All the Texas gun laws -- not just the partial set Texas DPS distributes!
Covers the information you need to know as a gun owner, in plain English.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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CHAPTER 1 -- THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS 15
Texas State Constitution, Article 1, Section 23 16
The Dreaded “§” Section Symbol 17
A Word About Federal Law 17
Welcome to the State Gun Laws 18
Reasons for the Texas Gun Laws 18
What Is A Firearm? 19
Air, Nearly, Toy and Non Guns 19
Who Can Bear Arms in Texas? 21
The Federal Prohibited Possessors List 22
Juveniles 23
Federal Regulation of Juveniles 24
Child Safety Law 24
How Do You Obtain Firearms? 25
In-State Purchase 26
Out-of-State Purchase 28
Gun Shows 28
Carrying Firearms 29
Freedom to Carry 29
Limits of the Handgun Carrying Law 30
Inadvertent Display 32
National Police Concealed Carry 32
Additional Restrictions and Exemptions 32
Security Guards and Bodyguards 34
School Marshals 35
History of the Old Texas Traveling Law 34
Court Precedents on Traveling 36
Motorist Protection Act-Guns in Vehicles 38
Parking-Lot Protection Law 40
Transport and Shipping 41
Interstate Travel 41
Common or Contract Carriers 43
Local Ordinances and Preemption 44
Product Liability Limit 45
Frivolous Lawsuits 46
Loss of Rights 47
Forfeiture of Rights 47
Forfeiture of Weapons 47
Reveal and Relinquish 48
Katrina Confiscation Ban 49
Foster Homes 49
State Restoration of Rights 50
Federal Restoration of Rights 50
Firearms Safety and Training 51
Federal Laws Promote Civilian Firearm Proficiency 51
CHAPTER 2 -- THE RIGHT-TO-CARRY LAW 55
An update for the 2016 License To Carry (LTC) Law is now included)
The Concealed-Handgun License (CHL) 56
General Conditions 56
Qualifications for a Concealed-Handgun License 58
CHL Application 60
Application Background Checks 62
Issuance or Denial 62
Residency 63
Application Denials 63
Replacing a License 64
Duration and Renewal 64
Suspended License 65
Revoked or Seized License 66
Peace Officer May Disarm License Holder 66
Immunity for State Government and Instructors 66
Records and Privacy 67
Mandatory Concealed-Handgun Training 67
Minimum Course Requirements 67
Handgun Categories 68
Marksmanship Requirements 68
School Marshal Requirements 69
Instructor Qualifications 70
School Safety Certification for Instructors 72
Reciprocity in General 74
Texas Reciprocity 75
The Three Reciprocity Lists 76
Prohibited Places List 77
Private Property and Trespass 80
No-Guns-Allowed Signs 81
Bars 83
Federal Facilities 83
Texas Gun-Free School-Zone Laws 84
School-Zone-Law Exceptions 85
Hotels 85
Open Carry 86
Gun-Free-Zone Liability Act 86
General Restrictions 104
Illegal Trajectory 104
Discharge in City Limits or in Public 104
From Vehicles or Boats 104
Posted Areas 105
Common Nuisance 105
The Land of Texas 106
Texas General Land Office 106
Cities, Towns and Villages 106
Special Cases 107
County Land 108
Indian Country 108
National Forests 109
National Park Service Land 110
Private Land 110
River Authorities 112
Shooting Ranges 113
State and Federal Military Land 114
Certain State Lands 114
Transporting Firearms for Shooting 115
Texas State Rifle Association License Plates 116
CHAPTER 5 -- DEADLY FORCE and SELF-DEFENSE 121
Use of Deadly Physical Force 122
Public Duty 124
Necessity 124
Deadly Force in Self-Defense 125
Castle Doctrine 126
Defense of a Third Person 126
Crime Prevention 127
Law Enforcement 127
Protection of Life or Health 128
Protecting Property 128
Precautionary Note 129
Related Laws 130
Aggravated Assault 130
Disorderly Conduct 130
Deadly Conduct 130
Reporting Gunshot Wounds 130
Responsibility 131
Booby Traps 131
Warning Shots 131
Bullet-Proof Vests 132
Keeping Control of Your Firearm 132
Disarming a Peace Officer 132
Criminal Mischief 132
Appointing and Arming Deputies 133
Ballistics Testing and Recordkeeping 133
Defensive Display 133
CHAPTER 6 -- HUNTING REQUIREMENTS 139
Hunting on Leased Land 140
Hunting on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Land 141
