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TEX wrote:Perhaps, but had a TABC officer tell me years ago that "technically" no firearms (including long guns) were allowed where alcohol was sold or consumed unless you were the owner, operator, authorized employee, guard, etc.

He was wrong when he said it, and there is a simple way to prove it (well this may go away soon but exists now). Wal-mart sells alcohol in almost every store. They sell firearms in most of them also. Someone must be in possession of the firearm in the store, and even if they walk you out you would have the firearm in the parking lot.

The truth of the law is that it is mentioned in PC 46.02 that unlawfully carrying is enhanced to a felony if it is on a licensed premise. But this does not apply to long guns and never has. The other part of the truth in what he said is that the licensed premise does include the whole parking lot. It gets very confusing sometimes with defining premises differently in different sections of the law but they do it.

And for anyone curious about it, here is a link to the TABC rules on firearms in licensed premises:

http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/rea ... ch=36&rl=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If the link does not work, check Texas Administrative Code, Title 16 (Economic Regulation), Part 3 (TABC), Chapter 36 (Gun Regulation), rule 36.1 (the only one in the chapter).

Pinkycatcher wrote:

Elvis wrote:§ 42.01. DISORDERLY CONDUCT. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly:
(8) displays a firearm or other deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm.

Based on the above law if you were to walk into a bar with a long gun and the Police were called you will be charged and convicted with Disordery Conduct. I have seen it happen many many times all over the State. If someone calls 911 to report the incident they were alarmed. On the other hand I have been to a local skeet/sporting clays club that has an alcoholic beverage license for on premises consumption and there is a gun rack just inside the door. No one is alarmed that you have a shotgun at a skeet range and so Disorderly Conduct does not apply.

It's been decided many times that the mere presence of a firearm does not cause alarm

While I knew you were talking about Texas law, my first thought was to tell that to the soccer mom in Pennsylvania.

If you do have a reference case, I would appreciate it. I agree with the concept but I am unaware of a case that says so. I also remember an incident with Jim Dark from TSRA (IIRC) a couple years ago where he was hassled because someone saw the rifle he was carrying in his car. It was a black powder rifle, so it was not even legally a firearm, but the police were not easily convinced about it.

Well, there is an interesting couple of points on this area. First, yes, you can be arrested for it. You can be arrested and charged for lots of things that you will not be convicted of. If the officer makes an honest mistake, you can be arrested and charged for something that is not illegal also. I don't have much use for that, but it can happen. There are also some crooked cops who will arrest you knowing you have not broken the law, but civil suits usually take care of that (remember 42 USC 1983, it can be your best friend)

Now, there is an interesting clause under disturbing the peace. You can be charged for displaying a firearm (including a long gun) in a manner calculated to alarm. The problem is there is no definition of "calculated to alarm." I generally take it to mean that YOU INTENDED to scare someone, but others have taken it to mean that a reasonable person might have been scared, whether you intended it or not. And there are some cops who will charge you for it if someone says it scared them, again without regard to your intent.

The end result of this is that it is generally legal for you to carry a long gun around, but you will probably run into some trouble and meet some cops. It will then depend on your attitude, in most case, whether or not you get to see what the booking area of the jail looks like.

Without a detailed comparison of the laws to the chart, it looks valid to me. 46.02 does not apply to long guns, so the basic rule of unlawfully carrying does not apply to them. 46.03 with its list of specific places forbidden does apply.

Technically, the part about it being a misdemeanor to carry a long gun after oral 30.06 warning is misleading. You would be charged with 30.05, not 30.06. 30.06 only applies to carrying under the authority of the CHL, so it cannot apply to a long gun.