Dragonfighter wrote:If a hotel can't keep you from having one with you, how can a land lord? Am I missing a distinction here?
I don't think you are missing a distinction. Just like I can't see the distinction between violating the tennent 2nd amendment rights and his 1st, 3rd, 4th or 5th!
If the landlord said "No opinions other than those of the landlord allowed" the supreme court would have that struck off in a heartbeat.
If the Landlord said "Christians only'...again...outcry would ensue.
So how can they say 'No 2nd Amendment rights allowed in this building"?
Glock - When a FTF just isn't an option!
04/24/09 - CHL Class
08/17/09 - Plastic in hand!
NRA & TSRA Member
Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
"Society doesn't have a gun problem; Society has a society problem"
Bringing up the Second Amendment is useless - this is a prospective landlord, not the government, and Texas law already gives property owners the right to prohibit concealed handguns, as well as many other things allowed in the Constitution.
If you can't get them to agree to a lineout, go elsewhere. In today's economy, there are plenty of landlords who will take a willing tenant with few restrictions.
All this makes me think I should go back and carefully re-read my wife's office lease - there's a big 'gun busters' sign on the building's front door, but no 30-06. I carry whenever I'm there, and since 'concealed means concealed', there hasn't been a problem - yet. They could have snuck a clause into the lease and maybe I missed it.
I think there are two distinctions you are missing.
The first distinction is that a hotel or an apartment is a residence under the law. You have some strong rights in a residence in Texas, even if it is temporary. A business lease (like the original poster had mentioned) gives you much less power in those same rights. This is like the difference between personal free speech and commercial free speech. SCOTUS has recognized a difference.
The second, and more important, difference is what the consequences of violating the contract are. It doesn't matter if it is your home, and apartment, a business, or a hotel, if you rent it you can legally have your gun there. The law in Texas is clear that it is not illegal to have a gun in a place you own OR CONTROL (and a lease is control). But, violating a contract can get you evicted from the lease, whether it is your home, hotel room, or business. Another area that Texas has fairly strong laws on is contract law. You can put almost anything that is not illegal in a contract and be bound by it.
And these distinctions would go for speech, religion, etc. If you violate your contract, you get evicted even if you cannot be criminally charged. One example of a lease that limits free speech is the dorm room and posting signs in the window. I recall a small dustup about that a couple years ago too. Students wanted to post things in the windows and were not allowed to. No criminal charges, but punishment from the school for violating the school rules.
