Texas State Rifle Association Alert

[nralife]

Texas State Rifle Association Alert


On Monday, May 6, representatives from NRA-ILA and TSRA, former State
Senator and author of Texas'"Right To Carry" law Jerry Patterson, and
State Rep. Rick Green (R-Dripping Springs) attended a meeting of the
Hays County Republican Party to discuss the issue of cities and
counties circumventing the Legislature and using the criminal
trespass law to post signs prohibiting concealed handgun license
holder access to their premises. The guests were invited by
Republican activist, NRA member and CHL instructor Mike Cox.

Within a few days of the presentation to attendees, which included
some local elected officials in Hays County, all questionable signs
on county buildings and facilities had been ordered removed by Hays
County Judge Jim Powers. We appreciate his thoughtfulness on this
important issue and the actions he has taken to remedy the situation
at the county level!

Earlier this year, the Texas House Public Safety Committee held an
interim hearing on this very issue, during which legislative
representatives from NRA-ILA and TSRA explained the origin of the
CHL "Loophole":

* During debate on the original "Right To Carry" law in 1995, the
Texas Legislature rejected amendments which would have allowed state
agencies, and city or county governments to ban license holders from
carrying on their premises. Instead, the Legislature specifically
enumerated places which are off-limits to license holders in Sections
46.03 and 46.035 of the Penal Code. The Legislature also amended the
state's firearms preemption law to clarify that localities could not
restrict carrying by CHLs.

* Changes were made to the criminal trespass law in 1997, which aimed
to establish tough, uniform posting requirements for private property
owners wishing to restrict access to their premises by CHLs. However,
a legal opinion effectively allowed for similar posting on public
property. The opinion stated that although local governing entities
have no authority under the "Right To Carry" law to prohibit carrying
on their premises, they may post signs in accordance with the
criminal trespass statute to ban such activity.

This "loophole" for county and municipal governments has led to a
proliferation of signs on public buildings across the state --
pictures of which were displayed for the Public Safety Committee and
for the attendees at the Hays County Republican Party meeting.
NRA-ILA and TSRA will continue to push locally for removal of these
signs on public buildings, as we believe they violate both the spirit
and legislative intent of the state's "Right To Carry" law. We will
also work to close this "loophole" at the state level and reassert
the Legislature's power to regulate the wearing of arms, as stated in
both the state constitution and the state's firearms preemption law.

If you are interested in arranging a similar presentation before your
local party organization or local elected officials, please contact
Mike Cox at miked.cox@verizon.net, or Alice Tripp with TSRA at
AGTripp@aol.com or Tara Reilly Mica, NRA-ILA Texas State Liaison at
tmica@nrahq.org for more information.

Texas State Rifle Association

[LonWilson]

I wonder if the TSRA would be interested in..oh, I dunno, getting rid of these stupid training requirements, high license fees, and the like? Maybe remove most of the restrictions on carry permit holders?

[Libertarian]

I am so angry with myself for missing this meeting. I got the e-mail last week and accidentally deleted it. Perhaps next time I won't be so stupid.