Texas Traveling Law???

HEMIzygote · #1

I was wondering what the current "traveling law" states and what is allowed/not allowed. Will be going home for Spring Break this weekend and still in the "Waiting Room" for my CHL.

Thanks in advance!

Roger Howard · #2

You are allowed to carry in your car while traveling. But beware counties like Harris and Dallas are not very gun friendly without your plastic in pocket. I'm sure someone like TXInvestigator will chime in soon with specifics.

#3

Without a CHL having a handgun in your vehicle is not an offense if all the following conditions are in place:
1. In a private motor vehicle
2. Handgun was concealed from plain view
3. Not committing a criminal offense other than Class C traffic misdemeanor
4. Not a person prohibited from possessing a handgun
5. Not a member of a street gang.

But as said earlier there are a few places to avoid because some DA's are ignoring the law.

Delta · #4

carlson1 wrote:Without a CHL having a handgun in your vehicle is not an offense if all the following conditions are in place:
1. In a private motor vehicle
2. Handgun was concealed from plain view
3. Not committing a criminal offense other than Class C traffic misdemeanor
4. Not a person prohibited from possessing a handgun
5. Not a member of a street gang.

But as said earlier there are a few places to avoid because some DA's are ignoring the law.

It will all boil down to one thing.... The Officer making the stop, he will decide what will happen.
Most of the time, you will be fine as long as you do not make the Officer nervous, if your honest and tell them up front.

LEO's DO NOT like surprises.

1. Be honest
2. If your in Harris, County you will be detained. Then the DA will take it from there.

Dallas county is 50/50 depends on the officer again.

B

#5

You might want to read this. This has already been posted before. I hope this link works. It is pretty clear there are some DA's doing their own thing.
http://tsra.com/docs/AboveTheLaw.pdf

Delta · #6

carlson1 wrote:You might want to read this. This has already been posted before. I hope this link works. It is pretty clear there are some DA's doing their own thing.
http://tsra.com/docs/AboveTheLaw.pdf

I understand they are doing there own thing, and I read the paper in the link.

What I was trying to say was, avoid going to jail at all costs. Most of the time if your nice and being honest, the officer will not take you to jail but then you get the throw the book at them type. All bets are off

The NO surprises part.

I have had this happen to me a couple times in the early 90's. Mostly DPS troopers here in Texas

Now I don't worry because I have had my CHL forever it seems like, makes it easier all the way around.

B

#7

Delta wrote:
carlson1 wrote:You might want to read this. This has already been posted before. I hope this link works. It is pretty clear there are some DA's doing their own thing.
http://tsra.com/docs/AboveTheLaw.pdf
What I was trying to say was, avoid going to jail at all costs. Most of the time if your nice and being honest, the officer will not take you to jail but then you get the throw the book at them type. All bets are off

I totally agree with you. I did not mean to come across as not agreement. I just posted the link so folks would know what Counties might not be in tune.

Delta · #8

carlson1 wrote:
Delta wrote:
carlson1 wrote:You might want to read this. This has already been posted before. I hope this link works. It is pretty clear there are some DA's doing their own thing.
http://tsra.com/docs/AboveTheLaw.pdf
What I was trying to say was, avoid going to jail at all costs. Most of the time if your nice and being honest, the officer will not take you to jail but then you get the throw the book at them type. All bets are off
I totally agree with you. I did not mean to come across as not agreement. I just posted the link so folks would not what Counties might not be in tune.

I understand what you were doing, there is no problem.

We need to get the information out to all people so they know what to expect. If and when they get pulled over without a CHL and they are packing.

txinvestigator · #9

I bet most officers, even in Harris county, are not going to jack a law abiding citizen.

The reality is simple. How would the LEO even discover the gun? I have been driving for 14 years since I left LE, and have never had a cop ask to search my vehicle. I have only been stopped twice.

Obey the speed limits and don't act a fool, and you will be fine.

seamusTX · #10

txinvestigator wrote:The reality is simple. How would the LEO even discover the gun? I have been driving for 14 years since I left LE, and have never had a cop ask to search my vehicle. I have only been stopped twice.

That's a good question.

If your car is wrecked and you have to remove your personal property from it, you will be under the scrutiny of a LEO. It would be a good idea to have roscoe in something mundane, like a brief case or gym bag.

I have not been frisked or had my car searched during a traffic stop in more than 30 years. However, some people seem to have "bust me" tattooed on their forehead. We all know that racial profiling never happens, but it could be the Grateful Dead T-shirt or the marijuana-leaf earrings.

-Jim

Scroggwe · #11

I don't know if this is off topic or not, but I have been wondering how those DA's from Dallas and Harris Counties are being allowed to get away with that? Don't they have someone that is their boss? I have gotten several emails from the TSRA on this issue, but no one has said how to stop these rogue DA's. Apparently they think they are above the law, but I have a hard time understanding how they are allowed to just ignore a law that they don't agree with. Somebody help me understand here!

txinvestigator · #12

Scroggwe wrote:I don't know if this is off topic or not, but I have been wondering how those DA's from Dallas and Harris Counties are being allowed to get away with that? Don't they have someone that is their boss? I have gotten several emails from the TSRA on this issue, but no one has said how to stop these rogue DA's. Apparently they think they are above the law, but I have a hard time understanding how they are allowed to just ignore a law that they don't agree with. Somebody help me understand here!

The only real boss a District Attorney has is the voters.

AV8R · #13

Anyone who feels that he has been "Nifonged" by one of these DAs is certainly free to take his complaint to the State Bar of Texas. By the way, "DA" is such a versatile acronym, one of my favorites.

HotRod68Camaro · #14

how would the traveling situation apply to me since i am 19? in the past i have just kept my weapon unloaded in a bag in the back seat (doesnt do me much good but it was just transportation).

srothstein · #15

Scroggwe wrote:I don't know if this is off topic or not, but I have been wondering how those DA's from Dallas and Harris Counties are being allowed to get away with that? Don't they have someone that is their boss? I have gotten several emails from the TSRA on this issue, but no one has said how to stop these rogue DA's. Apparently they think they are above the law, but I have a hard time understanding how they are allowed to just ignore a law that they don't agree with. Somebody help me understand here!

There are two things going on that allow the DA's to do this. The first is that their only boss is the voters. They just have to worry about re-election, and so far, the CHL's and travelers have not been a significant enough voting block for them to worry about.

Second, and much more important, is that they are actually obeying the law. The real problem is the way the law was written. You see, it is generally illegal to carry a pistol on your person. This law does not apply if you are traveling at the time. But there is no set definition of traveling, and the pre-eminent case law says that traveling is a fact to be determined by the jury at the time of trial. Two years ago, the legislature made a move to help this by declaring it a legal presumption to be traveling if you are in a private vehicle, along with a few other conditions.

Their intent was good, to make it legal to carry in a car as a general rule, but the way they went about it, probably due to the politics of getting it past, was not to make it a definition or exception, but to leave it as a presumption. Presumptions can be rebutted in court, so this means that the ultimate fact of whether or not you are traveling is a fact to be determined by the jury at the trial. Thus, you can still be arrested, and the DA will review the case to see if he thinks he can still get a conviction.

There are some bills in the legislature now to fix this, especially since the legislators got their nose out of joint at the way the DA's disregarded their intent and obeyed the letter of the law. Unfortuantely, as long as we still have a chapter 46 in the penal code, we will still have these problems in some way or another. I move to just completely repeal chapter 46 altogether, leaving all carry to the person, with CHL's still issued for those who want to travel, a la Alaska.