Texas' attorney general says licensed handgun owners can legally carry firearms into some churches in the wake of a gunman killing 26 worshippers during a Sunday service.

Republican Ken Paxton said Thursday exceptions are churches with posted signs banning firearms. He issued the opinion nearly two months after the massacre in the town of Sutherland Springs.

Paxton suggested after the Nov. 5 shooting that churches need armed parishioners or professional security. He also clarified Thursday that a state law passed this year exempts churches from paying certain private security fees.

U.S. House Republicans this month rammed through a bill that would make it easier for gun owners to legally carry concealed weapons across state lines. The vote was the first significant action on guns in Congress since the church shooting.