Texas Concealed Carry Laws

S

stangfan93

New member
I know I know this has been done to death, but I can not for the life of me find a web site that has the current concealed carrys laws. A buddy of mine just purchased a pistol and he is carrying it in his car concealed with no license. I have tried to tell him that yes you can do that but I wouldn't do it because in the law (last time I heard) traveling is considered as crossing 2 county lines. Besides it would be best to have the CHL anyways. Who can help me out? Thanks for the help.
 
The current law says you can carry your handgun CONCEALED in your vehicle. Yes, it MUST be concealed to be legal. You can transport it back and forth from your house to your vehicle but you may not take it out at your destination unless it's a place where you would be allowed to have a handgun (such as at other property you own or at a shooting range).

There's more in the law but the gist of it has to do with being able to own the handgun legally and not being in the process of committing any crime more serious than a traffic Class C misdemeanor.

There's a lot of confusion on this topic. The original law, passed in the 1800s said you couldn't have a handgun but there was a precedent that said you could have it if you were "traveling". The law neglected to define traveling. At some point the legislature incorporated the precedent into the law so that the law actually stated you could have your handgun in the car if you were traveling. Still no definition of traveling. You could be stopped and arrested and it was YOUR job to prove you were traveling and therefore innocent.

Then, a few years back the legislature passed a new law that said if you had a handgun in your vehicle (and defined a few other pre-requisites) that you were PRESUMED to be traveling. The goal was to allow handguns carried in vehicles by law-abiding citizens, but the law was not carefully crafted. Several DA's made public that they believed they could continue to treat handguns in vehicles exactly as before. The law essentially placed the burden of proof on the state. They had to PRESUME you were traveling and if they were going to prosecute they had to come up with proof that you were NOT traveling. That would be hard to do, but the DA's instructed the police that the first question they should ask was "Where are you going?". You could answer that you were going to the corner store for ice cream which would pretty much destroy any presumption that you were traveling.

Anyway, that made the legislature mad because they (correctly) believed that the DA's mentioned above were thumbing their noses at the law. So, the next legislative session the legislature passed a far more lenient and much clearer law. If you're in your car with a legally owned CONCEALED handgun and you're not committing any crime other that a traffic misdemeanor then you can't be prosecuted for having the handgun.

There should be no locales "messing with you", the new law is VERY clear. If you are arrested, detained or have your handgun confiscated because you have a handgun in your vehicle (per the law below) then I would guess that you would have grounds for a lawsuit.

Here's the exact text of the law.

§ 46.02. UNLAWFUL CARRYING WEAPONS. (a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun, illegal knife, or club if the person is not:
(1) on the person's own premises or premises under the person's control; or
(2) inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle that is owned by the person or under the person's control.
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun in a motor vehicle that is owned by the person or under the person's control at any time in which:
(1) the handgun is in plain view; or
(2) the person is:
(A) engaged in criminal activity, other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance regulating traffic;
(B) prohibited by law from possessing a firearm;
or
(C) a member of a criminal street gang, as defined by Section 71.01.​
 
As of 9/07 if you qualify to legally own a gun you can carry a loaded, accessible, concealed handgun in your vehicle even if you do not have a Texas CHL.