Public Lands Regulated by Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. 141
Some Key Hunting Regulations 142
CHAPTER 7 -- NOTES ON FEDERAL LAWS 145
The Main Federal Gun Laws in Effect Today 147
Federal Firearms Transportation Guarantee 148
The Brady Law, Parts 1 and 2 149
Public Safety and Recreation Firearms Use Protection Act 153
Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety Act 154
Antiterrorism Act 155
Gun-Free School Zones Act 156
Misdemeanor Gun Ban for Domestic Violence 158
Omnibus Federal Gun Laws for 1999 160
Federal Patriot Act, Undetectable Guns, Arm the Pilots, Armed Cargo Pilots,
National Police Carry, Lawful Commerce in Arms Protection, Katrina,
NICS Improvement, Multiple Long-Gun Sales, Quarterly Excise Tax
Payments, ACA Health Care Conditions, LEOSA Improvements,
National Parks Ban Repeal, Military Gun Rights, more 160
Spring-Assisted Knives 164
CHAPTER 8 -- GUN SAFETY and CHL TRAINING 169
An update for the 2016 License To Carry (LTC) Law is now included)
The Gun Owner's Commandments of Safety 170
Teach Your Children Well 173
School Firearms Safety Program 173
Keeping Children Safe 173
Secured Storage 174
Disabling 175
The Eddie Eagle Program 176
How Well Do You Know Your Gun? 177
CHL Training: Study Guide and Self-Test Questions 178
“Judgmental Shooting” Shoot-Don't Shoot Scenarios 184
Situational Analysis 185
AppendixA-Glossary of Terms 192
Appendix B-Crime and Punishment Chart 196
Appendix C-The Proper Authorities 198
Appendix D-The Texas Gun Laws Word-for-Word 201
About the Authors 281
Politically Corrected Glossary 283
This book is really the result of all the help we received, great
and small, from the good people who shared their thoughts and resources
with us. Thank you.
Ron Bertsch, Deputy, National Forests and Grasslands
Dr. James T. “Doc” Brown, Texas State Rifle Association
Susan Carley, Research and Support
Bill Clede, Sysop, Firearms Forum, CompuServe, along with
Jeff Halapin, M. Scott Hammon, Kelley Hughes, John Rich
and Mark Thompson
Larry Cooper, Marksman Indoor Range, Inc.
Candice M. DeBarr, Research and Support
Randy Gibson, Exec. Dir., Texas State Rifle Association
Tom Gresham, Contributing Editor, Sports Afield
Steve Hall, Conservation Ed. Dir., Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.
Gary Kansteiner, Attorney, Texas Legislative Council
Fred Knot, Research and Support
Marshall Kummel, Research and Support
Cheryl and Tyler Korwin
Jim Lockwood
Jeff Long, Information Coordinator, Texas General Land Office
Joe McBride, President, McBride’s Guns, Inc.
John Molleston, Texas General Land Office
Harold D. Oates, Captain, Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.
Karl N. Olson, Security Officer, Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.
The Honorable Senator Jerry Patterson
Linda Paulson, CompuServe Journalism Forum
Terrence Plas, The Pensus Group
E.B. Reddoch, III, Exec. Dir., Texas State Rifle Association
Richard Shaw, The Pensus Group
David Smith, Alpine Range
Ralph Talbot, Texas State Rifle Association
Texas Arms Rights Coalition, Neil Atkins
Texas Gun Dealers Association
Charles H. “Chuck” Thompson,
American Defensive Firearms Institute
Gabriel Torre, Sportsman Shooting Center
Carlos Vaca, Asst. Commander, Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.
Paul Velte IV, Attorney at Law
Charles Wallace, Coordinator, TSRA Grass Roots
W.L. Don Welch, Chief Ranger, Lower Colorado River Authority
James C. “Jimmy” Williams, Attorney
Karen Ziegler, Red’s Indoor Range
The Texas State Rifle Association
allowed the use of information in their pamphlet,
“Know Your Texas Firearm Laws.”
The National Rifle Association Institute
allowed the use of material in their pamphlet,
“Your State Firearms Laws.”
In their dealings with us we found the Texas Dept. of Public Safety
to be cooperative, professional, hard-working and dedicated to fair
implementation of the complex 1995 Right-to-Carry law.
The Texas River Authorities’ cooperation was greatly appreciated.
Special thanks to Phoenix trial lawyer Michael P. Anthony
Cover design by Ralph Richardson
