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I hope i posted in the righ forum , is ther not a law now that you may carry a loaded hand gun in your car while traviling ? if I am wrong will someone point me in the right direction , thanks

Hi sreed67, welcome to the forum! Glad to have you with us. There's a wealth of information right here at your fingertips, and a wonderful group of guys & gals to get to know.

Yes you can carry a handgun in your car, if you legally can own and possess a handgun, as per the Motorist Protection Act. In 2005, the Texas Legislature passed a bill establishing that a person is presumed to be traveling if he or she is in a private motor vehicle, is not engaged in criminal activity, is not prohibited by law from possessing a firearm, and is not a member of a criminal street gang. The clear intent was to protect law-abiding citizens' right to carry a handgun concealed for personal protection in their cars or trucks without needing a Concealed Handgun License (CHL).

Hope that answers your question.

in texas you can have a concealed handgun in your car while your in texas...if you cross state lines, you had better check their laws...in texas the only stipulation is that you have to be quailified to obtain a chl to carry in your car...i am not saying you have to have your chl, but you have to be able to obtain one...if you cant legally obtain a chl due to some kind of criminal past, then dont be carrying a pistol in your car and get caught....

joe817 wrote:Hi sreed67, welcome to the forum! Glad to have you with us. There's a wealth of information right here at your fingertips, and a wonderful group of guys & gals to get to know.

Yes you can carry a handgun in your car, if you legally can own and possess a handgun, as per the Motorist Protection Act. In 2005, the Texas Legislature passed a bill establishing that a person is presumed to be traveling if he or she is in a private motor vehicle, is not engaged in criminal activity, is not prohibited by law from possessing a firearm, and is not a member of a criminal street gang. The clear intent was to protect law-abiding citizens' right to carry a handgun concealed for personal protection in their cars or trucks without needing a Concealed Handgun License (CHL).

Hope that answers your question.

what he said....

Welcome to the forum.

The Motorist Protection Act says is what you are looking for. Search on it on this site (also "MPA" and/or "traveling" and similar terms) and you will get quite a few threads on it.

You can find texas statutes here:
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
although they are not completely updated with the results of the last session yet. I don't believe anything affects the relevant part of the Penal Code, which reads as follows:

Sec. 46.02. UNLAWFUL CARRYING WEAPONS. (a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun, illegal knife, or club if the person is not:

(1) on the person's own premises or premises under the person's control; or

(2) inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle that is owned by the person or under the person's control.

(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun in a motor vehicle that is owned by the person or under the person's control at any time in which:

(1) the handgun is in plain view; or

(2) the person is:

(A) engaged in criminal activity, other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance regulating traffic;

(B) prohibited by law from possessing a firearm; or

(C) a member of a criminal street gang, as defined by Section 71.01.

The law is written to describe what is a crime, not what is not a crime, so if you are not doing anything described above, then you are good to go. i.e. your gun is not in plain view, your not engaging in criminal activity other than a traffic violation, you are not prohibited from possessing a gun, and you are not a gang member, then you are legal to have a loaded gun in your car.

Technically under federal law you still may not have a loaded gun in your car if you are within 1000' of a school, but as a practical matter this is only enforced when you bring attention to yourself with other illegal or unusual activity.

However, I am not a lawyer and you would do well to read all the laws concerning firearms for yourself, as I will not be around if you get crossways with the law.