Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 287
Prior to 2015, the Texas Legislature did not provide a penalty for
a local government that posts an unauthorized 30.06 sign. This
oversight allowed anti-firearm local governments to confuse and
intimidate lawful concealed handgun carriers by posting 30.06
signs even though it is prohibited by the statute. This oversight
was remedied in 2015, when the civil penalty provided by Section
411.209 of Subchapter H, Chapter 411 of the Government Code
went into effect for state agencies or political subdivisions of the
state that post signs improperly. This law applies not only to proper
30.06 signs, but also to any sign referring to Section 30.06 of the
Texas Penal Code, or to any sign referring to a concealed handgun
licensee being prohibited from carrying, which would appear to
include signs prohibiting openly carried handguns under Texas
Penal Code Section 30.07.
This remedy was further clarified in 2019 to encompass all
communications, not just signs, that state or imply that a license
holder carrying a handgun on government property would be
trespassing. In essence, unless it is a location prohibited by Section
46.03, a state agency or political subdivision that gives an express
or implied communication barring handguns could incur a civil
penalty.
However, this is the government we’re talking about; that means
there are some bureaucratic hoops a person will have to jump
through. First, any citizen of Texas, or a Texas LTC holder, must
inform the state agency or political subdivision, in writing, that
the sign is invalid and note the specific location of the sign. If the
improper sign is not taken down within three days, then a person
may file a complaint with the attorney general. This complaint
must contain evidence of the violation (i.e., a picture of the sign)
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