Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 115
Under Texas law, Richard may be in legal possession of his firearm
because more than five years have elapsed following either his
conviction or his release from community supervision. However, if
push comes to shove and the Feds ever care, Richard is in unlawful
possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) and 27 CFR §
478.32(a)(9), regardless of Texas law.
D. Understanding who is disqualified under Texas law
1. How does a seller know a person intends to commit an
unlawful act?
Under Texas Penal Code § 46.06(a)(1), a person is prohibited from
selling a firearm to another person when the seller knows that the
buyer intends to commit some unlawful act. Let’s take a look at a
couple of examples to highlight the difficulties a seller can face.
The issue of knowledge as it relates to the law can be a minefield
to navigate. Under the law, whenever a statute prohibits a person
from doing something because they know a condition exists,
the government must prove actual knowledge. See City of San
Benito v. Cantu, 831 S.W.2d 416, 421 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi
1992). In fact, Texas Penal Code § 6.03(b) states that a “person
acts knowingly, or with knowledge, with respect to the nature of
his conduct or to circumstances surrounding his conduct when
he is aware of the nature of his conduct or that the circumstances
exist. A person acts knowingly, or with knowledge, with respect
to a result of his conduct when he is aware that his conduct is
reasonably certain to cause the result.” That is, a person must
actually know that something is prohibited, as opposed to being
“pretty sure,” “probable,” or even “likely.” Knowing is also a much
higher standard than “should have had reason to know.” A person’s
knowledge can only be established by the facts of each incident.
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