I am not a lawyer.
Here's my take. It is in no way to be construed as advice for someone else here.
I would probably not choose to stay in a motel/hotel that's posted 30.06, but there could be circumstances where I would. Say I've been driving for 18 hours straight and am dead tired. This is the first place I've found with a vacancy. It's either stay here or face the possibility of having to go on another few hours, assuming I don't die asleep at the wheel, before I find anything else. Been there, done that. Or say my boss, out of the blue, says he needs me in San Antonio tomorrow and he's already booked the hotel. Been there, done that. Or it's a trip, possibly booked through a travel agency, with reservations made way in advance to get all the discounts, that you don't want to change up at the last minute, possibly infuriating your travel companion. In any of those situations, I would make a note to myself to avoid that particular inn in the future, but would probably stay there that time.
Under MPA, I'm legal to carry in my vehicle (or even the boss's vehicle, under my control, although I might be in trouble with the boss if he knew).
I'm pretty sure I'm legal in my hotel room. If I had no CHL, then 30.06 does not affect me at all. Then I'm certain I'd be legal in my hotel room. With a CHL, I think there's a gray area there in the room of a hotel that's posted 30.06.
I
believe (though I can't quote the law to back it up) that I can legally transport it from my vehicle to my residence (residence being my hotel room for the time being).
I would take the 30.06 sign to mean that I shouldn't be loitering in the public spaces such as the lobby, restuarant, or by the pool while packing. Which someone without a CHL could not legally do. Basically, the 30.06 sign deprives me of my CHL priviledges, but not of the rights a non-CHL would have in the same place. (And yes, I know the fact that we have to show a CHL to a LEO and tell him if we're carrying, while a non-CHL does not under the MPA, does tend to argue against that, but I'm going with it anyway.)
Whether my weapon was broken down, with the slide in one locked suitcase, the frame in another, and the ammo in another, or if it was loaded and in a holster on my hip, I doubt that makes a difference, legally. It may make a difference in the eyes of the hotel employee who outs you or to the police officer he calls though.
So I'd carry, to and from my room only. I'd be extra extra careful about concealment. (And I'd keep in mind that, if caught, I may face a lengthy and expensive legal battle in what may ultimately be an unwinnable case.)
The Annoyed Man wrote:If you have a CHL and you carry a gun past a 30.06 sign, is it still a violation if the gun is unloaded and concealed in a suitcase. Is it a violation if the gun is concealed in the suitcase, loaded?
There is nothing in Texas law dealing with whether a gun is loaded or unloaded, none. If you're legal with an empty gun, you're legal with a loaded gun. IANAL, but that's one of the few points in all this mess that I'm sure of.
