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Anyone know if it's ok to carry at the Forth Worth Zoo?

It has been a couple of years since I've been there, but when I was they did not have a valid 30.06 sign and they are owned by the city of Fort Worth. They did have a sign that said firearms were prohibited, but I ignored that and carried anyway.

After a quick search I found that they did have a valid 30.06 sign there last year. However, they are still owned by the city, so it should be unenforceable. Your decision.

Thanks!

Ft Worth Zoo DOES have a 30.06 sign. You can decide for yourself whether or not you think it is valid.

Problem is, you won't see it until after you have already bought tickets and entered the park.

One of the things that makes a 30.06 sign valid is where it is placed. INSIDE after paying an entrance fee is NOT a correct place to post. Then there IS the state preemption on what cities and counties can do at most sites other than council/commissioners court meetings.

That is a good point on sign placement. According Texas Penal Code 30.05(b)(1) "Entry" means the intrusion of the entire body. Therefore, in order for Section 30.06(2)(A) to be valid the sign has to be before you enter.

I just went to the Fort Worth Zoo today, and you actually can see the 30.06 sign before your ticket is accepted and you enter the zoo. However, it would be hard to read the sign, and you would definitely have to be looking for it. It's hard to see from where the tickets are collected and I have 20/20 vision. Personally, I think the sign is invalid because of placement. However, if you get caught you will definitely have to go to court, pray your lawyer is good, and the jury is sympathetic to your point of view. Not something I would like to leave to chance. You would probably also make the news, and I don't think the coverage would be favorable.

In addition, since 1991, the Fort Worth Zoo is no longer owned by the city of Fort Worth. This is private property, so a 30.06 sign can be posted.

Anyway, I want to thank you guys for having this discussion. Because of this discussion I knew about the sign before I even went to the zoo today, and I entered unarmed. It would have been a bit of an inconvenience to come in armed and having make the decision about the sign and the legality of it when entering the zoo. For me, I would have erred on the side of not entering armed and it would have been a tremendous inconvenience to run back to the car to secure my firearm. I wish the Fort Worth Zoo had put something on their website about this. I looked, but did not find anything. So, to help other CHL holders, I posted some pics on yelp.com.

Like many of you, I don't like going to places that don't allow me to protect myself and my family. However, I was comforted by the strong police presence in both the parking lot and in the zoo.

JOhn

milican wrote:In addition, since 1991, the Fort Worth Zoo is no longer owned by the city of Fort Worth. This is private property, so a 30.06 sign can be posted.
JOhn

From its opening until 1991, the zoo was owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth.

In October 1991 the Fort Worth Zoological Association assumed management of the zoo under a contract with the city.

Does not mean it was bought, only managed.

suthdj wrote:

milican wrote:In addition, since 1991, the Fort Worth Zoo is no longer owned by the city of Fort Worth. This is private property, so a 30.06 sign can be posted.
JOhn

From its opening until 1991, the zoo was owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth.

In October 1991 the Fort Worth Zoological Association assumed management of the zoo under a contract with the city.

Does not mean it was bought, only managed.

30.06
(e) It is an exception to the application of this section
that the property on which the license holder carries a handgun is
owned or leased by a governmental entity and is not a premises or
other place on which the license holder is prohibited from carrying
the handgun under Section 46.03 or 46.035.


Give the man a Cigar!!!

According to the Tarrant County Appraisal District:

Tarrant Appraisal District
Real Estate
03/19/2011
Account Number: 03928950
Georeference: A 688-12
Property Location:
1989 Colonial Pkwy, Fort Worth Per their website, this is the street address of the zoo
Owner Information:
Fort Worth, City of
1000 Throckmorton St
Fort Worth Tx 76102-6312
Legal Description: Harris, E S Survey
A 688 Tr 12
Abst 688 Tr 12 & 12A
Taxing Jurisdictions:

Show
Tax Rates
026 City of Fort Worth
099 Regional Water District
220 Tarrant County
224 Tarrant County Hospital Dist
225 Tarrant County College Dist
905 Fort Worth ISD
This information is intended for reference only and is subject to change. It may not accurately reflect the complete status of the account as actually carried in TAD's database.
Proposed Values for Tax Year 2011
The valuation process has not yet been completed for this account.

