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An instructor (Greg Smith @ Gander in Cypress) told his students that it was illegal to carry a loaded shotgun in a car trunk or in the passenger compartment.

Was he confused by the federal law about transporting guns?

AFAIK, TX does NOT care whether the gun is loaded or unloaded. Actually, does not care if it is concealed or open, (unless you have a CHL - then you have to keep your pistol concealed.)

You are correct about Texas law. There is no general restriction on carrying long guns, loaded or unloaded, concealed or not.

Long guns are prohibited in the "places weapons prohibited" in PC §46.03.

Then there's a federal law that prohibits firearms on school grounds, including parking lots, and within 1,000 feet of a school, unless unloaded in a locked case or rack. (This law contains an exception for CHLs.)

The federal law is rarely prosecuted. To the best of my knowledge, it has never been used against someone who is merely driving past a school. It would most likely be overturned by the Supreme Court, as a previous version of the same law was.

Jim

seamusTX wrote:You are correct about Texas law. There is no general restriction on carrying long guns, loaded or unloaded, concealed or not.

Long guns are prohibited in the "places weapons prohibited" in PC §46.03.

Then there's a federal law that prohibits firearms on school grounds, including parking lots, and within 1,000 feet of a school, unless unloaded in a locked case or rack. (This law contains an exception for CHLs.)

The federal law is rarely prosecuted. To the best of my knowledge, it has never been used against someone who is merely driving past a school. It would most likely be overturned by the Supreme Court, as a previous version of the same law was.

Jim

Rergarding prosecution under this law, I believe this is one of the laws they generally use to enhance sentencing after conviction (e.g. - BG selling drugs from his car outside the school & had a loaded rifle in the car=2 charges, one for drug violation & one for firearms violation). As far as I know, they don't stop you to see if your long gun is loaded (although I can just imagine some of the responses they'd get to that question... ).

There are two separate school zone issues.

Texas law has a 100-yard school zone, where any crime is enhanced one degree by possessing a firearm in that zone (PC §46.11). This would be used in state prosecutions of crimes like theft and drug dealing.

The federal law prohibits possession of a firearm in a school zone. It has been used against people who were on school grounds but weren't otherwise committing a crime (yet). I saw one of these cases in the news a few months ago.

I've never heard of a traffic stop being prosecuted under federal law.

BTW, the 1,000-foot federal zone covers some entire cities.

- Jim

seamusTX wrote:There are two separate school zone issues.

Texas law has a 100-yard school zone, where any crime is enhanced one degree by possessing a firearm in that zone (PC §46.11). This would be used in state prosecutions of crimes like theft and drug dealing.

The federal law prohibits possession of a firearm in a school zone. It has been used against people who were on school grounds but weren't otherwise committing a crime (yet). I saw one of these cases in the news a few months ago.

I've never heard of a traffic stop being prosecuted under federal law.

BTW, the 1,000-foot federal zone covers some entire cities.

- Jim

Texas Peace Officers cannot enforce Federal Law.