As Texas reels from its second mass shooting in a month, a raft of new state laws have come into effect loosening regulations and easing access to guns.

House Bill 1143 updates the Texas Education Code to “prevent school districts from regulating the manner in which a licensed person’s handgun, firearm, or ammunition is stored in their vehicle in a school parking area” while Senate Bill 535 permits licensed handgun owners to to carry firearms in places of worship.

House Bill 2363 makes it legal for foster homes to store firearms and ammunition and House Bill 302 bars homeowners or landlords from preventing their tenants from possessing, carrying, transporting or storing a gun at the property they are renting.

“We have learned many times over that there is no such thing as a gun-free zone,” state senator Donna Campbell told CNN, defending legislation she co-sponsored. “Those with evil intentions will violate the law and carry out their heinous acts no matter what. It makes no sense to disarm the good guys and leave law-abiding citizens defenceless where violent offenders break the law to do great harm.”

All four bills were passed during the 86th Texas legislature, becoming law on Sunday 1 September, a day after seven people were killed and at least 19 injured in the towns of Midland and Odessa when a gunman described as a white male in his 30s went on a shooting spree before being killed by police.

Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings Show all 31 1 /31 Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton Demonstrators chant as they protest the arrival of President Donald Trump outside Miami Valley Hospital after a mass shooting that occurred in the Oregon District AP Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso Trump headed to El Paso, after visiting Dayton, Ohio to offer a message of healing and unity, but he was met by hostility in both places by people who fault his own incendiary words as a contributing cause to the mass shootings AP Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso, University Medical Centre US President Donald Trump greets first responders as he visits El Paso Regional Communications Centre AFP/Getty Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso, University Medical Centre An anti-Trump protestor holds a sign as police are lined up outside University Medical Centre Getty Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso Demonstrators hold a sign as the motorcade carrying President Donald Trump departs a joint operations center after meeting with first responders after the El Paso mass shooting, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Evan Vucci AP Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso Anti-Trump protesters hold a banner outside the makeshift memorial to the victims of the WalMart shooting that left a total of 22 people dead, in El Paso, Texas, on August 7, 2019. - President Donald Trump consoled victims of a mass shooting in Ohio on Wednesday but protesters and opponents denounced what they say is his extremist rhetoric on race and immigration. The president's trip to Dayton, where nine people were gunned down over the weekend, was to be followed immediately after by a stop in the border city of El Paso, Texas, where 22 were murdered. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP)MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images MARK RALSTON AFP/Getty Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton Demonstrators gather to protest the arrival of President Donald Trump outside Miami Valley Hospital after a mass shooting that occurred in the Oregon District early Sunday morning, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, in Dayton. Twenty-four-year-old Connor Betts opened fire in Dayton early Sunday, killing several people including his sister, before officers fatally shot him. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) John Minchillo AP Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke hugs a woman at a makeshift memorial outside Walmart honoring victims of the mass shooting there which left 22 people dead. Getty Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso Anti-Trump protesters hold signs outside the makeshift memorial to the victims of the WalMart shooting that left a total of 22 people dead, in El Paso, Texas, on August 7, 2019. - President Donald Trump consoled victims of a mass shooting in Ohio on Wednesday but protesters and opponents denounced what they say is his extremist rhetoric on race and immigration. The president's trip to Dayton, where nine people were gunned down over the weekend, was to be followed immediately after by a stop in the border city of El Paso, Texas, where 22 were murdered. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP)MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images MARK RALSTON AFP/Getty Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso Marisela Hernandez holds sign to protest the visit of President Donald Trump to the border city after the Aug. 3 mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. Aiming to play the traditional role of healer during national tragedy, President Donald Trump paid visits Wednesday to cities reeling from the mass shootings. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton) Andres Leighton AP Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso, University Medical Centre An anti-Trump demonstrator holds up a placard outside the University Medical Center, where U.S. President Donald Trump holds a meeting with first responders in the wake of last weekend's mass shootings at a Walmart store, in El Paso, Texas, U.S., August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ Reuters Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso, University Medical Centre President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greet PFC Glendon Oakley (second right), who saved several lives during the mass shooting in Texas AFP/Getty Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton Demonstrators chant as they protest the arrival of President Donald Trump outside Miami Valley Hospital after a mass shooting that occurred in the Oregon District early Sunday morning, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, in Dayton. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) John Minchillo AP Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso, University Medical Centre An anti-Trump demonstrator holds up a placard as police block the area outside the University Medical Center, where U.S. President Donald Trump holds a meeting with first responders in the wake of last weekend's mass shootings at a Walmart store, in El Paso, Texas, U.S., August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ Reuters/Amanda Voisard Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso Beto ORourke consoles a man at the makeshift memorial outside Walmart Getty Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso, University Medical Centre An anti-Trump demonstrator yells near police outside the University Medical Centre Reuters Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso TOPSHOT - El Paso residents protest against the visit of US President Donald Trump to the city after the Walmart shooting that left a total of 22 people dead, in El Paso, Texas, on August 7, 2019. - President Donald Trump consoled victims of a mass shooting in Ohio on Wednesday but protesters and opponents denounced what they say is his extremist rhetoric on race and immigration. The president's trip to Dayton, where nine people were gunned down over the weekend, was to be followed immediately after by a stop in the border city of El Paso, Texas, where 22 were murdered. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP)MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images MARK RALSTON AFP/Getty Images Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings Dayton President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base AP Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso Makeshift memorial for victims of the shooting that left a total of 22 people dead at the Cielo Vista Mall Walmart AFP/Getty Images Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton Demonstrators gather to protest the arrival of President Donald Trump outside Miami Valley Hospital after a mass shooting that occurred in the Oregon District early Sunday morning, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, in Dayton. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) John Minchillo AP Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings President Trump greets Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley as he arrives at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base AFP/Getty Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton Demonstrators gather to protest the arrival of President Donald Trump outside Miami Valley Hospital after a mass shooting that occurred in the Oregon District early Sunday morning, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. Twenty-four-year-old Connor Betts opened fire in Dayton early Sunday, killing several people including his sister, before officers fatally shot him. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) John Minchillo AP Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings Dayton Damon Smith presents a message to President Donald Trump beside a makeshift memorial in Dayton AP Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton Demonstrators gather in front of an inflatable "Baby Trump" to protest the presidents arrival AP Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton Demonstrators gather to protest the arrival of President Donald Trump outside Miami Valley Hospital after a mass shooting that occurred in the Oregon District early Sunday morning, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, in Dayton. President Donald Trump is headed to Dayton and El Paso, Texas on Wednesday to offer a message of healing and unity, but he will be met by unusual hostility in both places by people who fault his own incendiary words as a contributing cause to the mass shootings . (AP Photo/John Minchillo) John Minchillo AP Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso A photo of victim Javier Amir Rodriguez, a 15-year-old sophomore Getty Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings Dayton Demonstrators protest the visit of US President Donald Trump to the site of the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, on August 7, 2019. - Nine people were killed on August 4 in the city's popular Oregon District. (Photo by Megan JELINGER / AFP)MEGAN JELINGER/AFP/Getty Images MEGAN JELINGER AFP/Getty Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso A message is left for Donald Trump AFP/Getty Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso Signs and flags adorn the makeshift memorial for victims of the shooting that left a total of 22 people dead at the Cielo Vista Mall Walmart, in El Paso, Texas, on August 7, 2019. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP)MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images MARK RALSTON AFP/Getty Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso People hug at the makeshift memorial AFP/Getty Trump protests: President visits Texas and Ohio after mass shootings El Paso People pray at the makeshift memorial AFP/Getty

