Sébastien Le Belzic / Photo credits: Brandon Bell / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
modified to
08:52, March 4, 2024
D-1 before “Super Tuesday”, the crucial meeting during which 15 states simultaneously organize their Democratic and Republican primaries. In Texas, a very conservative state in the South of the United States, for example, you can carry a weapon without any restrictions and most residents are armed.
Texas should unsurprisingly vote for Donald Trump and the Republican Party in the upcoming presidential election. In this state, one of the most populous in the United States, it is possible to carry a weapon without any restrictions, and most residents are.
“I like the possibility of being able to defend the people I love”
Shady Oaks, in the south suburbs of Austin, is one of the most popular shooting ranges in Texas. Hundreds of people come to train there every day. Assault rifles and handguns are on sale there. Geneva, in her sixties, has just bought her first semi-automatic for less than $500: “A 9mm, especially for women, and I’m going to carry it with me all the time. I think it’s dangerous everywhere these days because borders that are open. I no longer feel safe here.”
“We have hunters, we have people who just come to train as a sport, we have people who are worried about their safety,” explains Vincent Mac Lhaney, the director of Shady Oaks. Safety is the main reason Texans never leave their guns behind. This is the case for John, a retired doctor: “I like the possibility of being able to defend the people I love and care about, especially since things are getting crazier and crazier here. I am always armed.”
If Joe Biden and the Democrats want to restrict access to weapons, this is not the case for the Republicans and in particular the government of Texas which even authorizes students to come to the University to arm themselves.