Current Law Quick Reference Card???????

[Keith B]

That or LEO's need to CEC Just for CHL's every two years because I do not think it is right that a might be arrested be something a cops thinks is a law..... Because it will still cost money to get out of jail. Have to hire an attorney defend me because only a fool depends them-self... and then I will still have that on my arrest record

And at that point you would have grounds to sue for a 1983 Civil Rights violation and false arrest. Cops don't always know the law. I have had an incident with DPS that proved that and I had to escalate the issue to the Colonel. The individual trooper ended up spending a couple of days off because of the threat that was made and the fact they would not call me back and apologize for their error.

So, it happens, and the best thing you can do is be up on your laws and not trust everything to a LEO or lawyer who may not be as well versed in the CHL laws.

BTW, mine was not CHL related, but on another area of law.

[carlson1]

I agree with you. The problem is so many times the LEO's believe their the only ones who should carry and do not take the time to read such laws.

My youngest son just graduated the Police Academy six weeks ago and they taught them a CHL could not carry in Church period. Sometimes it is as if they don't want to know.

Carl

[RiverCity.45]

Edit: woops. Looks like I'm late to the game. Should have known the fine, knowledgeable folks here would jump on this immediately.

For those of you who think churches, hospitals, and amusement parks do not require a 30.06 sign, I invite you to direct your attention to PC 46.035 paragraph (i) which specifically states those places must post a 30.06 sign in order for the prohibition to apply.

It is a common mistake. I'm worried that at least one LEO is mistaken about this, too. Even scarier that some CHL instructors may be failing to mention this important caveat about these places.

[sugar land dave]

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/InternetFo ... CHL-16.pdf

PC §46.03. PLACES WEAPONS PROHIBITED. (a) A person commits
an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly posTEXAS
CONCEALED HANDGUN LAWS PC §46.03. 39
sesses or goes with a firearm, illegal knife, club, or prohibited weapon
listed in Section 46.05(a):
(1) on the physical premises of a school or educational institution,
any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by a school or
educational institution is being conducted, or a passenger transportation
vehicle of a school or educational institution, whether the school or
educational institution is public or private, unless pursuant to written
regulations or written authorization of the institution;
(2) on the premises of a polling place on the day of an election or
while early voting is in progress;
(3) on the premises of any government court or offices utilized by
the court, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization
of the court;
(4) on the premises of a racetrack; or
(5) in or into a secured area of an airport.
(6) within 1,000 feet of premises the location of which is designated
by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a place of
execution under Article 43.19, Code of Criminal Procedure, on a day
that a sentence of death is set to be imposed on the designated
premises and the person received notice that:
(A) going within 1,000 feet of the premises with a weapon listed
under this subsection was prohibited; or
(B) possessing a weapon listed under this subsection within
1,000 feet of the premises was prohibited.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsections (a)(1)-(4) that
the actor possessed a firearm while in the actual discharge of his official
duties as a member of the armed forces or national guard or a
guard employed by a penal institution, or an officer of the court.
(c) In this section:
(1) "Premises" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.035.
(2) "Secured area" means an area of an airport terminal building
to which access is controlled by the inspection of persons and property
under federal law.
(d) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(5) that the
actor possessed a firearm or club while traveling to or from the actor's
place of assignment or in the actual discharge of duties as:
(1) a member of the armed forces or national guard;
(2) a guard employed by a penal institution; or
(3) a security officer commissioned by the Texas Private Security
Board if:
(A) the actor is wearing a distinctive uniform; and
(B) the firearm or club is in plain view; or
(4) a security officer who holds a personal protection authorization
under Chapter 1702, Occupations Code, provided that the officer
is either:
(A) wearing the uniform of a security officer, including any uniform
or apparel described by Section 1702.323(d), Occupations Code,
and carrying the officer's firearm in plain view; or
(B) not wearing the uniform of a security officer and carrying
the officer's firearm in a concealed manner.
40 PC §46.035. TEXAS CONCEALED HANDGUN LAWS
(e) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(5) that the
actor checked all firearms as baggage in accordance with federal or
state law or regulations before entering a secured area.
(f) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section that the actor
possessed a handgun and was licensed to carry a concealed handgun
under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code.
(g) An offense under this section is a third degree felony.
(h) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(4) that the
actor possessed a firearm or club while traveling to or from the actor's
place of assignment or in the actual discharge of duties as a security
officer commissioned by the Texas Board of Private Investigators and
Private Security Agencies, if:
(1) the actor is wearing a distinctive uniform; and
(2) the firearm or club is in plain view.
(i) It is an exception to the application of Subsection (a)(6) that the
actor possessed a firearm or club:
(1) while in a vehicle being driven on a public road; or
(2) at the actor's residence or place of employment.

