HUH? There is No such law in Texas. If you can legally possess a firearm, you can walk or ride down any street in Texas with a loaded long gun or handgun in/on your vehicle ready for use without a permit/license of any kind. If you are outside your vehicle and want to carry with a handgun, you need a Concealed handgun License. No restrictions on a long gun.
I stand corrected: there is NO Texas statute that generally prevents the open carry of a long gun (and I am glad of that). I don't know where I had heard that before - perhaps with regard to another state. However, assuming that you're going to carry the long gun somewhere you must be careful how you carry it so as not to violate TPC §42.01(a)(8) [Disorderly Conduct] that makes it an offense to "display a firearm or other deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm; . . ." I would assume that "disorderly conduct" is in the eye of the LEO-beholder (at least insofar as he/she decides to initiate contact & questioning), and that carrying a loaded AR or AK within city limits would raise more eyebrows than carrying a loaded bolt-action rifle in the rural areas of the state.
Thanks for the clarification - this makes me even happier to live in Texas.
I stand corrected: there is NO Texas statute that generally prevents the open carry of a long gun (and I am glad of that). I don't know where I had heard that before - perhaps with regard to another state. However, assuming that you're going to carry the long gun somewhere you must be careful how you carry it so as not to violate TPC §42.01(a)(8) [Disorderly Conduct] that makes it an offense to "display a firearm or other deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm; . . ." I would assume that "disorderly conduct" is in the eye of the LEO-beholder (at least insofar as he/she decides to initiate contact & questioning), and that carrying a loaded AR or AK within city limits would raise more eyebrows than carrying a loaded bolt-action rifle in the rural areas of the state.
Thanks for the clarification - this makes me even happier to live in Texas.