The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Texas Legislature’s recent decision to ban citizens from carrying guns in public violates the Constitution.
The justices decided that Texas could still ban concealed carry in public, but only in certain circumstances.
The ruling comes as Texas struggles with a string of shootings and a spike in homicides in the state.
On Friday, police in Austin shot and killed a 24-year-old man who had been suspected of robbing a bank.
On Sunday, a 23-year old man was killed after allegedly stabbing his girlfriend to death outside a Walgreens in Austin.
Both incidents were linked to the weekend’s mass shooting.
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In their unanimous decision, the high court’s five conservatives concluded that the state’s law prohibiting concealed carry is “necessary to prevent imminent harm to life or property,” according to the Dallas Morning News.
In this case, the court said, it is not the same as banning all firearms and the law “is not the equivalent of a ban on the use of firearms.”
The court’s ruling means that the U.K.’s legal framework for gun control will not apply in Texas, and it would be possible to bring a lawsuit against the state if the Supreme Court upholds the state law. The U