PC §46.035. UNLAWFUL CARRYING OF HANDGUN BY LICENSE
HOLDER. (a) A license holder commits an offense if the license
holder carries a handgun on or about the license holder's person
under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code,
and intentionally fails to conceal the handgun.
(b) A license holder commits an offense if the license holder intentionally,
knowingly, or recklessly carries a handgun under the authority
of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, regardless of
whether the handgun is concealed, on or about the license holder's
person:
(1) on the premises of a business that has a permit or license issued
under Chapter 25, 28, 32, 69, or 74, Alcoholic Beverage Code, if
the business derives 51 percent or more of its income from the sale or
service of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, as determined
by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission under Section
104.06, Alcoholic Beverage Code;
(2) on the premises where a high school, collegiate, or professional
sporting event or interscholastic event is taking place, unless
the license holder is a participant in the event and a handgun is used
in the event;
(3) on the premises of a correctional facility;
(4) on the premises of a hospital licensed under Chapter 241,
Health and Safety Code, or on the premises of a nursing home licensed
under Chapter 242, Health and Safety Code, unless the license
holder has written authorization of the hospital or nursing home
administration, as appropriate;
(5) in an amusement park; or
(6) on the premises of a church, synagogue, or other established
place of religious worship.
(c) A license holder commits an offense if the license holder intentionally,
knowingly, or recklessly carries a handgun under the authority
TEXAS CONCEALED HANDGUN LAWS PC §46.035. 41
of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, regardless of
whether the handgun is concealed, at any meeting of a governmental
entity.
(d) A license holder commits an offense if, while intoxicated, the
license holder carries a handgun under the authority of Subchapter H,
Chapter 411, Government Code, regardless of whether the handgun is
concealed.
(e) A license holder who is licensed as a security officer under
Chapter 1702, Occupations Code, and employed as a security officer
commits an offense if, while in the course and scope of the security
officer's employment, the security officer violates a provision of
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code.
(f) In this section:
(1) "Amusement park" means a permanent indoor or outdoor
facility or park where amusement rides are available for use by the
public that is located in a county with a population of more than one
million, encompasses at least 75 acres in surface area, is enclosed
with access only through controlled entries, is open for operation more
than 120 days in each calendar year, and has security guards on the
premises at all times. The term does not include any public or private
driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage, or
other parking area.
(2) "License holder" means a person licensed to carry a handgun
under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code.
(3) "Premises" means a building or a portion of a building. The
term does not include any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk
or walkway, parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area.
(g) An offense under Subsection (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) is a Class A
misdemeanor, unless the offense is committed under Subsection
(b)(1) or (b)(3), in which event the offense is a felony of the third
degree.
(h) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) that the
actor, at the time of the commission of the offense, displayed the
handgun under circumstances in which the actor would have been
justified in the use of deadly force under Chapter 9.
[double amendment to same provision]
(h-1) *[as added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., HB 1889.] It is a defense to
prosecution under Subsections (b) and (c) that the actor, at the time of
the commission of the offense, was:
(1) an active judicial officer, as defined by Section 411.201,
Government Code; or
(2) a bailiff designated by the active judicial officer and engaged
in escorting the officer.
(h-1) *[as added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., HB 2300.] It is a defense to
prosecution under Subsections (b)(1), (2), and (4)-(6), and (c) that at
the time of the commission of the offense, the actor was:
42 PC §46.04. TEXAS CONCEALED HANDGUN LAWS
(1) a judge or justice of a federal court;
(2) an active judicial officer, as defined by Section 411.201,
Government Code; or
(3) a district attorney, assistant district attorney, criminal district
attorney, assistant criminal district attorney, county attorney, or assistant
county attorney.
(i) Subsections (b)(4), (b)(5), (b)(6), and (c) do not apply if the actor
was not given effective notice under Section 30.06.
(j) Subsections (a) and (b)(1) do not apply to a historical reenactment
performed in compliance with the rules of the Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Commission.
(k) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b)(1) that the
actor was not given effective notice under Section 411.204, Government
Code.