The attack follows the murder of 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso's Cielo Vista Mall on 3 August by 21-year-old shooter Patrick Crusius, who posted a white nationalist manifesto on 8chan prior to embarking on his terror campaign complaining about “the Hispanic invasion of Texas”, echoing racist rhetoric used by Donald Trump and his campaign on Facebook.

In response to the latest mass shooting, Texas governor Greg Abbot said in a statement: “The first lady and I are heartbroken over this senseless and cowardly attack, and we offer our unwavering support to the victims, their families and all the people of Midland and Odessa.

“I want to remind all Texans that we will not allow the Lone Star State to be overrun by hatred and violence. We will unite, as Texans always do, to respond to this tragedy.”

Vice president Mike Pence said following the shooting that Mr Trump and his administration “remain absolutely determined” to work with leaders in both parties in Congress to take such steps “so we can address and confront this scourge of mass atrocities in our country.”

But after initially backing stricter background checks in response to El Paso and a second incident on the same day in Dayton, Ohio, Mr Trump’s appetite to address gun control and stand up to the influence of all-powerful lobby group the National Rifle Association appears to have waned, the president since preferring to blame video games and mental health concerns for America’s gun violence epidemic.

On Sunday, Mr Trump thanked local law enforcement for their quick action in Odessa and described the incident vaguely as, ”A very tough and sad situation!”

Democratic Party leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have meanwhile called on Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell to hear the HR8 background checks bill the House of Representatives passed in February.

“Enough is enough. Every day, the gun violence epidemic inflicts a devastating toll in communities across America, this time in west Texas. The @SenateGOP must end its obstruction & finally pass House-approved legislation to #EndGunViolence,” House speaker Ms Pelosi tweeted.

El Paso native and Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke echoed her sentiments on CNN’s State of the Union: “If we don’t call it out for what it is, if we’re not able to speak clearly… act decisively, then we will continue to have this kind of bloodshed in America and I cannot accept that.”