TexasCHLforum.com

First things first, I do have my CHL. My county does not have a policy preventing carry by employees as part of an employment agreement. Nor, is the courthouse posted 30.06 I am the County Auditor and have mine and my staff's offices on the 3rd floor of the building.

I believe the Texas codes prevent carrying a handgun in courts and offices used by courts whether one is a CHL holder or not, with exceptions for peace officers meeting certain guidelines, etc.

Can I legally carry in the hallways and in my offices, restrooms, and in the other offices of the courthouse, as long as I do not enter a courtroom, or the offices of the staff of the court???

I have been in the auditor's office for 14 1/2 years and there HAVE been a couple of instances where I would have felt much more comfortable if I had my weapon with me.

I will eventually ask my local district attorney as we deal together on issues every week, but wanted to see what the board thought first.

Thanks,

Texas Penal Code
§ 46.03. Places Weapons Prohibited.

Statute text
(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm, illegal knife, club, or prohibited weapon listed in Section 46.05(a):
(3) on the premises of any government court or offices utilized by the court, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization of the court;

(3) "Premises" means a building or a portion of a building.

At most larger county courthouses all entrances are security controlled by metal detectors, so I assume your county does not?

I would think that since the courts are there, and it is a COURThouse, carry is prohibited under the CHL.

Some will argue that since the law also mentions "portions of a building" that you are only prohibited from carrying in the 'court" portions. I disagree with that.

In some areas, for example, a court might be housed in a strip center with other government offices. In that case, you can carry into the tax office, but not the court. (I have seen this in several JP courts)

That said, I an unaware of any case law that would specify the requirements of the difference between "a building or portion of a building".

My best guess is to approach whoever you feel is in charge of the premises.
Soft pedal the approach with something like,
"Well, I finally got authorized to carry. Whom, should I get to write that official little blurb that says it's ok for me to work here?"

yes, it's salesmanship, but I don't have a problem with it. Good Luck!
and officially, I'm no official.

I work as a Petroleum Landman. Since getting my CHL, it's ALWAYS been my understanding that county courthouses are off limits to firearms, 30.06 or not, metal detector or not.

You are definitely NOT allowed to carry in courtrooms and offices of the court. The term 'courthouse' is rather vague, considering that many times these buildings tend to be multipurpose. It is, very often, difficult or impossible to determine the demarcation between offices of the court and non-court portions of the premises.

When in doubt, don't carry.

Not if it has a courtroom or office. It needs to be changed to only courtrooms or offices because of all the other things that are usually located in the building. 2009?

Why should a law abiding citizen with a CHL not be allowed to carry in a courtroom?

Photoman wrote:Why should a law abiding citizen with a CHL not be allowed to carry in a courtroom?

For the same reason he/she should not be allowed to carry in a prison. Should he become incapacitated for any reason, his weapon would be available to all sorts of people who society would rather not have access to weapons. Courtrooms are frequently visited by felons or soon-to-be-felons.

That bucket doesn't hold much water. Anyone else?

This sounds like the little boy who kept asking why cant I huh why.

Father - because son the law says you cant and if you do big daddy
will take a big belt to your behind, any more questions son?

barres wrote:

Photoman wrote:Why should a law abiding citizen with a CHL not be allowed to carry in a courtroom?

For the same reason he/she should not be allowed to carry in a prison. Should he become incapacitated for any reason, his weapon would be available to all sorts of people who society would rather not have access to weapons. Courtrooms are frequently visited by felons or soon-to-be-felons.

No, it is because courtrooms are often charged with emotion, and people's lives are often changed dramatically in courtrooms. After several high profile shootings by people subject to the orders of the courts (mostly civil courts) these laws were passed.

If the Penal Code says so, obey the law.

txinvestigator wrote:

barres wrote:

Photoman wrote:Why should a law abiding citizen with a CHL not be allowed to carry in a courtroom?

For the same reason he/she should not be allowed to carry in a prison. Should he become incapacitated for any reason, his weapon would be available to all sorts of people who society would rather not have access to weapons. Courtrooms are frequently visited by felons or soon-to-be-felons.

No, it is because courtrooms are often charged with emotion, and people's lives are often changed dramatically in courtrooms. After several high profile shootings by people subject to the orders of the courts (mostly civil courts) these laws were passed.

So we CHL holders automatically become unable to control ourselves emotionally when we are in a courtroom? Sorry, that argument doesn't work when you are talking about college campuses any better than it does in a court room.

Maybe if you were CHARGED with something and in a court room, but then you probably couldn't carry because of what you were charged with.

although I agree with the previous poster, there are plenty of people that I've ran into that have a CHL that might not be themselves when their loved one was killed/injured by someone on trial. or if their loved one was on trial, and they thought that their accuser was full of it, they might be on edge.
However, if you worked there, and obviously didn't have a dog in the fight (no mike vick references, please), then I don't see why not!

If you're friends with the judge under 46.03 just get written permission.

(3) on the premises of any government court or offices utilized by
the court, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization
of the court;