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That sign is as meaningless under current law as a sign saying that it is illegal to carry a concealed elephant. I would just forget about it and go about my business.

- Jim

I agree that UTMB hospital can be considered a school. I suspect the cops who work there (they have their own police force) and the DA would agree.

- Jim

My wife can frisk me if she wants to know, but she rarely does. We never talk about it.

There's so much bogus signage that I don't notice it any longer unless I make an effort to look for it. I've seen signs that were at least 10 years out-of-date and maybe 20 or 30 years old by the look of them.

- Jim

I have never been asked if I was armed. If it happens, it is perfectly legal to lie to anyone except a LEO.

If a LEO guarding a hospital thinks you are carrying a weapon, you are most likely going up against the wall with no opportunity to talk.

The hospital that I am most familiar with is UTMB Galveston. It contains a Texas Department of Corrections wing. I have seen prisoners shackled to wheelchairs being wheeled around the "civilian" parts of the hospital. You can bet those guards would be very unhappy with the possibility of someone trying to "spring" one of these prisoners.

- Jim

To put the issue into perspective, I worry more about the parking lot than inside the hospital. Most big-city hospitals are in dodgy neighborhoods.

Assaults that occur within hospitals are generally between people who have some kind of ongoing dispute. The one that I witnessed was between two male relatives of a patient who started shouting and shoving, and ended up getting the chrome-plated bracelet treatment.

- Jim

Keith B wrote:... you may beat the rap but not the ride if they want to try and detain you over it.

I think this outcome is quite likely. And if the DA is in a bad mood, you might have to get an attorney to defend you through preliminary hearings, which could ruin your vacation plans.

Hospital personnel are rightfully concerned about people who bring weapons into hospitals. There have been too many incidents of gang members taking their fights into hospitals, and family members who don't get along having confrontations in patients' rooms (I actually was present when one of these occurred).

- Jim

IMHO, GC 411.204 became obsolete when PC 46.035(i) was enacted, but the Lege did not remove it. You're going to see all kinds of obsolete and incorrect signage, probably forever.

I can't say this enough times: Concealed means concealed, and if it ain't concealed, you're gonna be in trouble, whether it's a hospital, convenience store, or taco stand.

I am not a lawyer. This is just my opinion.

I offered a prayer for your father-in-law. I guess the Lord can figure out screen names.

- Jim