Please note the blinking section above from your own posting.

[Keith B]

OK, think the section has been pointed out enough now.

[The Annoyed Man]

I have asked an LEO on this on and if you carry in a hospital you will go to JAIL

That is patently false.

Read ALL of the code. Hospitals ARE required to post 30.06 to keep CHLs out. That is indisputable fact. And lots of LEOs are ignorant of CHL law.

[The Annoyed Man]

That or LEO's need to CEC Just for CHL's every two years because I do not think it is right that a might be arrested be something a cops thinks is a law..... Because it will still cost money to get out of jail. Have to hire an attorney defend me because only a fool depends them-self... and then I will still have that on my arrest record

It is a defense to prosecution if you were not given proper notice under 30.06. That is what the disposition of the court will be. Arrests don't count. Convictions count. For a conviction to happen, a prosecutor has to decide to prosecute. No prosecutor worth his or her salt is going to go to trial on a charge of unlawful carry when the premises in question did not give the accused proper notice. The judge would throw it out and chew off the prosecutor's hind parts for wasting the Court's time. Besides which, if you are not given effective notice until after you enter - such as 30.06 posted in the lobby instead of the entrances - you have broken no laws as long as you leave upon having received proper notice. Not to mention that if you've been doing it right, your gun is concealed anyway, so who saw the gun, and who is going to arrest you? You see the sign, and you're already inside, you leave. End of story.

Yes, it would cost you some money to post bail, and to hire a lawyer to point out to the prosecutor that a trial will result in loss of his hind parts if you actually got arrested (a fairly small probability); but that is what civil court is for, so you can recoup your losses by suing the responsible parties.

[tacticool]

If you do a good job concealing, like you should, it won't cost you a dime.

[TxBlonde]

Very true

[rm9792]

Things happen though, gust of wind, shirt tail gets caught in the door, you trip, whatever. Always a chance something could happen to potentially reveal your pistol's presence.

[carlson1]

Things happen though, gust of wind, shirt tail gets caught in the door, you trip, whatever. Always a chance something could happen to potentially reveal your pistol's presence.

If these things happened there has still been no law broken.

[MoJo]

I've created a small booklet with the laws I feel would be handy to have at your fingertips for reference.

Print the two PDF files below. The second file is printed on the back of the 1st file. Cut on the lines indicated on the first page, assemble, and fold. Place one or two staples on the fold. When you're done you should have a 2-3/4" x 4-1/4" booklet.

On my printer the vertical cut line is not exactly in the center of the page so you may have to adjust that cut slightly.

The instructions that print are for my printer so you may have to do it slightly differently on your printer depending on how it feeds the paper.

When printing the PDF be sure to select "None" for Page Scaling.

CHL_Laws_Selected_Rev2007-1.pdf

CHL_Laws_Selected_Rev2007-2.pdf


Regards,

Alan

Edited 12/12/2007 updated with 2007 revisions.

I've updated the booklet to the 2007 law changes. Please let me know if you find any errors.

Regards,

Alan

The current CHL16 is dated 2009-2010 If it isn't too hard could you update it to the current form on the DPS website?

I was going to make up a bunch of these to give at my classes but, it's not current.


