threeg45 wrote:My wife completed her CHL course a month ago and this was one of the questions asked. The answer was no. Premises is the building the same as a school building. We were told you step out side the front door and you are breaking the law. The instructor was a Fort Worth police officer. If this is bad information we would like to know.
I think it is bad info, and the key lies somewhere in Sec. 46.15, the Nonapplicability statute.
This statute lists the many exceptions to the general prohibition against carrying a handgun.
First, Sec. 46.02, the general prohibition.
§ 46.02. UNLAWFUL CARRYING WEAPONS. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his person a handgun, illegal knife, or club.
Now, in 46.035, "premises" is defined as follows:
(f) In this section:
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.
Note that the definition is limited to "this section", meaning specifically 46.035. So it does not apply to other sections of Ch. 46 unless so specified.
Finally, we get down to Sec. 46.15 "Nonapplicability".
§ 46.15. NONAPPLICABILITY. (a) Sections 46.02 and 46.03
do not apply to:
..............
(2) is on the person's own premises or premises under the person's control unless the person is an employee or agent of the owner of the premises and the person's primary responsibility is to act in the capacity of a security guard to protect persons or property, in which event the person must comply with Subdivision (5);
Sounds like the statute is referring to a building of some sort, right? But then there is subdivision (b) (4) below.
4) is engaging in lawful hunting, fishing, or other sporting activity on the immediate premises where the activity is conducted, or is directly en route between the premises and the actor's residence, if the weapon is a type commonly used in the activity;
Since hunting and fishing in particular are not generally done
inside of buildings, the word "premises" must mean something different here than in other places in the chapter.
I have always understood the meaning of "premises" in the "Nonapplicability" section to mean one's own property. But I cannot find the place in the law where this is defined.
Either that or there is some other section of law that carves out an exception to the general prohibition against carrying a handgun when on one's own
property. But if there is I cannot find it at the moment.
I must be making an error of some sort here. Can someone please point out to me what it is?
