Amarillo Commissioners vote to ban guns in area courthouses

[Larz_1]

Potter County Commissioners voted to keep guns out of area courthouses despite the new open carry laws and Attorney General Ken Paxton’s orders.

Potter County Judge, Nancy Tanner, made the motion in the last commissioners meeting and it carried five to zero. She said she feels responsible for the employees and their families who go through the courthouse and she want’s to make sure they’re safe.

Link to story: http://kgncnewsnow.com/84533-2/

[JALLEN]

Can't these idiots understand that licensed carriers are not a threat to safety?

[baldeagle]

Um, guns are not allowed in court houses, whether you're licensed or not, so this was an act of stupidity.

Sec. 46.03. PLACES WEAPONS PROHIBITED.

Text of subsection effective until August 01, 2016

(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses 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;

[G.A. Heath]

Um, guns are not allowed in court houses, whether you're licensed or not, so this was an act of stupidity.

Sec. 46.03. PLACES WEAPONS PROHIBITED.

Text of subsection effective until August 01, 2016

(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses 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;

Not Exactly, most court houses are multi-use facilities so only the portion(s) of the building that is used by the courts is off limits per the recent AG's Opinion.

[baldeagle]

Um, guns are not allowed in court houses, whether you're licensed or not, so this was an act of stupidity.

Sec. 46.03. PLACES WEAPONS PROHIBITED.

Text of subsection effective until August 01, 2016

(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses 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;

Not Exactly, most court houses are multi-use facilities so only the portion(s) of the building that is used by the courts is off limits per the recent AG's Opinion.

Yeah, I get that, but the article said courthouses. I assume that means something like the old red courthouse in downtown Dallas, not a multipurpose government building.

[cb1000rider]

Can't these idiots understand that licensed carriers are not a threat to safety?

It's a threat to politicians when their constituents are too dumb to understand statistics.

[puma guy]

Um, guns are not allowed in court houses, whether you're licensed or not, so this was an act of stupidity.

Sec. 46.03. PLACES WEAPONS PROHIBITED.

Text of subsection effective until August 01, 2016

(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses 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;

Not Exactly, most court houses are multi-use facilities so only the portion(s) of the building that is used by the courts is off limits per the recent AG's Opinion.

Yeah, I get that, but the article said courthouses. I assume that means something like the old red courthouse in downtown Dallas, not a multipurpose government building.

The Santa Fe building is office space and the Randall County Finance Building houses among other things the tax office and per the description is multipurpose. I assume they will come off this decision when challenged/sued or pay the fines.

[TXlaw1]

The Santa Fe building is office space and the Randall County Finance Building houses among other things the tax office and per the description is multipurpose. I assume they will come off this decision when challenged/sued or pay the fines.

At least I'm hoping they will rescind their actions so the local taxpayers hard earned money won't go to the State as fines for not following the laws of Texas for all the time they are in violation until the Attorney General can act on the complaints that are being filed. That could add up to real money!

[amtank]

There are no signs on the Finance building. I filled a complaint on the Santa Fe building and it has already been forwarded to Paxton.

[amtank]

Someone on city staff did decide without any council approval to post all public meetings .06 and .07

[amtank]

http://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/amar ... l-meetings

[stingeragent]

Is the AG's opinion enforceable? My town has an old historic courthouse that is posted 06, but the building hasn't housed a court in probably 50 years. It'ms mainly random office space, vehicle registration, etc, although they still call it a court house

[baldeagle]

Is the AG's opinion enforceable? My town has an old historic courthouse that is posted 06, but the building hasn't housed a court in probably 50 years. It'ms mainly random office space, vehicle registration, etc, although they still call it a court house

There is a process in place so that you can report illegally posted buildings to the AG office. The city will be fined for every day the signs are in place. So far it appears that, in many cases, once the entity receives a formal complaint, the signs come down before the AG office has to get involved.

This thread explains it. http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php? ... nt+offices

[amtank]

Potter County in its unending wisdom has chosen not to do so on any of the three buildings that were complained about.

[Pawpaw]

Potter County in its unending wisdom has chosen not to do so on any of the three buildings that were complained about.

I hope more and more cities and counties continue to do the same. It just gives us ammunition to get a House Bill 308 type law pushed through the Legislature next year.