Thanks,

Morris

[srothstein]

Then why was I told we con not... They really need need make these laws to where they talk backwards and inside out... To many lawyers in this. IT needs to be more clear

One of the problems with the laws is that not everyone in the legislature agrees on what should be in it. So, when we try to get things passed, we make compromises. Then we go back later and try to work on what we gave up and get it back in. This happens on any controversial issue that people are really passionate about, not just guns.

So, what happened is that to get CHL laws passed at all (from 1877 to 1995, there was no way for the average person in Texas to carry a pistol legally in day-to-day life), we compromised and put in some places where the law would not apply. A couple years later, we went in and got the 30.06 sign requirement for general use. A few years after that, we were able to go back and get some places made legal that had been forbidden. But to get that through, the tactics required us not to just repeal the section (which would have been clear) but we got a requirement that the sign be posted.

Now, the downside to this is that there is a bad side effect to it. The same set of facts now makes the person who violates the law guilty of two different misdemeanors at the same time. You can be charged with both criminal trespass by a license holder and unlawfully carrying in a prohibit place. I don't know if this added penalty helped make it more palatable to the legislators who were borderline on the issue and voted for this change or not, or if it was just the tactics used, or maybe even a sense of fairness (it only seems fair to require notices to make the place off-limits to me), but that is why the law gets so confusing sometimes. That old saw about not watching laws or sausage being made holds true for even reading the laws and understanding them.

As to cops not knowing the law, I would give them almost two years before I really held them up as a problem. Cops go to training on a four year cycle (two two-year training units but the class is only required once every four years). Small departments need to find classes at regional academies, which do not teach the law every week, or sometimes even every month. Larger departments teach their own, but it takes a while to cycle the whole department through training. While the class is only required once every four years, I think most departments try to get their officers trained on legal changes every two years, knowing the way our legislature is set up. The very best departments put out bulletins with legal changes to their officers as quickly after Sep. 1 as they can, and the very best cops read them and study them. But the last time I did it, the bulletin was about 35 pages long and only covered the Penal Code, the Transportation Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and a few very specific selections of other laws (I took a copy of the old Gould's law book for officers and comapred it to the new one line by line - a very tedious process). So, I can see how a cop could be getting his update on the session two years ago even as late as this July, after the current session has ended with its changes coming. In my mind, there is no real excuse for taking four years though.

[speedsix]

Then why was I told we con not... They really need need make these laws to where they talk backwards and inside out... To many lawyers in this. IT needs to be more clear

...it's as clear as can be...and worded that way in law to allow us to carry in more of them...'cause a lot of THEM won't read the whole law, either...there are several places in the CHL law where you have to read close to find out you have more freedom than is at first apparent...the legislators stood on their heads to help US...
...I TOLD you don't get your law from cops...they're often wrong...I found that out when I WAS one...they're often not up to date...I get a new CHL Handbook every time it changes...I figure it's my responsibility...I also have the LEO guide to TABC...they're free and I want to know the changes...I don't take street talk or another's word for what will keep me legal...and saw the church part get so heated on gun forums last fall that names were called...till they read the whole law...we don't know what we don't know...

I agree with others...in 99% of life...concealed means concealed covers you well...I've carried for 45 years...more years illegally than legally...and never been spotted...by anyone...it's not that hard...

[sjfcontrol]

Now, the downside to this is that there is a bad side effect to it. The same set of facts now makes the person who violates the law guilty of two different misdemeanors at the same time. You can be charged with both criminal trespass by a license holder and unlawfully carrying in a prohibit place. I don't know if this added penalty helped make it more palatable to the legislators who were borderline on the issue and voted for this change or not, or if it was just the tactics used, or maybe even a sense of fairness (it only seems fair to require notices to make the place off-limits to me), but that is why the law gets so confusing sometimes. That old saw about not watching laws or sausage being made holds true for even reading the laws and understanding them.

Interesting! I've never thought of it that way. It was explained to me that 46.035(i) just made those places "just like" anyplace else. But indeed, if you violate a valid 30.06 sign on a hospital, you've now broken TWO laws. 30.06 AND 46.035(b)(4). Very Sneaky!