While Second Amendment supporters have been watching the progress of the open carry and campus carry bill in Texas, another bill with significant effects on concealed carriers has passed the Senate, the House, and will likely by signed by Governor Abbott. The legislation is SB Bi, and it preempts the ability of most government entities to ban people who have concealed carry licenses from carrying weapons on most of their premises.  The bill passed 26 to 5 in the Senate, and 116 to 23 in the House . . .

There are significant exceptions. Carry is banned in schools, polling places while voting is taking place, courts or offices utilized by a court, racetracks, secured areas of airports, and in government meetings open to the public.

Carry is still prohibited in places that serve alcohol which derive 51% or more of their income form the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises, at high school, collegiate, or professional sporting events, correctional facilities, hospitals, nursing homes, amusement parks, and places of religious worship.

Correction: hospitals, nursing homes, amusement parks, and places of religious worship are only off limits to gun carriers if they have a proper 30.06 sign in place.

Several other states have enacted legislation to limit the ability of government entities to forbid the exercise of Second Amendment rights on premises that they control. Arizona requires that the entity provide a safe storage space for personal weapons. Kansas requires that weapons be banned only if security measures such as metal detectors and armed guards have been put in place to ensure that the ban is more than symbolic. Mississippi has a provision similar to the Texas bill, to require local governments to remove no gun signs.

The Texas legislation has teeth, but fair notice must be given to the government entities that break the law. Once a government entity is placed on notice that they are in violation of the law, they will have 15 days to remove the offending sign.

First offenses will incur fines of $1,000 to $1,500 per day. Second offenses are fined $10,000 to $10,500 per day.

It’s likely that under the new law, many places currently designated as gun free zones will be eliminated around the state. The significance of this law is that the default position has become that permit holders are expected to be able to carry most places, with some specific exceptions. Once signed by Governor Abbott, the bill will become law and go into effect on September 1.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Gun Watch 

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40 COMMENTS

  2. I never understood voting areas and racetracks being specifically restricted by law in Texas….

    • come to Missouri – signs have no legal effect and unless there is a metal detector, screw ’em . . . .

      • You know, I liked MO and eastern KS way more than I thought I would when I lived there. It was nice not really having to worry if I was in a gun free zone or not.

  3. Another win for the citizens of Texas who respect and cherish their Constitutional Rights!

  4. As someone who has often worked as an election supervisor, I am opposed to being required to be disarmed in order to serve in that capacity.

    I also see no reason for the 51% rule. I very rarely drink when I’m in public regardless, and if I’m in a bar, I’m just as likely to be the DD. Why should I have to disarm?

    But hey, this really is a nice step in the right direction.

    • There are plenty of states where guns are allowed in bars as long as the carrier isn’t drinking. Alas, not Texas.

      • It is not a crime in Missouri. . . . as long as you are not intoxicated. . . .

        • Come on, guys, one step at a time, this is great news and I wasn’t even watching it.

    • It gets stupider when you consider I can carry in a restaurant with a full bar, even if they make 49% of their money form that bar. And neither scenario has any bearing on whether or not a carrier actually chooses to drink or not. The entire 51% thing presumes that anyone present who would be armed will be drunk and shoot somebody – its insulting and a violation of the presumption of innocence, while still failing to accomplish the thing it set out for.

      Nobody has yet been able to explain the magic of 51%. How does the source of a percentage of proceeds in any way affect a patron’s sense of responsibility?

      • Its just silly but they had to put it in the original bill so they opposition wouldn’t yell “BLOOD IN THE STREETS! OMG!!” too loud. In some states they actually make you open carry in bars. Its an issue that hasn’t really become an issue….just don’t drink while carrying, I know in at least one state there was a law that said something about being able to carry and drink but not to the point of impairment or something like that. I would just say don’t drink.

      • The goal is to complicate everything so much that a bit of twisting words and sneaky lying will make people think it’s just too much trouble to demand freedom, why not just give up and become a drone? All the arbitrary, meaningless crap falls into that category, only meant to be a PITA.

        BTW, you experts, isn’t the pictured 30.06 sign illegal? I thought something had to be red, don’t remember what. I ignore them most times, but I once knew what was legal, honest!

        • Hard to say from the pic but it looks legal. Contrasting colors, in English and Spanish, correct verbiage. Only potential point of contention is letter height; supposed to be 1″ tall letters. No requirement for red parts.

    • The no-carry at a voting locations thing has to go … talk about a great place for a terrorist organization to strike!

      Can you imagine the ensuing chaos? People would not want to go to the polls. That would call into question the legitimacy of an election. And it would be a direct strike at the very heart and soul of our republic. If anything we should have openly armed people at polling places to ensure that We the People can show up and vote with minimal risk of some terrorist or other scumbag harming anyone.

      • I carry to the polling places in MO too. Again, it is not a crime. In fact, the supervisor at my poll knows me, and always shakes my hand and pats me on the side with a big grin. . . .

        • Dirk, I was the supervisor in Saint Ann for several years. You should probably review the Mo Revised Statutes, 571.107(1)(2):

          http://www.moga.mo.gov/mostatutes/stathtml/57100001071.HTML

          No concealed carry permit issued pursuant to sections 571.101 to 571.121, valid concealed carry endorsement issued prior to August 28, 2013, or a concealed carry endorsement or permit issued by another state or political subdivision of another state shall authorize any person to carry concealed firearms into…Within twenty-five feet of any polling place on any election day. Possession of a firearm in a vehicle on the premises of the polling place shall not be a criminal offense so long as the firearm is not removed from the vehicle or brandished while the vehicle is on the premises.

