Does the law care where you were?

[Embalmo]

Where I was a few minutes before the incident is not something I would choose to answer at the scene.
Were you carrying in the bar? Don't you know that it's illegal to carry in a bar?
Oh, so you left the bar and went and got your gun out of your car? If you were at your car, why didn't you just leave? You came back because you wanted to kill him, didn't you?
All of that can wait until after I've spoken to my attorney.

I agree-I'm guessing that if you draw your weapon they're gonna' want to know a whole lot about the circumstances leading up to the incident. In my old age I just assume that a camera is on me even in the bathroom.

Embalmo

[mgood]

I guess the problem here is that I'm not thinking so much about shooting, or self-defense, I'm more oriented to being outed where it can be proven that I was carrying. Ahhright-A couple of months ago I took my car through the laser wash @ HEB and then spent 20 minutes or so drying it in the parking lot, and applying tire foam. Somehow, I guess when I was reaching up to dry the roof of the van my T shirt lopped over my Bersa and tucked itself really good behind my IWB holster. Sooo-For at least 15 minutes, I was in a busy HEB parking lot open carrying. When I noticed, I pulled my T shirt over it and drove my half-dry van immediately home. I happen to know that HEB has surveillance cameras all over the place, so what if HEB was 30.06 (they're not) and I had walked in just before that (I didn't). On the way out I half expected to have to show my CHL to a LEO and explain the wardrobe malfunction.

IANAL!
Wardrobe malfunctions are not illegal.
So you're spotted at the car wash drying your car and your handgun becomes exposed. Oops. Pull your shirt back over it and carry on with what you were doing.
Now, if someone saw that and believes that you just came out of the (hypothetically) 30.06 posted grocery store across the parking lot . . . I seriously doubt anyone's going to be motivated enough to go through the security tapes to prove you didn't get it out of your car once you got back outside, or that the responding LEOs are going to think it's anything but a waste of their time if they get called.
"You didn't see me open my door to wipe the water off the edges? How do you know I didn't pick up up my pistol and reholster at that time?" Difficult to prove and not worth it unless you come across a store owner, cop, and DA who are all anti-gun fanatics.

If it's at a school or federal building, you're on your own. You just might find someone who wants to investigate/prosecute, but I don't know.

[Embalmo]

If it's at a school or federal building, you're on your own. You just might find someone who wants to investigate/prosecute, but I don't know.

Oh I can guarantee that it would be prosecuted in Travis County, I'd just like to know the actual law. Oh and you would be surprised how motivated LEO can be when the see/hear gun; at least around here. I was pulled over by a rookie that didn't know what a CHL was until I told him it was a concealed handgun license. All he needed to hear was "gun" to pull me out, frisk me, and call 2 more cars to the scene. My only guess is that he wasn't listening until he heard the "G" word.

Embalmo

[Hoi Polloi]

Let me see if I understand this?

In the hypothetical scenario (not the real scenario that made you wonder about what-if), a person goes into a posted establishment with his concealed handgun and after exiting that establishment he uses his handgun in a justifiable self-defense. Right? And you want to know if the person would be prosecuted for carrying in the establishment?

My answer would be that he could be and that whether or not he would be would be a matter of politics, luck, and circumstances.

How bad was the bad guy? Did you kill a congressman's kid or a professional criminal? Did you respond with excessive force? Is there a reason the DA would want to make an example of you? How much actual threat was there to your life? Did where you came from have any bearing on the situation you found yourself in such that what you were doing in the restricted place is relevant? (Like taking a bar fight outside as opposed to walking out of a mall and running smack dab into a gang initiation.) Would it appear to be a minor infraction in comparison to what you were facing? Was there justifiable reason that you might be unaware of a 30.06 sign? Was the establishment 30.06 posted (HEB) or was it a restricted place (courtroom or school)? Are there any other criminal charges being filed against you that this infraction could be added to?

I think all these things any many more including mood and demeanor and the weather that day will together determine if they would seek out the evidence and charge you. They most definitely could and the issue would be if it was worth their time and effort. All the more reason to keep your mouth shut. That video I linked earlier on all the ways an innocent guy could get himself into trouble by talking to the police was really eye-opening to me. If they want to pin something on you, the easiest way they can do it is with your own words.

[jester]

So let's say I had a similar wardrobe malfunction in an IRS, or elementary school parking lot filled with staff member witnesses and surveillance cameras (or possibly ratted out by an anti-gun friend of a friend). Would I be home free from prosecution if I got caught in the lot of a place I had obviously had been inside.

Even if you're 100% innocent, there are no guarantees you won't be prosecuted. However, committing a crime probably increases your chances of being prosecuted.

[Embalmo]

I think I just need a better holster.

[drjoker]

I remember a post earlier on the forum of a country western star who shot someone with a .22 cal revolver outside a bar (sorry I forgot the star's name). He never said anything to the cops other than it was self defense and he feared for his life. He did NOT lie to the cops and said that he did not have the gun with him in the bar. That would make you lose all credibility for all your testimony. DO NOT lie but do not say ANYTHING to the cops. Let your lawyer do the talking for you. That's what he's paid to do. Remember, you have the right to remain silent and not incriminate yourself. If they don't have video of you taking a gun out of the bar and there wasn't witnesses, then you are "innocent" in the law because it is their burden of proof to prove you guilty. America is a Free country with Liberty and Freedom. This means that it doesn't matter if you are innocent or guilty. To be fair and have liberty, all those accused should be PROVED guilty in order to be pronounced guilty under the law.

The country western star did not get convicted of the weapons charge. Anyone remember his name? This is really bugging me. He's a friend of Willie Nelson, if that helps.

[mgood]

The country western star did not get convicted of the weapons charge. Anyone remember his name? This is really bugging me. He's a friend of Willie Nelson, if that helps.

Was Willie at the trial? I think I remember pictures of them coming out of the courthouse together. I don't know who it was though. I'm not sure I knew who it was when I read it.

[JNMAR]

Billie Joe Shaver...my goodness, how could one forget?

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=33533&p=393740&hili ... on#p393740

[mgood]

Billie Joe Shaver...my goodness, how could one forget?

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=33533&p=393740&hili ... on#p393740

Because I don't know who that is.