Carry or not carry Sept. 1st while waiting for CHL

[seamusTX]

There is some weird case law in this area. Being on a motorcycle is the same as being in a motor vehicle for most legal purposes.

People have also been found guilty of DUI while riding a horse.

- Jim

[atxgun]

So I've read this thread and figured there was some change in the law that regarding your right to carry in your car. Can someone point me to the law on the books outlining what exactly changed? I had thought you'd always been able to carry in your car if at least going to/from a gun range, hunting place, gunsmith or work/home?

[frankie_the_yankee]

So I've read this thread and figured there was some change in the law that regarding your right to carry in your car. Can someone point me to the law on the books outlining what exactly changed? I had thought you'd always been able to carry in your car if at least going to/from a gun range, hunting place, gunsmith or work/home?

Starting SEP-01, you can carry in your car anywhere you go.

But there's a couple of "Gotchas" though. For instance, to be exempt from the federal law ban on carrying firearms within 1000' of a school, you have to have a CHL. But this is federal law, not TX law. It is not exactly clear who would enforce this law. But it could create a big problem for a non-CHL who was carrying in their car at the wrong place & time.

Here's a link.

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/ftp/forms/ls-16.pdf

Scroll to pg. 37. Look at PC 46.02 and read the whole section.

[atxgun]

Hmm... I hadn't thought about this before but I think I might live w/in 1000 ft of a school. Being that I'm not yet CHL I only take my gun out to go to the range. And I put it in the trunk while in transit. Could I get pulled over pulling out of my apt parking lot and get busted under this 1000 ft clause (even though pulling out to go to the range would be going the opposite direction of the school)?

[frankie_the_yankee]

Hmm... I hadn't thought about this before but I think I might live w/in 1000 ft of a school. Being that I'm not yet CHL I only take my gun out to go to the range. And I put it in the trunk while in transit. Could I get pulled over pulling out of my apt parking lot and get busted under this 1000 ft clause (even though pulling out to go to the range would be going the opposite direction of the school)?

No problem. There is an exemption in the federal law for people who live within 1000' of a school and are just transporting a firearm (as opposed to "carrying" it).

[brandy_easttx]

When yall say you can carry concealed in your vehicle, does that mean loaded or the keep bullets and gun out of reach thing.

[seamusTX]

When yall say you can carry concealed in your vehicle, does that mean loaded...

Yes. Anyone who is legally driving a vehicle can have a loaded hangun concealed within reach. Technically, you can carry it on your person while in the vehicle, but it's not legal to get out of the vehicle in a public place carrying the handgun.

The owner of the vehicle can have a handgun in it while not driving.

- Jim

[txinvestigator]

There is some weird case law in this area. Being on a motorcycle is the same as being in a motor vehicle for most legal purposes.

People have also been found guilty of DUI while riding a horse.

- Jim

Jim,

In Texas DUI is for those under 21 only, and both it AND DWI are for motor vehicles ONLY. It has been that way since at least the '50s.

[txinvestigator]

Hmm... I hadn't thought about this before but I think I might live w/in 1000 ft of a school. Being that I'm not yet CHL I only take my gun out to go to the range. And I put it in the trunk while in transit. Could I get pulled over pulling out of my apt parking lot and get busted under this 1000 ft clause (even though pulling out to go to the range would be going the opposite direction of the school)?

No. A Texas peace officer cannot enforce federal law. (OK, unless he has been deputized as a Federal LEO also, but only Task Force people get that.)

[txinvestigator]

When yall say you can carry concealed in your vehicle, does that mean loaded or the keep bullets and gun out of reach thing.

That is a myth. Keeping ammo seperate from the gun has never been a part of Texas law.

Concealed means not visible, or not discernable to a person of normal observation.

[seamusTX]

In Texas DUI is for those under 21 only, and both it AND DWI are for motor vehicles ONLY. It has been that way since at least the '50s.

My slightly faulty memory forgot that this incident took place in another state: http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/7030607.html

- Jim

[Penn]

There is some weird case law in this area. Being on a motorcycle is the same as being in a motor vehicle for most legal purposes.

People have also been found guilty of DUI while riding a horse.

- Jim

Jim,

In Texas DUI is for those under 21 only, and both it AND DWI are for motor vehicles ONLY. It has been that way since at least the '50s.

Just saw a funny video with a guy getting pulled over driving a riding mower while intoxicated. He started to take a leak right in front of the cop and subsequently got OC'd. This was not TX and I don't know if he was popped for DWI.

[seamusTX]

I've read about a couple of golf-cart DWIs, including a funny case where a drunk was sitting in the passenger seat steering while a sober blind man sat behind the whell.

- Jim

[DoubleActionCHL]

Since you're waiting for your CHL to be approved, I believe the question is not "What are you guilty of?" but rather "What have you been charged with?" While I certainly have the utmost respect for our boys in blue, you can ask 10 different officers when it's legal to carry without a CHL and get 10 different answers.

If you are charged with UCW during your application process, even if it is dismissed, the charge alone will render you ineligible and you'll have to reapply.

You'll obviously need to decide if it's worth the risk.

[BradGroux]

This article goes into some good detail about the new law and how LEO's can't really do squat when it comes to a concealed weapon in your car or even on your person. For them to arrest you with a concealed weapon they have to prove that you are not in "transit" and if you aren't at your home you are in pretty much a perpetual state of travel or transit... and like the Dallas DA in the article states, that is "nearly impossible" to prove that someone with a concealed weapon isn't travelling... especially beyond a reasonable doubt.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-10-2 ... ll-travel/

Now, I don't think I'll take this law and carry while I don't have my CHL and play the "oh I'm travelling card" if stopped walking into an HEB, I will however have no problem carrying in my vehicle and then to and from my vehicle, especially when walking from my vehicle to my home. I live in a condo within the loop in Houston, and being a single guy I come home at late hours, so this is a big help for me.