The law:
H.B. No. 1815




AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of certain offenses that involve
carrying weapons on a person's property or in a person's vehicle.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 46.02, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to
read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person [he]
intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or
her person a handgun, illegal knife, or club if the person is not:
(1) on the person's own premises or premises under the
person's control; or
(2) inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle
that is owned by the person or under the person's control.
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person
intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or
her person a handgun in a motor vehicle that is owned by the person
or under the person's control at any time in which:
(1) the handgun is in plain view; or
(2) the person is:
(A) engaged in criminal activity, other than a
Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance
regulating traffic;
(B) prohibited by law from possessing a firearm;
or
(C) a member of a criminal street gang, as
defined by Section 71.01.
(a-2) For purposes of this section, "premises" includes
real property and a recreational vehicle that is being used as
living quarters, regardless of whether that use is temporary or
permanent. In this subsection, "recreational vehicle" means a motor
vehicle primarily designed as temporary living quarters or a
vehicle that contains temporary living quarters and is designed to
be towed by a motor vehicle. The term includes a travel trailer,
camping trailer, truck camper, motor home, and horse trailer with
living quarters.
SECTION 2. Section 46.15(b), Penal Code, as amended by
Chapters 1221 and 1261, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1997, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(b) Section 46.02 does not apply to a person who:
(1) is in the actual discharge of official duties as a
member of the armed forces or state military forces as defined by
Section 431.001, Government Code, or as a guard employed by a penal
institution;
(2) [is on the person's own premises or premises under
the person's control unless the person is an employee or agent of
the owner of the premises and the person's primary responsibility
is to act in the capacity of a security guard to protect persons or
property, in which event the person must comply with Subdivision
(5);
[(3)] is traveling;
(3) [(4)] is engaging in lawful hunting, fishing, or
other sporting activity on the immediate premises where the
activity is conducted, or is en route between the premises and the
actor's residence or motor vehicle, if the weapon is a type commonly
used in the activity;
(4) [(5)] holds a security officer commission issued
by the Texas [Board of Private Investigators and] Private Security
Board [Agencies], if:
(A) the person is engaged in the performance of
the person's duties as a security officer or traveling to and from
the person's place of assignment;
(B) the person is wearing a distinctive uniform;
and
(C) the weapon is in plain view;
(5) [(6)] is carrying a concealed handgun and a valid
license issued under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code
[Article 4413(29ee), Revised Statutes], to carry a concealed
handgun of the same category as the handgun the person is carrying;
(6) [(7)] holds a security officer commission and a
personal protection officer authorization issued by the Texas
[Board of Private Investigators and] Private Security Board
[Agencies] and [who] is providing personal protection under Chapter
1702, Occupations Code [the Private Investigators and Private
Security Agencies Act (Article 4413(29bb), Vernon's Texas Civil
Statutes)]; or
(7) [(8)] holds an alcoholic beverage permit or
license or is an employee of a holder of an alcoholic beverage
permit or license if the person is supervising the operation of the
permitted or licensed premises.
SECTION 3. The following provisions are repealed:
(1) Section 46.15(h), Penal Code; and
(2) Section 46.15(i), Penal Code, as added by Chapter
288, Acts of the 79th Legislature, Regular Session, 2005.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was
committed before that date.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
 
CCW in Texas

I live in Texas. The law in plain English is this. You can carry a handgun in your car while driving anywhere. That is any public place, except where specifically prohibited.(school grounds.etc) It must be concealed. You do not need a license for this. When you leave your vehicle, to carry the gun ON YOUR PERSON out of the vehicle, then you need to be a licensed permit holder.

Of course you must legally own the gun, and have a clean record, etc. I know it is a little confusing. I think they came up with the gun in the car law because of carjackings. I hope this helps.:)
 
If you are going to carry concealed in your car and you don't have a CHL and you get busted in Harris County (Houston), you'd better plan on some unexpected time out of your planned routine. The man who was Harris County DA at the time the new "traveling" law was passed basically said that he didn't care what the law said, you can't carry while traveling in Harris County (without a CHL).

It really burns me when our DAs don't respect the will of the legislature.

Tell your buddy to get his CHL if he is going to carry. Why put up with the grief of some DA who would love to make a test case of your friend.
 
TEXAS CHL Taking long time to Process Started 4-10-08 Finally Approved 8-26-08

Just recieved confirmation on my application from the DPS. They recieved my application on 4-10-08 and I have been tracking the process everyday.
Today 8-26-08 it finally said application approved now all I have to do if wait till I get my license in the mail before I can start carrying.

The DPS said its taking longer to process the CHL application due to the increased amount of apps they are recieving. When I took my class in April the instructor was telling everyone that they were running about 90days, and getting 8000 to 9000 a month for TExas CHL'ers.

So if you take your class be prepared to wait a long long time. LIke I said on the CHL tracking website it finally said granted instead of saying processing application!!!!!
 
The CHL law was passed in part because Dr. Gratia-Hupp watched her parents die in the Luby's rampage because her gun was in the CAR!

All this truck gun, car gun crap wouldn't have saved your butt if you were there also. Get a CHL.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top