Gun laws to change in January

Opinion Column by Ellis Knox

reporter@campcountynow.com

On the side of full disclosure, I am a certified NRA Pistol Instructor and a certified Texas Concealed Handgun License Instructor whenever I am off duty at the Gazette. This is not about trying to get any business. I’m wearing my reporter hat.

What I want to inform you of is that CHL will become License To Carry, Jan. 1, 2016. What will happen on that day and from that day forward is folks who now have CHLs will be able to carry their handgun openly if they so desire.

Only LTC holders will be able to carry a handgun openly, all others will commit a misdemeanor. It is a class A misdemeanor to carry a weapon, openly or concealed, in Texas without a License To Carry. Penalties include a fine of up to $2,500, up to one year in jail, or both.

The law covering CHL is basically the same in LTC. There are some changes of course such as signing. To limit concealed carry in a place of business the 30.06 sign must be posted which says:

"Pursuant to Section 30.06, Penal Code (trespass by license holder with a concealed handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code (handgun licensing law), may not enter this property with a concealed handgun.”

Businesses may post the following 30.07 sign to limit open carry into their premises and it must read as follows:

"Pursuant to Section 30.07, Penal Code (trespass by license holder with an openly carried handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code (handgun licensing law), may not enter this property with a handgun that is carried openly."

A business may post both or either one as long as each is prominently posted in English and Spanish. The law also stipulates the size of the letters, contrasting colors, etc.

I have spoken to several business owners around town and in Mount Pleasant about the new law and find most have not considered the CHL law or the LTC change at all. If you own or manage a business, now is the time to consider open carry in your store.

The consensus of these business owners is that a person carrying a concealed handgun has never been a problem, because they weren’t aware they may have had a gun. However, open carry in their store is another matter.

Now these signs only prohibit law-abiding, licensed permit holders, who have had a federal and state background check, who have passed a written test and a proficiency shooting test from carrying into a place of business. The signs have no effect on criminals.

When folks begin carrying a handgun openly, it will take time to work out the kinks, hopefully no one will overreact either on the civilian side or the law enforcement officers side.  I was around open carry in Virginia. There they have always had it and no one even notices.

However there are pro-gun control groups ramping up their sympathizers to create havoc for law-abiding licensed gun owners that may carry openly. This havoc will also cause a lot of frustration for LEOs as they run down these calls.

Recently, one such gun control group named the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence has posted on their social media spaces to call the police to the scene whenever they see anyone carrying a handgun openly. So folks, if you plan to open carry be prepared to be stopped and questioned by police officers and deputies.

If you are stopped by a LEO, what do you do if you’re open carrying? Wait for the officer to tell you what to do.  Be still, show your hands, and don’t make any sudden moves that may alarm the officer.

The officer probably doesn’t know you and only has the information relayed to him by the dispatcher. You may be disarmed, you may be detained and you may be handcuffed until the officer is satisfied you are legally licensed to carry.

Do not be offended if this happens, just cooperate. The officer or deputy is just doing his job. This is just a heads-up for our readers.

Once the officer determines you were simply gassing your car or walking your dog, or some other innocuous activity and had not even touched your holstered gun, you should be freed to carry on with whatever you were doing.

Now at some point, LEOs will find running down every open carry call that comes in may become a waste of time and resources. At some point, dispatchers and 911 operators will be asking if the person is brandishing or waving the gun around and if not they will thank the caller politely and hang up.

However, if the caller has malicious intent, they may say you were brandishing or pointing your gun. In that case you may end up in jail. So be prepared to defend yourself… in court.

However, the caller needs to remember that filing a false police report is also illegal. So if anyone out there plans to call police as the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence suggests you may end up in big trouble, too.

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence suggests to their followers to leave the scene after calling police because they know filing a false police report is a crime. Under the Texas Family Code § 261.107, filing a false police report is a felony.

The law specifically states that if the pistol if carried openly, it may only be carried in a holster on the hip or in a shoulder holster. The holster must also have some method of retention.

Holsters on the strong side I have no problem with. However, crossdraw weak side holsters and shoulder holsters that are also crossdraw may look cool, but there are safety issues one needs to consider. The safety issue namely is “sweep.”

Sweep means the muzzle of the gun points at things other than the target before it gets to the target. Pulling from a strong side holster allows the muzzle to point mainly at the ground until it comes to eye level and the target.

Sweep can be limited somewhat by crossdraw, but it’s a much slower method of drawing the gun. Shoulder holsters are of two types, in one the gun points at the ground and the other the gun points to the rear.  Both have sweep problems.

My biggest problem is the one that points to the rear. The FBI stopped their agents from wearing this type because of accidental discharge to the rear. Because when the agents attempted to quickly draw their pistol they would sometimes unintentionally pull the trigger.

The most comprehensive book about Texas gun laws now out has been produced by the Texas Law Shield. These folks are basically an insurance company. All legal services are provided by independent third party program attorneys.

Texas Law Shield is not a law firm but a legal services company regulated under state law, which provide benefits and coverage for their members. Their web site is www.texaslawshield.com. You can purchase the book there.

Well folks there is a lot to think about. I hoped to just get people started thinking about the change and what it can mean to everyone in Camp County. Now I’m not a lawyer and I can’t answer legal questions about the law.

If you do have a question just email me reporter@campcountynow.com and I’ll try and get you an answer. Please be safe out there.

Editor’s note: This column was written by our reporter, Ellis Knox, and features his opinions on the upcoming CHL/LTC change. A news story detailing the switch and the legalities involved will run in December just prior to the change.