This means it is not taxed
Land Impr 2011 Total**
Market Value $0 $0 $0
Appraised Value* $0 $0 $0
Approximate Size*** 0
Land Acres 55.2500
Land SqFt 2,406,690
* Appraised value may be less than market value due to state-mandated limitations on value increases
** A zero value indicates that the property record has not yet been completed for the indicated tax year
*** Rounded
5-Year Value History
Tax Year XMPT Appraised Land Appraised Impr Appraised Total Market Land Market Impr Market Total
2010 006 $4,813,380 $1,000,000 $5,813,380 $4,813,380 $1,000,000 $5,813,380
2009 006 $4,813,380 $1,000,000 $5,813,380 $4,813,380 $1,000,000 $5,813,380
2008 006 $4,813,380 $1,000,000 $5,813,380 $4,813,380 $1,000,000 $5,813,380
2007 006 $4,813,380 $1,000,000 $5,813,380 $4,813,380 $1,000,000 $5,813,380
2006 006 $4,813,380 $1,000,000 $5,813,380 $4,813,380 $1,000,000 $5,813,380
Protest Deadline:
Exemptions: Absolute Government

Property Data Updated: 03/19/2011

BTW, This is all of public record

OldCurlyWolf wrote:
30.06
(e) It is an exception to the application of this section
that the property on which the license holder carries a handgun is
owned or leased by a governmental entity and is not a premises or
other place on which the license holder is prohibited from carrying
the handgun under Section 46.03 or 46.035.

This is exactly what I was gonna post when I started reading this thread, good catch. I didn't carry their last time I went (I was on a date, and we were just on a university campus) but I will next time. I don't go often enough to worry about it though.

This topic may be dead but I get pretty lost and confused with the way some of these things are worded. If it is legal why have a sign at all? I have been asking myself this since last year. My assumption is laws change and people just don't keep up with taking signs down?

I visit a bar in Dallas from time to time and one of the first things I noticed was what I call "the good sign" which explains it is unlawful to carry without a license. I thought out loud and said "I'll be it's legal to carry in here" I was sitting with a friend at the end with thought no one was paying mind. Well he wasn't thinking nor is a chl holder but had nothing against it explained "what a gun??" right then the owner went on with who's bringing a gun in here? Blah blah blah older lady. I kept my mouth shut and let them discuss it until my remark was pointed out and I just simply pointed to the sign she said she puts up whatever she is told to and it's a bar

I kept my mouth shut and pulled up on my phone read about the fact they sell food makes it legal. Haven't been back since despite it being the hang out of many of u coworkers. Ignorance is slavery and I have enough of my own as is. Thanks for the thread heading to the zoo as we speak. My choice is armed until sleeping or showering.

Working on finding a way to stayed armed in our hot tub

I wrote the FTW Zoo about that 30.06 business. the reply said they justified it by calling the zoo a "school" because there were often schoolchildren there on field trips.
bull of course. The short version is the sign is invalid (and an affront to thinking citizens) but if you are outed there it could cost you some money.
If I were to go there, I'd be carrying. But I won't go there anymore. You have to decide for yourself.

Next time my wife wants to look at animals, we'll go to Dallas.
And after leaving Dallas City Hall, we may go to their zoo, which I understand is not posted.

milican wrote: Like many of you, I don't like going to places that don't allow me to protect myself and my family. However, I was comforted by the strong police presence in both the parking lot and in the zoo.

JOhn

"Comfort is a loaded 1911 on your hip." and since it is legal to carry there (their unenforceable sign notwithstanding), should I ever go to the Fort Worth Zoo, mine will be with me.

1s1k52 wrote: Working on finding a way to stayed armed in our hot tub

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My conclusion is:
If you're there as PART of a school outing, then no, you can't carry.

Otherwise, yes, you can, but you may be the test case and need bond or a lawyer.

I chose to carry.

I'm sure the zoo thinks it's enforceable, and I'm sure they have a lawyer who told them it is.

On a semi-related topic, I went back and forth with the knucklehead who runs the Original Fort Worth Gun Show about how they cannot enforce the signs at Will Rogers and he assured me his attorney has informed them that they can. I disagree, I think the law is clear, and I think I could conceal past an off duty cop at the door, but I'd rather just keep my money in my pocket and patronize a gun dealer that respects my rights.