Ft Worth US currency factory visit: URL, CHL guns, LEO guns.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

http://www.moneyfactory.gov" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Phone 817-231-4000. Press '2' to get a live tour scheduler on the line.

Today was the day that a friend and myself visited the Fort Worth site of the
US BEP (Bureau of Printing & Engraving). Prior to 1991, all US paper currency was
made at the only BEP site in the US on 14th Street in Washington, DC. That bldg
has been in continuous use since something like 1862.

BEP needed another facility and narrowed it down to 11 cities. Las Vegas, NV was
one of them, but Fort Worth was the winner. This site was expected to print only about
25% of the US paper currency but now prints about 60% of all US paper currency.

The website listed above stated that no cellphones, cameras, or weapons were allowed into
the facility. I called before I left home, got a tour scheduler right away, and told him I was
CHL. I asked if I could leave my gun locked in my truck in their parking lot. He was kind of
flabbergasted and put me on hold for a minute.

A young-sounding woman came on the line. I stated that Tx law allows CHL's to leave their
guns in their vehicles of off limits bldgs. Does her site's policy match? She said it was not
allowed to leave your gun in your vehicle, but if I wanted to I could park on FM156, just outside
the gate. My friend has gimpy knees, and I wasn't sure if it would be an easy walk to the entry,
or a hike, so I left my gun at home. This is the first time the gun has not been with me since I

[surprise_i'm_armed]

(continued from opening page) started carrying 24/7 on 1/23/09.

The security at this site is awesome. They have a large amount of armed BEP police,
who are considered federal LEO's. They have a security screening area into which you
step, and when you do, a gate closes behind you, so you are trapped in the enclosure until
they see you are clean. The place has tons of lightpoles, many of which have CCTV cameras
on them. They have 3 layers of chain link fences, all topped with either barbed or razor wire.

I asked the BEP Sgt on duty about the CHL "could I have left the gun in the truck" question and
his response was exactly the same as the gal on the phone: "Not even locked up in our parking lot."

We took the free 50 minute tour of the site, looking down from a catwalk on pallets full of new money.
We saw the 15 minute movie after the tour, then browsed the gift shop for souvenirs.

This is an awesome, unique place to visit. They are open from Monday thru Friday, from 830 AM - 200 PM.
The tour is free, and anyone who goes will be impressed with the technical expertise of what they do to
make US currency safe.

As we were leaving I told one of the LEO's that I was NRA (I didn't want to say I'm a shooter or "I have a gun")

[surprise_i'm_armed]

Page 3 of the OP.
and I asked him if the BEP police had a standard issue sidearm, or could they choose their own
brand/model?

He stated that they had a standard gun and it was a Sig 228. "But you know it's the federal govt
and all." I took that to mean that he didn't like his Sig. But maybe he just meant that he would
like it better if he could choose his own gun.

I said "Yeah, but Sigs are good guns." He conceded that yes, they were good guns, and smiled,
seeming amused that I had asked him about their sidearm situation.

For anyone who is within reasonable driving distance of North Fort Worth - go take your kids, or
friends, or classes, or church friends, to see this. The only other place like it is in DC.

Oh, by the way. Take some paper money out of your wallet and examine it in a good light.
If it's a $1 bill, look on the right edge, middle, of the face side.
If it's a $5 bill or larger, the area to look at is most likey the top right corner of the bill, face side.

You will notice some letters/numbers in these areas. If there's a tiny "FW" there, this bill
was made by Texans. If the letters/numbers (not the bill's serial numbers) are not preceded
by "FW", the bill was printed in DC.

I hope you all found my little field trip of interest. SIA

[fickman]

I have a friend who works there. . . on the graveyard shift. I still haven't gone to check it out myself.

[joe817]

Fascinating post SIA! Thanks for sharing!

[The Annoyed Man]

Good story, but why put it in 3 posts? It makes it harder to read.

[powerboatr]

wow great post
i need to take a tour now

[surprise_i'm_armed]

The Annoyed Man:

The reason that I put it in 3 posts is that when entering text on a page gets
to a certain point, the bottom of the entry page starts getting jiggy.

To the point where I can't easily see what I'm typing on the bottom line, and
the page acts so quirky that it's easier to finish up that screen and start another one.

I don't think it's hard to read. It's just a little "page down" or an arrow down, just like when
we read an ongoing thread.

SIA

[dicion]

Very cool.

Being that it's federal property, and federal gun laws generally reference 'real' property, not just 'premiseses' as in Texas law, they were probably correct in saying that bringing a gun anywhere on the property was against the law.

[3dfxMM]

I stated that Tx law allows CHL's to leave their guns in their vehicles of off limits bldgs.

I have never heard of this. Where is this in the statutes?

[dicion]

I stated that Tx law allows CHL's to leave their guns in their vehicles of off limits bldgs.

I have never heard of this. Where is this in the statutes?

It is basically how the off-limits buildings are defined. Under Texas law, most off limits places are referred to as 'the premises of'. And premises is only defined as 'building or portion of a building' and specifically excludes parking lots.

Now, that's Texas law. Being that this was a Federal Facility, it falls under federal law, and those reference 'real' property, which basically includes everything on the land, including parking lots.

[3dfxMM]

Ok. I thought he was saying that there was some special provision for parking lots which I had never heard.

[Ropin]

SIA, thanks for the info. I have a friend who used to live near there, so I've been past it numerous times. Always wondered what it was like inside, but never thought about a tour. That might be a foul weather date someday.

Great review.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

3dfxMM:

Texas CHL law allows you to keep your weapon in your locked vehicle
in parking lots, parking structures, etc.

The only exception to this would be if the parking lot itself is posted 30.06,
offlimits to even CHL's. I have no idea if there's any parking lots anywhere in
the state of Texas that are posted 30.06.

This flexibility allows us to carry our guns as we travel around, but if we arrive
at a school or a 51% bar, we can leave the heat in the vehicle so as not to get
in trouble for carrying in a restricted place.

For a partial list of 30.06 sites (partial since the data is provided by the public),
go to http://www.texas3006.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

SIA

[3dfxMM]

There isn't anything about parking lots that makes them particularly exempt. They are just like any place else. If they aren't part of a banned facility and they aren't posted with 30.06 signage then you can have your gun there. You are making it sound like it is some special circumstance that allows it. Yes, there are parking lots that are posted. Specifically, my employer's. :(