Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 138
Under Texas Penal Code Section 46.06(a)(3), it is a Class A
misdemeanor if a person “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly
sells a firearm or ammunition for a firearm to any person who is
intoxicated.”
EXAMPLE:
Max comes into Larry’s pawn shop to browse around. Larry notices
that Max has red watery eyes, slurred speech, strong odor of an
alcoholic beverage on his breath, and he is staggering around.
Additionally, Max is carrying a half-empty Jim Beam bottle. Max says
that he wants to buy a .38 Special and some ammo. Larry happily
obliges him, and Max stumbles out the door with his new purchase.
Max then gets arrested for public intoxication a few blocks from the
shop, and the police find the gun, ammo, and a receipt from Larry’s
pawn shop showing the time and date of purchase. The police then
show up at the pawn shop to arrest Larry for violating Texas Penal
Code Section 46.06(a)(3).
Larry will claim that he did not know that Max was intoxicated, but
the prosecutor will argue that Larry consciously disregarded all of
the signs of Max’s intoxication and he therefore “recklessly” sold
him the gun and ammunition.
Likewise, under Section 46.06(a)(4), it is a Class A misdemeanor if a
person “knowingly sells a firearm or ammunition for a firearm to any
person who has been convicted of a felony before the fifth anniversary
of the later of the following dates: (A) the personʼs release from
confinement following conviction of the felony; or (B) the personʼs
release from supervision under community supervision, parole, or
mandatory supervision following conviction of the felony.” Texas
law only criminalizes selling of ammunition to these individuals; it
does not criminalize the possession or purchase of it.
Purchasing, Transferring, And Possessing Firearms | 127
