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One in 28 Texans Licensed to Carry a Handgun

CNN/Texas Department of Public Safety/US Census Bureau

There are almost 28 million people living in Texas, and more than 1 million of them are licensed to carry a handgun, reports CNN.That’s one out of every 28 people. Dallas County has the third highest number of gun licensees in the state, following Harris (139,563) and Tarrant (71,504) counties.

Texans are required to have a license to carry a handgun. But no such permit is required for a rifle or shotgun. In fact, one man was seen walking among the protesters in Dallas last week with a rife slung across his shoulder.

A "handgun"is defined as "any firearm that is designed, made, or adapted to be fired with one hand."45 States allow some form of open carry, including Texas. Only New York, Florida, Illinois, South Carolina and California ban open carry. A handgun license in Texas costs $140.