          You can take it with you, and leave it in the vehicle, or leave it on your person in the vehicle or on your person outside of 25 feet from the entrance to the polling place.

          But, you’re right, it’s not a criminal violation: 571.107(2):

          2. Carrying of a concealed firearm in a location specified in subdivisions (1) to (17) of subsection 1 of this section by any individual who holds a concealed carry permit issued pursuant to sections 571.101 to 571.121, or a concealed carry endorsement issued prior to August 28, 2013, shall not be a criminal act but may subject the person to denial to the premises or removal from the premises. If such person refuses to leave the premises and a peace officer is summoned, such person may be issued a citation for an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars for the first offense…

          I suppose that, as the supervisor, I could simply have failed to ask myself to leave. But the democrat supervisor might not have been quite so magnanimous. 🙂

      • I absolutely agree, thought it was stupid the first day. Why in the world would that be automatically forbidden? WTF were they thinking?

      • It could be worse; in Georgia, carry is prohibited within 150 ft of a polling place while voting is taking place. If the 150 ft rule were strictly enforced, there would be dozens of magic gun-free bubbles all over the state for several weeks (from early voting through voting day). 150 ft makes it illegal to carry while across a two-lane street from a polling place.

    • I think non drinkers should be able to carry in bars. But he polling place is the most misguided. Historically some groups have used intimidation to keep others from voting. Polling places now have little or no security. Although I can understand open carry at a polling place being used to intimidate some voters to stay home, concealed carry seams like a smart idea there.

  5. Are you saying that hospitals, amusement parks, and places of religious worship are now specifically banned by this new legislation?

    Those places originally were banned, but then verbiage was added (I think around 2007) that made it so the above mentioned places were required to post 30.06 signs, essentially putting them on par with private businesses.

    • I think Dean went full derp on that paragraph, starting with “form” and ending with not performing due diligence.

  6. To be fair, this does not remove gun-free zones, this just creates a penalty for locations that have wrongly banned concealed carry. It primarily impacts city and county government building that have (incorrectly) posted 30.06 or other “gunbuster” signage in hopes of causing folks who are legally carrying concealed from entering the premises with their firearms.

    I’m glad this legislation happened, because sometimes it’s difficult to figure out ahead of time whether or not there’s a court inside a local government building, and thus having to give the sign the benefit of the doubt and disarm.

    • The sign must follow 46.03 and 46.035 of the Texas penal code not 30.06. So they can still restrict in certain government building just need correct sign posted. So sorry to those who thought they would be able to carry in all governmental buildings.

  7. The only thing this legislation does is add teeth to an existing law. It’s been against the law since I believe ~2007 for state/local entities to put up or enforce 30.06 signs. This law adds civil penalties to it.

  8. “Carry is still prohibited in places …”

    That list of places is too long. There are only a handful of states (two maybe — Illinois and Michigan?) with longer lists.

  9. A small but useful win. I’m betting the open carry law is just gonna bounce around with stupid amendments until it’s too late. That way the voters can only blame themselves for the jokers they elected. I want so bad to be wrong on this.

    • Really? That is excellent. Why there would be such a prohibition is unfathomable, largely the same people (present company excepted) support both carry and superstition. I don’t know WHY, but we really should not shoot our allies, right?

    • It is if there is a school attached to it!!
      Texas PC 46.03(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,

  11. I’ve been in and out of appointments today while trying to watch the House livestream, and I haven’t seen anything on that SB 11 vote yet, unless I missed it. It’s supposed to happen today.

    • It hasn’t happened yet and I have a bad feeling campus carry is going to die on vine tonight. If it isn’t considered by midnight it turns into a pumpkin. The Repubs were overconfident about thier supermajority and the Dems have them up against the wall, trying to jam too mant controversial bills through on one day. Phillips tried a parlimentary end run to take bills out of order, but fell a couple of votes short. Rep Sarah Davis and one other went for the other team and they didn’t get a 2/3rds rule suspense. The Dems are chubbing the hell out of SB19 right now and the clock is ticking away. Chubbing is the House equivilent of a fillibuster. They should withdraw SB19 now and force the Dems into a special session. If SB11 fails, it will be because the Repubs pissed it away, not because of MDA, or McRaven or even the Dems…well other than they let them get the upper hand at the end.

        • Most certainly. He made committee assignments and stacked the Calendars committee with loyal folks. Sarah Davis, for instance is on Calendars. We are concerned about specific issues. I’m not convinced Straus cares about campus carry or open carry one or the other. I believe he is more concerned about the balance of power between him, the Lt Gov and Gov and checking the tea party conservatives in the House. By managing the issues that are important to them, and essentially renders them irrelevant.

          But he didn’t do it alone. Had the House Repubs put pressure on him to move it earlier, we wouldn’t be here.

      • Well, [bad word]. At least they’re onto the next bill now after 400 amendments to that other one. I hope they can cram in SB11 in time.

        • SB11 finally came up at 930pm. Lets see if they can get it through…if the Dems can run out clock, they kill a number of bills they don’t want.

  12. The issue is how do we get it enforced? Fort Worth has incorrectly placed signs on the Will Rogers collesuem (despite being used for fun shows) but I don’t see FWPD or Tarrant County Sheriff doing anything…

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