Sunday, September 1st marks the beginning of several new laws in Texas. You'll be allowed to wear and use brass knuckles for self-defense, the minimum smoking age will rise to 21 and stealing a package from someone's front porch has a much higher penalty than before.

Texas House Bill 37 makes stealing mail (packages, letters, postcards) a felony.  If convicted one could serve anywhere from six months to ten years, with a fine of $4,000 to $10,000 on top of that. If the victim is a senior citizen the charge could be even larger. Before the crime was simply a misdemeanor and you were served a ticket.

With the high penalty and the rise in doorbell cameras hopefully, the crime rate will drop. Imagine spending half a year behind bars for swiping a postcard. "What are you in for?" "Ummm, uhhhh.... I.. I.. I.. don't want to talk about it."

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