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I can see only one reason to give off duty LEOs any legal permission to carry that any other citizen is denied. This applies to the State of Texas only because it is Texas law.

Currently, if you are not an LEO, you have no legal responsibility to do anything at all when you see most crimes (there are a few where you are required to call police but not any that require you to take immediate action to stop the crime. If you are an off-duty LEO in your own jurisdiction, by law you are required to take action for any crime you see. This is in Article 2.13 of the Code of Criminal Procedures. Since I could not expect the officer to take action against some crimes when he is unarmed, I can see allowing him to carry.

On the flip side, I do think that the law for citizens carrying needs to be improved. I support 30.06 laws and enforcing action against improper government postings. I support "constitutional" carry (no license required) but I am not sure if 30.06 could work then. I guess we could specify a sign for everyone who carries.

And I do not want anyone carrying while intoxicated as I see it as a recipe for trouble. It is not the location (like inside a bar) but the person's condition. I cannot reconcile that with the requirement for LEOs since the law does not exempt intoxicated officers.

chasfm11 wrote:

A-R wrote: Wrong. 30.05 gives the legal right under Texas law to ban anything and anyone from your property. Federal law, however, supersedes and makes banning the protected classes illegal.

So you are saying that a ban against turbans would be legal and supported under Texas law? And that a store owner could put up a sign banning turbans and call LE to enforce it?

Yes, that is correct.

MeMelYup wrote:No in this case. The owner is inviting the general public into his store or business. Does the owner have the right to restrict your entry because of race? Does the owner have the right to restrict your entry because of your religion or lack thereof? Does the owner have the right to restrict your entry because of your political beliefs? Does the owner have the right to restrict your entry because of your sex?

The owner has the right to restrict your entry into his home/domicile. The owner does not have the right to restrict entry to a business where the general public is invited in for the owners gain, unless the customer is creating disturbance or an unlawful act among the customers.

We have a very interesting question (well, series of questions) here. Actually, yes you do have the right to ban people for any of those reasons. This right is recognized in the First Amendment to the Constitution in a clause that says you have the freedom to choose with whom you associate. The current state of the law in the US does not recognize some of those clauses, but it does allow ALL of them under certain circumstances. As a case in point, look at any "club" and you will see very specific limitations on who can join. Does the Augusta National Golf Club allow women in yet?

But some people in this thread have stressed a difference based on how a business is operated. So, can a corner convenience store do any of those things? Under the current law, it can do at least one. I could post a sign saying no Democrats (or whatever) allowed and I could then have anyone who entered in violation of the sign arrested for criminal trespass (in Texas). The current law bans discrimination ONLY for one of the seven protected classes. As an interesting side note, age discrimination is only banned if it is against people over 40. That is why we see businesses renting apartments to senior citizens only but no apartments just for people in their twenties.

As a further aside, under Texas law, a sign that clearly states "Do not enter without a shirt" is an enforceable criminal trespass warning and no further action is required of the owner other than a call to the police. It is not commonly done, but it is the law.


EDIT: I just happened to look it up and the Augusta National finally has admitted two women. Condoleeza Rice is a member there now.