TexasCHLforum.com

Scott Farkus wrote: So no, even though I hate this job and despise the administration that runs this place, I need the income and all the rest that it provides so the risk/reward is not worth it to me right now.

Well then, I believe you've answered your own question

baldeagle wrote:As I understand the law, having read all of the posts in response to my question, 30.06 (3) (B) (e) exempts an employee of a state-owned educational institution from the requirement to comply with employer rules regarding carrying weapons in one's vehicle and securing them in the vehicle before entering the premises. Therefore, if a campus police officer were to pull such an employee over for just cause, although the employee is required by law to provide the officer with both TX D/L and CHL, the employee would not have violated any laws by carrying and would not be sanctionable by the employer. Even if a state-owned educational institution had a written policy regarding firearms, that policy could not supercede the law, which specifically exempts government entities from the right to enforce a parking lot firearm ban.

If anyone can dispute this reading of the law, I'm perfectly willing to listen.

Maybe....

But in Texas they can fire you for anything. So while they won't claim it's about the gun.... it will be.

terryg wrote:

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

terryg wrote:One of the primary differences in this scenario for someone working for a university versus another employer is in the event of theft. If someone breaks into your car and steals your weapon or even steals your entire car while on university property, the campus police department will be the agency filing the police report - not HPD or DPD or whatever city department in which the university is located.

Thanks for this post; I never thought of that angle. A theft under these circumstances would force you to disclose something that may well cost you your job in addition to losing a car/gun. More ammo for the 2011 Texas Legislative Session. (Yeah, the pun was intended.)

Chas.

Need more ammo? Imagine driving on campus just to get to the parking lot and being pulled over by the campus police. If you had a weapon in your vehicle, at that point you are obligated to present your CHL. We all know what the next question from the officer is.

Excellent points!

My question is, wouldn't the officers, if they informed the school about your CHL and Carry, be violating the privacy provisions of the law? Eg, DPS is not supposed to disclose this information, according to the statutes, unless they notify you that they disclose it. Technically, you should be getting a notification every time an officer runs your DL# and gets a CHL Hit on their Mobile terminal. If the officers informed the university of your CHL and Carry status, would they be liable if you got fired because of it?

I don't know.. I need to read through the statutes on this again, so I'm just posing food for thought...

EDIT: Read through it, and it says that DPS can only disclose information to "a criminal justice agency", which a university PD counts as, sure.
However, there is no stipulation on what the PD can do with that information once they receive it, at least not in section 411. It would sure be nice if there was a clause in there that stated that this information was considered confidential, and may not be shared by the requesting agency with anyone outside the agency. As it appears right now, a PD could request info on any random number of people, and then publish the information in, say, the Barnacle, and not get dinged for it. That doesn't seem right to me.

3dfxMM wrote:

Only when carrying under the CHL, right?

No. If you have your weapon and you are asked for ID by a LEO or magistrate, you have to provide both DL/ID and CHL. This would be true even if you were in your own home.

Correct. There is no stipulation under Section 411 that you have to be carrying under a CHL's authority to be required to present it.
If you have a handgun, and a CHL, no matter what authority you are carrying under, you must present it, even in your own home, as mentioned above.

This technically even applies to a police officer carrying at a Professional Football Game, for example.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

dicion wrote:

Scott Farkus wrote:, but as an employee, you are required to follow the personnel policies of your employer

Required by what? Employer Policy? Sounds like Circular logic "You are required, by employer policy, to follow employer policies!"
You don't HAVE to follow employer policies. it is not the LAW to comply with employer policies.

If you mean you do not violate the Penal Code by violating an employer's workforce policies, you are generally correct. However, there are potential legal ramifications for violating an employer's policies aside from getting fired. Being fired "for cause" will bar you from collecting unemployment benefits and depending upon how long you have worked for an employer, you may lose retirement benefits as well. In the university setting, it can cost you tenure as well. If you have health insurance provided, you will lose that and the much higher cost of COBRA may put health insurance out of reach of someone who is unemployed. All of these are legal consequences, although not related to penal code violations.

Minimizing the downside of violating an employer's "no guns in the parking lot" rules doesn't help us pass an "employers' parking lot" bill in 2011. There's a heck of a lot to lose, especially in a very tight job market.

Chas.

Oh, I understand, and agree completely. I meant that they're not going to be hauled off in handcuffs, and thrown in jail for violating employer policy.

I also agree that the Employee Parking Lot bill is a VERY important piece of legislation that we HAVE to get passed this session

Scott Farkus wrote:, but as an employee, you are required to follow the personnel policies of your employer

Required by what? Employer Policy? Sounds like Circular logic "You are required, by employer policy, to follow employer policies!"
You don't HAVE to follow employer policies. it is not the LAW to comply with employer policies.

You have to comply with that or risk being fired on the spot if caught.

That's the only repercussion. It is not illegal, so it's up to you if you consider the risk worth the reward.
Is there a chance they'll search your vehicle? How often has this happened in the past? Do they even know what vehicle is yours?
These are all questions you have to ask yourself and determine if it's worth it to you.