places of worship; secure areas of the airports; polling booths/stations; bars and restaurants who make more than 51% of their income by selling alcoholic beverages for in-house consumption, and correctional facilities.
This geo-restriction was necessitated when Republican State Rep. John Frullo introduced the new law earlier this year and was immediately made to think over when a suspect wielding a hunting knife killed a student and wounded three others in the University of Texas.
- There is a minimum age restriction of 18 years to carry these blades and would require an adult supervision at all times.
- Violating this law is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a maximum of $10,000 fine and a third-degree felony charge slap.
- Texans can now openly the famous Jim Bowie knife, machete, spear, poniard, dagger, dirk, stiletto, throwing knife and sword.
Social media reactions to the new law have been swift and mixed, from being sceptical, to light-hearted to supportive.