8/9/2019 Locations Where Concealed Carry is Prohibited in Texas

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Locations Where Concealed Carry is Prohibited

in the State of TexasJuly 10, 2013

(per Texas Penal Code 46.03 and 46.035)

1. On thepremisesof a bar (an establishment that earns 51% or more of its income from the sale of alcohol for on-

site consumption). Bars are required to post a red "51%" sign at the entrance.

2. On thepremiseswhere a high school, collegiate, or professional sporting event or interscholastic event is taking

place.

3. On thepremisesof a correctional facility (e.g., jail, prison, youth correctional facility).

4. "On the physicalpremisesof a school or educational institution, any grounds or building on which an activity

sponsored by a school or educational institution is being conducted, or a passenger transportation vehicle of a

school or institution, whether the school or educational institution is public or private, unless pursuant to

written regulations or written authorization of the institution."

5. On thepremisesof a polling place on Election Day or during early voting.

6. "On thepremisesof any government court or offices utilized by the court, unless pursuant to written regulations

or written authorization of the court."

7. On thepremisesof a racetrack.

8. In the secured area of an airport.

9. Within 1,000 feet of a place of execution on a day that a sentence of death is set to be imposed, if the CHLholder is notified that possessing a firearm within 1,000 feet of the premises is prohibited.

10.On property where a legally enforceable 30.06 sign is posted. In order to be legally enforceable, the sign must

meet the size, language, and posting requirements described in Texas Penal Code 30.06. These requirements

include the stipulation that, with the exception of hospitals and governmental meetings, the property cannot be

owned or leased by a governmental entity.

11. In any federal "gun free zone" (e.g., federal buildings, post offices) that applies to CHL holders. Per Title 18, Part

1, Chapter 44, 922(q)(2)(B)(ii), United States Code, a holder of a Texas concealed handgun license is exempt

from federal "gun free school zones" within the state of Texas. The federal "gun free school zone" law applies

only to primary and secondary schools and does not affect colleges or other institutions of postsecondary

education.

12.Anywhere while the CHL holder is "intoxicated" (state law does not define "intoxicated" with regard to

concealed carry; law enforcement officials have and exercise broad discretion in this area).

NOTE: "Premises" means a building or a portion of a building. The term does not include any public or private

driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area.

8/9/2019 Locations Where Concealed Carry is Prohibited in Texas

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Clearing up Confusion about Where Licensed Concealed

Carry is Prohibited in the State of TexasJuly 10, 2013

In 1997, then-Governor George W. Bush ratified a change (46.035[i]) to Texas Penal Code46.035,amending thestatutory prohibitions against licensed concealed carry in hospitals, amusement parks, houses of worship, andgovernmental meetings. Under the revised law, the prohibition against carrying in one of those locations applies

only ifthe entrance to the location is conspicuously posted with the specific sign described in Texas Penal Code 30.06(the same sign that can be used to prohibit concealed carry on any private property). This change effectively placedhospitals, amusement parks, houses of worship, and governmental meetings under the same rules as most privatebusinessesconcealed carry is allowed there unless the property is posted with an enforceable 30.06 sign.

In 2003, Governor Rick Perry ratified an amendment (30.06[e]) to Texas Penal Code 30.06, disallowing the use of the30.06 sign to prohibit concealed carry on property that is owned or leased by a state or municipal governmental entityand that is not a place where concealed carry is statutorily prohibited. This meant that, except for federal buildings andlocations listed in Texas Penal Code46.03or 46.035, concealed carry could no longer be prohibited in public buildingsor offices.

Texas Penal Code 46.03(a)(1) prohibits possession (including licensed concealed carry) of a firearm on the physicalpremises of a college. According to Texas Penal Code 46.035(f)(3), Premises means a building or a portion of a

building. The term does not include any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parkinggarage, or other parking area. This means that concealed carry is only prohibited inside campus bui ld ings . Concealedcarry is currently legal on the sidewalks, walkways, parking lots, parking garages, and other open, outdoor areas of Texascollege campuses. However, colleges can and do use administrative policies to place further restrictions on students andemployees, as a condition of enrollment or employment. As of September 1, 2013, colleges will no longer be allowed toenforce any administrative policy prohibiting a student or employee who possesses a concealed handgun licenserecognized by the State of Texas from storing a loaded handgun in a locked motor vehicle parked in a campus parking lot

In the seventeen and a half years since licensed concealed carry became legal in Texas, license holders have alwaysbeen allowed to carry concealed handguns inside the Texas Capitol. However, in 2009, some opponents of the push tolegalize licensed concealed carry at Texas colleges argued that concealed carry is restricted in the Texas Capitol and thatlegislators who support campus carryclearly want a double standard for themselves.

In truth, the Capitol restrictions in question applied (per Texas Penal Code 30.06[e], 46.035[c], and 46.035[i]) only tothe viewing galleries of the House and Senate and were only in effect for two sessions (2007 and 2009) in the Senate andone session (2009) in the House. During those sessions, the balconies overlooking the House and Senate chamberswere secured with metal detectors and state troopers whenever the respective legislative body was assembled.

Campus carry opponents apparently saw nothing illogical about comparing an open college campus the size of a smallcity to an easily secured viewing gallery where adequate screening measures ensured that the area was gun-free in morethan name only and where visitors were always under the watchful eye of armed police officers.

In aFebruary 17, 2009, interview with News 8 Austin,Representative Charlie Geren, Chairman of the HouseAdministration Committeethe committee charged with overseeing security measures in the House galleryexplainedthe increased security in the galleries, stating, "The big challenge for DPS is not protecting against someone with ahandgun; it's someone who comes in and wants to blow people up." However, because there was no process in place toallow Department of Public Safety officers to screen only for i l legalweapons, all weapons were banned from the galleries

In the summer of 2010, metal detectors were installed at all entrances to the Texas Capitol, and the metal detectorssecuring the viewing galleries were removed. Because it was never the intent of the State Preservation Board to restrictlicensed concealed carry in the Capitol, a special entry line was created, allowing concealed handgun license holders tobypass the metal detectors.

Licensed concealed carry isnow allowedthroughoutthe Texas Capitol. In light of the fact that Texas legislators cannotrestrict concealed carry in their own Capitol offices, it is more than a little unfair to suggest that legislators who supportcampus carry are looking to require anything of public colleges that they dont already require of themselves.

As the debate on campus carry continues, there is an ironic contrast between the Texas Capitol, where its possible tocarry a concealed handgun legally but not illegally, and the premises of any Texas college, where its possible to carry aconcealed handgun illegally but not legally.

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