Updated May 29, 2019, with details about Gov. Greg Abbott signing the bill into law.

AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a bill into law lifting the state's ban on brass knuckles, kitty keychains and other self-defense items.

Abbott signed House Bill 446 on Saturday; the new law will go into effect Sept. 1. Bill author Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, said lifting the ban was "another step" toward getting rid of "antiquated laws regarding weapons."

"We did it with switchblades. We did it with knives and now with knuckles," Moody said May 15, when the Texas Senate gave the bill final passage. "Hopefully, now, with this on the way to the governor, we can ensure these types of laws aren't being used inappropriately to go after folks who have legitimate tools of self defense."

1 / 2Kitty key chains like this will no longer be illegal on Sept. 1, 2019. (Courtesy of anonymous reader) 2 / 2Brass knuckles and a pistol holster that were in Jack Ruby's possession at the time of his arrest after he murdered Lee Harvey Oswald are presented along with other historical documents and memorabilia connected to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy during a press conference in Dallas, Monday, Feb. 18, 2008. Brass knuckles like these have been banned in Texas for more than 45 years; that prohibition will be lifted Sept. 1. (Tony Gutierrez / AP)

It's legal to openly carry handguns (with a license) and rifles in Texas, and in 2017, lawmakers eliminated a 145-year-old ban on carrying knives in public. But brass knuckles remain illegal. Simply possessing something that fits this description — including plastic "kitty keychains" and other self defense items — is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to $4,000 in fines and a year in jail.

In 2017, 93 people were convicted under the state's knuckles ban, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Criminal justice advocates say brass knuckles bans — like laws against switchblades — have been used as a way to more easily charge people suspected of of other illegal activities, especially communities of color. Moody's bill would lift this ban 40+-year ban and also legalize the carrying of clubs.

Moody filed the legislation after The Dallas Morning News published a story about Kyli Phillips, a Carrollton resident who was arrested for "possession of a prohibited weapon" because she had a plastic kitty keychain in her purse. She has not been formally charged with a crime, but the case has not been dropped.

"The story reported out of North Texas certainly crystallized the problem with the law and put a face to the issue so that we could finally address it," Moody added.

Phillips' mother said she was happy her daughter's story might effect a change in the law.

"I'm so glad to see that people are still able to recognize when a law is outdated and no longer fitting within our state and that there is someone out there still willing to push to do the right thing," Kelly Broeker said. "It's refreshing and needs to happen more often."