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Texas Senate backs guns in cars at workplaces
10:31 AM CDT on Thursday, March 26, 2009
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
tstutz@dallasnews.com

AUSTIN – Texans could carry their guns and ammunition to work – as long as they keep them in the car or pickup – under a bill passed unanimously by the Senate on Wednesday.

The measure by Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, would bar businesses from having policies that prohibit their employees from storing legal firearms and ammunition in their locked vehicles outside their place of work.

"People like their firearms in Texas, and if they want to bring them to the workplace, they are going to do it whether there is a policy or not," Hegar said in response to concerns that a disgruntled worker might be encouraged to bring a gun to work to settle a dispute.

He added: "It is not the firearm in the car that causes the problem, it's the individual who possesses the firearm."

About 230,000 Texans have a state license to carry a concealed handgun.

Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, a co-author of the bill, said company policies that prohibit employees with a concealed-handgun license from bringing a gun to work run counter to the original intent of the program – to allow license holders to protect themselves.

"If we continue to see more and more businesses adopt policies like this, pretty soon we are going to render a [concealed-gun license] ineffective. You won't be able to take a gun anywhere," he said.

Hegar said his bill would still allow businesses to bar firearms in company offices and in company vehicles. It would not apply to places where firearms are not permitted by state or federal law, such as a county courthouse or a federal government building.

Asked about the possibility of the measure sparking violence in the workplace, Hegar said cases of shootings in Texas businesses have been rare. One occurred two years ago at the Johnson Space Center in Houston when an engineer brought a handgun into a NASA office building – in violation of NASA policies – and shot and killed another engineer before killing himself.

Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, said he was concerned that someone might use the law to legally carry dynamite or another explosive to work.

"What happens if somebody brings in dynamite under the provision that allows a person to carry ammunition to work?" he asked, saying such a situation could pose a serious threat at an energy or chemical plant.

Hegar countered: "Under this bill, you are not able to have dynamite in your car. Dynamite is not ammunition."

Employers would be able to ban firearms in vehicles that are parked in a fenced lot with controlled access. But the employer would have to provide alternative parking nearby.

Employers also would be protected from any civil liability for personal injury, death, property destruction or any other damages resulting from an occurrence involving a firearm transported onto their property.