TexasCHLforum.com

craig_o wrote:Is the law really any different (or any more clear, for that matter) if the firearm in question was a shotgun?

It is a lot different then. For the most part, you can carry a rifle or a shotgun openly or concealed in Texas and no one can say anything. There are a very few places where all firearms are banned, but it really is just a few. I can carry a shotgun with me when I go visit you, and if you do not verbally tell me to leave with it, I am not breaking any laws. Strictly speaking, if I carry a pistol when i come visit you, I am unlawfully carrying while on your property unless I meet one of the specified exceptions (peace officer, CHL, etc.).

The law is really pretty clear on this, but the application is where it gets confused. I agree with Wildbill that I have never heard of a person being arrested for a case like this, but that does not mean it cannot happen or hasn't. As far as I can tell, the only way you would get caught is if something else happened (either a disturbance of some type or you used the pistol) and in those cases, Texas generally looks at the whole situation.

seamusTX wrote:As I said earlier, I've read about cases where someone obviously had to be carrying illegally before defending himself (before car carry was legal). If it was justified self-defense and the defender was not a felon, the authorities overlooked the illegal carry.

This has long been the case in Texas. We have almost always looked first at the use of force, and only addressed unlawfully carrying if the force was also illegal.

But other states do not always do so. NY convicted Bernhard Goetz of unlawfully carrying after finding him not guilty on the assault charges. The jury said the shooting was justified, but he should not have had the pistol.

I am certainly glad to be living in Texas with rulings like that elsewhere.