TX :"Constitutional Carry" Bill - 2017 Session

[RoyGBiv]

Representative White managed to get his Constitutional Carry Bill assigned as HB 1911.
Hopefully a few gun grabbers lose their minds over that bit of political playfulness.

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&Bill=HB1911
Relating to granting authority to carry a firearm to an unlicensed person who otherwise meets certain requirements for a handgun license and to related criminal offenses; creating a criminal offense.

TSRA has come out to support it.

Unfortunately, HB 560, a far more impactful bill removing almost all off-limits places for license holders, doesn't seem to be garnering the same political capital. Both worth watching if you live in or travel to Texas.

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&Bill=HB560

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I would worry that constitutional carry would lead to another wave of 30.06/30.07 type signs (might need modifications as licenses are abolished). That is the unintended but serious consequence of these sort of bills. When gun grabbers lose their minds - they launch waves of attacks on carry by bans. They give out free signs to stores, etc.

Get rid of the bans (and screw all the private property/ business is my castle blather). We don't need another law that sound so hip-hip hurray

[Peally]

If it's anything like Wisconsin the signs are worth less than the plastic they're printed on. Free door decorations to ignore.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Not here. The signs have the force of law. Originally, any old sign would work. They were called 'ghostbusters'. A red circle and line through a gun image. Easy to put up. Then the TSRA and progun folks designed the 30.06 sign against CHLs and they were pretty obnoxious and large. There weren't to many of them. You saw them mainly on medical and hospitals. Not that many businesses.

When 'open carry' came along and we saw the derp brigade on the march - the corresponding 30.07 signs (still large) were not seen as that bad and many places put them up. So major locales were banning OC. That's not that bad unless you have a RKBA purity fit but pragmatically most folks carry concealed and were not affected. However, the antigun folks and sign markers started to encourage a 30.06 and 30.07 - so quite a few places now banned concealed carry.

Signs were mailed to businesses and distributed by state legislators in safe districts that were antigun.

The net gain was OC which you hardly ever see. I've never seen it in San Antonio or Austin or even some small towns. But we lost businesses and also from a PR standpoint, kids and neutral folks see large signs saying carrying handguns is in someway dangerous and needs to be banned.

Now, I fear constitutional carry and the new signage needed will just exacerbate this. I'm sure if it was to pass - signage would be thrown in and it would ban all carry as a simple measure. The 30.07 places will put up these for the most part and we get a large loss.

Remember - I've said that banning is the way to make carry useless. Look at the folks here who won't carry or leave the gun in the car if they have to go to a banned location.

Reducing the fee might be useful and proposed but I see a pragmatic net loss if CC is done the way I say. That doesn't affect purists - who love the righteous even if it hurts them practically.

Of course, we cycle back to the private property business purists who will demand the signage rights and screw carry. I could rant about them but have done that elsewhere.

[Peally]

What constitutes force of law? In WI if you're "made" they can simply ask you to leave. On refusal, it's a minor trespass violation. I've yet to meet a single cop that's ever been involved with a case regarding CCW against a sign's wishes.

Regardless, I won't even get started on twats leaving guns at home because Panera Bread told them to.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Effective January 1, 2016, it is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $200 for a license holder to carry a concealed handgun onto private property after receiving effective notice under §30.06, Texas Penal Code, or to openly carry a handgun onto private property after receiving effective notice under §30.07, Texas Penal Code. Note, after January 1, 2016, the offense will be enhanced to a Class A misdemeanor if it is shown at trial that, after entering the property, the license holder was personally given the notice by oral communication described by Subsection (b) (of §30.06 or §30.07)and subsequently failed to depart.

I am not a lawyer - but if there is effective and correct signage and you are spotted - the law could be called and you go for a Class C. If you refuse to leave it's Class A. That's a year max and $4000. But I'm not a legal expert on that.

If there have been such arrests, a casual google didn't bring any up.

[Chance]

The net gain was OC which you hardly ever see. I've never seen it in San Antonio or Austin or even some small towns.


I actually saw my first open carrier just the other day. Dipshit threeper dressed head-to-toe in 90's-era military surplus and a Glock on his hip. :rolleyes: