TX: "Gun Free" Wall of Text Required to Disarm Patrons

Gun Watch ^ | 31 December, 2015 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

When Texas passed the shall issue concealed carry law in 1995, part of the deal concerned how people would be notified that a business did not allow concealed carry on the premises.  A compromise was worked out that an entity that chose not to allow concealed carry on its premises was required to post a sign on all entrances, clearly showing people entering, that concealed carry was not allowed.  The sign had to be large and highly visible, in both English and Spanish.  The letters had to be at least one inch tall.   An example of the "30.06" sign is shown below.  30.06 comes from the statute that requires the sign.  It takes up about one half of a door space.

When the legislature restored some open carry rights for people who had concealed carry permits, they decided to use the same requirements for banning open carry from an establishment. Because this requirement is to ban open carry, a separate sign is required. The legislature made this code in sequence to the existing 30.06 code, so the new signs are "30.07" signs. They are nearly identical to the 30.06 signs, but they do not ban concealed carry, only open carry. If an establishment wishes to forgo the business of both concealed carriers and open carriers, they need to put up a literal "Wall of Text", both 30.06 and 30.07 signs. Those signs together take up very close to an entire door.

Here is the relevant section in the Texas code. From legis.state.texas.us:

SECTION 43. Section 30.06(c)(3), Penal Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(3) "Written communication" means:
(A) a card or other document on which is written
language identical to the following: "Pursuant to Section 30.06,
Penal Code (trespass by license holder with  a
concealed handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter
411, Government Code (handgun licensing law), may not
enter this property with a concealed handgun"; or

(B) a sign posted on the property that:

(i) includes the language described by
Paragraph (A) in both English and Spanish;

(ii) appears in contrasting colors with
block letters at least one inch in height; and

(iii) is displayed in a conspicuous manner
clearly visible to the public.

SECTION 44. Chapter 30, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 30.07 to read as follows:

Sec. 30.07. TRESPASS BY LICENSE HOLDER WITH AN OPENLY
CARRIED HANDGUN. (a) A license holder commits an offense if the
license holder:

(1) openly carries a handgun under the authority of
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, on property of another
without effective consent; and

(2) received notice that entry on the property by a
license holder openly carrying a handgun was forbidden.

(b) For purposes of this section, a person receives notice
if the owner of the property or someone with apparent authority to
act for the owner provides notice to the person by oral or written
communication.

(c) In this section:
(1) "Entry" has the meaning assigned by Section
30.05(b).

(2) "License holder" has the meaning assigned by
Section 46.035(f).

(3) "Written communication" means:

(A) a card or other document on which is written
language identical to the following: "Pursuant to Section 30.07,
Penal Code (trespass by license holder with an openly carried
handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411,
Government Code (handgun licensing law), may not enter this
property with a handgun that is carried openly"; or

(B) a sign posted on the property that:

(i) includes the language described by
Paragraph (A) in both English and Spanish;

(ii) appears in contrasting colors with
block letters at least one inch in height; and

(iii) is displayed in a conspicuous manner
clearly visible to the public at each entrance to the property.

(d) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor
punishable by a fine not to exceed $200, except that the offense is
a Class A misdemeanor if it is shown on the trial of the offense
that, after entering the property, the license holder was
personally given the notice by oral communication described by
Subsection (b) and subsequently failed to depart.

(e) It is an exception to the application of this section
that the property on which the license holder openly carries the
handgun is owned or leased by a governmental entity and is not a
premises or other place on which the license holder is prohibited
from carrying the handgun under Section 46.03 or 46.035.

(f) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section
that the handgun was carried in a shoulder or belt holster.

If the signs are not present, then it is not illegal to carry the handgun into the establishment.  It does not mean that the establishment cannot ask an open carrier to leave; they can.  But they have to ask the person to leave face to face.  For that to hold up in court, it would likely have to be on video and audio recording, in the presence of witnesses, or in the presence of a police officer.  I suspect that  many employers and employees will not actually be willing to tell customers to leave because they are openly carrying a holstered handgun. The signs do not apply to long guns, which are directly protected by the Texas Constitution. Some may, but the experience in other states indicate that those establishments will lose business, while those who simply choose to follow the lead of the government, will gain that business. Second Amendment supporters outnumber disarmists by 5-10 to 1 or more, perhaps much, much more. 

In addition, the dedication of an entire door's worth of space to prevent people from exercising their Constitutional rights in your establishment has costs.  It costs to have the signs made and put up; it costs to take down advertising from the space that the signs occupy.  In short, putting up these signs is bad business.

For public spaces, the legislature made clear that most of them may not ban concealed carry or open carry in their premises; and for those, even if they put up a sign, the sign is not valid.  I have already seen that portion of the law take effect.  I write these words from the Benbrook Public Library, just South of Fort Worth.  Last year, the Library had a small no guns sign.  It was not enforceable because it did not meet the 30.06 standards. 

This trip, the sign was gone.  It was a welcome change.  

In a few days, Texans will be legally able to open carry modern, holstered handguns in most public places, just as citizens of 44 other states have the right to.   In Texas' case, it took 146 years to partially restore the right that was stripped from the Texas Constitution by the carpetbagger government in 1869.

There are only 5 states that have not kept or restored open carry rights, at least partially; California, Illinois, Florida, South Carolina, and New York.  Florida and South Carolina are in a race to see which will restore open carry rights first.

Definition of  disarmist

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

[marktwain]

I was on the security detail at The Vertical Church on Sunday.  I noticed that Jeremy was open carrying, so I asked him if I could take a picture after the service.  He was kind enough to wait with his lovely wife until I handed off to the next volunteer.  Then we stepped outside to take the picture.  The lobby was fairly crowded.  We are having record numbers attend for August in Yuma!

The can in his left hand is non-alcoholic, they are sold in the Church lobby.  The pistol is a Sig Sauer P220 in .45 ACP. 

Carrying to church was required by law in some of the early colonies.  Now that church shootings are in the news occasionally, the practice is making a comeback.

One of my daughter's high school boyfriends was an early adopter of the Texas concealed carry permit.  He told me that he always carried at church, and that one of his regrets was that he happened not to be at a service, which he usually attended, when it was attacked.  I think two or three people were killed.

Update: The next Sunday, the 30th of August, another security team volunteer was not on duty, but he was open carrying with his lovely family.

I was open carrying as well.  Not volunteering last Sunday.  After the service, Pastor Jason was kind enough to pose for a picture with me.  Open carry is more common in the summer months, with the temperatures well over a hundred.

http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2015/08/open-carry-at-vertical-church-in-yuma.html

[Timpanagos1]

This will be the end of HEB and Whataburger in Texas.

[Larry - Moe and Curly]

“have already written HEB, Randalls that I will shop at Krogers and Walmart instead so I do not become a terrorist statistic due to the whims of those stores.”

Tom Thumb is also a Randalls’ chain.

Not sure how stupid these people are since there is usually a Kroger nearby any Tom Thumb here in North Texas - guessing it also applies to Randalls in other parts of the State. H.E.B maybe not so much, since they are usually found in many of the smaller towns that Kroger doesn’t serve.

[BobL]

I don’t see a use in these signs, unless they’re also posted in Arabic.

[Dick Vomer]

My clothing is a little more formal for church than those of the men shown in the photos. I like my “church” carry in a Sig also but a 9mm.

Like I said, my main objection is for any bad person not identifying me as a threat. I’d rather appear as an innocuous, harmless sheep to a malignant murderer. I’m not there to act as a deterrent, I’m there to worship and defend myself and my family if the need arises. I think that the armed guards are helpful to the occasional “crazy” with a gun, but a jihadist or organized attack usually takes out security first as well as communications.

I think that open carry is good, in that it allows for accidentally showing your weapon without committing a crime.

[eartrumpet]

Correct. And Texas culture and attitudes survived Reconstruction (that R-word was not an accurate descriptive word for what it was). The reason it was not previously reversed is the POLs in Austin & DC feared the citizens of Texas. The citizens of Texas do not fear the citizens of Texas.

Did these pols magically appear in positions of power or did the citizens of Texas elect them as representatives for 146 years?

[Texas Fossil]

Well, my perspective only spans the past 68 years. But some of my relatives were born here during the Republic of Texas.

Reconstruction was not home grown, but forced by the Fed Gov. It was a criminal operation in most places it ruled.

We are still fighting the Fed Gov over redistricting, because we cannot please the PC crowd in DC.

Yes, Texas has it’s corrupt POLs. I certainly remember a few.

There is a lot of good that can be said about the people of Texas. Our differences are not about race, as Obozo implies.

Republicans control the State, but the Speaker of the House was a Dem and still acts like one.

You must bear in mind, he is from a liberal district. And has been in politics a long time. He and his family before him.