Open Carry

[Drvajeep]

I work with a guy that seems to think its legal to open carry, and another that thinks its ok to carry his in his truck, says he traveling

Are any of these legal, i think the traveling part is mentioned somewhere but the traveling was never defined so its up to the officer if your traveling or not

[flb_78]

open carry off of your own property is illegal in Texas.

Anyone who can legally buy and possess a handgun in Texas can carry a concealed handgun in their vehicle.

[Liberty]

open carry off of your own property is illegal in Texas.

Anyone who can legally buy and possess a handgun in Texas can carry a concealed handgun in their vehicle.

There are some other conditions.
The Gun has to be concealed
You have to own or control the vehicle
You can't commit any crimes other than minor traffic offenses.
You can't belong to a gang.

[atxgun]

You can't belong to a gang.

Dang, and i thought I was in the clear

Does single man militia count as a gang?

[KBCraig]

If you are traveling, you can carry concealed, openly, or duct-taped to your forehead; travelers are exempt from PC 46.02. You can carry loaded, unloaded, on foot or while driving a monster mudder rig.

The problem is that there is no definition of "traveling", either in Texas statutes or controlling statewide court ruling. There are multiple conflicting local rulings that have entered folklore ("across three county lines", "overnight", "more than 100 miles from your home", etc.), but none of those are valid rulings outside the jurisdiction in which they were issued.

You don't need to be a traveler if you are in a motor vehicle you own or control; so long as your handgun is concealed from ordinary observation, PC 46.02 does not apply to you. You can carry concealed in your car from your house to the corner mailbox and back, and be perfectly legal.

[casingpoint]

open carry off of your own property is illegal in Texas

Texas being the macho frontier mentality state that it is, or was, that is the stupidest, most out-of-touch-with-the-people gun law on the books anywhere.

[ghostrider]

>open carry off of your own property is illegal in Texas

what if you're engaged in a lawful activity (hunting, target shooting) on someone else's property?

[barres]

>open carry off of your own property is illegal in Texas

what if you're engaged in a lawful activity (hunting, target shooting) on someone else's property?

Lawful sporting activity in which the firearm might be used is another exemption to UCW. That's how you can carry at the range or hunting legally.

[AWB09]

You can open carry a rifle. I think The Iratollah said it best.

The OC long gun will certainly offer you the same or better protection than a concealed handgun and you can start right away.

[Liko81]

You can open carry a rifle. I think The Iratollah said it best.

The OC long gun will certainly offer you the same or better protection than a concealed handgun and you can start right away.

Yes you can. The question is whether such carry is "in a manner calculated to cause alarm" and therefore disorderly conduct. I don't normally say things along this line, but I would avoid taking a shotgun or AR to the mall. I would support a "long gun OC" picnic where a bunch of people get together, but one guy walking around with a rifle evokes images of situations Texas has not seen since Charles Whitman, and we do not want the people and/or Legislature to be reminded of these situations when we're trying to get some very historic bills passed.

To answer the OP, OC of a handgun is generally illegal per TPC 46.02 when not on your own property, hunting, or a few other situations listed as exceptions in 46.15. However, your CAN carry in your car. You are safest in terms of legality when the handgun is concealed or "not in plain sight" as the statute specifically says; the situation is clearly defined and also quite clearly specifies that it is NOT a crime to do so. However, TPC 46.15 says that 46.02 does not apply, at all, to a person who "is travelling". This is a very old law that became known as the "travelling salesman law" due to its most common interpretation, implying long-distance travel. However, on paper, there is no statutory definition of the term; travelling could be as simple as putting one foot in front of the other down the street. The good news is that if a court would conclude you were travelling, it does not matter what or how you are carrying; the bad is that the court decides what "travelling" is on a case-by-case, jurisdictional, precedential basis. That's why we got the Motorist Protection Act in 2007; Houston DAs prosecuted anyone found with a gun in their vehicle even after a 2005 attempt by the Legislature to define the term statutorily. That ticked off the Legislature quite a bit, leading to a pretty crystal clear statute saying "in your car + concealed + no serious criminal activity = not a crime".

[KBCraig]

I would support a "long gun OC" picnic where a bunch of people get together, but one guy walking around with a rifle evokes images of situations Texas has not seen since Charles Whitman, and we do not want the people and/or Legislature to be reminded of these situations when we're trying to get some very historic bills passed.

Charles Whitman took great care to conceal his rifles and shotgun. The good citizens who responded carried their own rifles openly.

Yet again another instance proving that criminals hide their guns, honest people carry theirs openly.

[Liberty]

I would support a "long gun OC" picnic where a bunch of people get together, but one guy walking around with a rifle evokes images of situations Texas has not seen since Charles Whitman, and we do not want the people and/or Legislature to be reminded of these situations when we're trying to get some very historic bills passed.

Charles Whitman took great care to conceal his rifles and shotgun. The good citizens who responded carried their own rifles openly.

Yet again another instance proving that criminals hide their guns, honest people carry theirs openly.

Grrrrr .....
I'm really a law abiding honest citizen .. Really !!!

Yeah, I know what you meant .. Still ...

[airbornerangerboogie]

open carry off of your own property is illegal in Texas, open carry on your property while legal can subject you to harassement in some cases.

Anyone who can legally buy and possess a handgun in Texas can carry a concealed handgun in their vehicle.