Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 343
NONAPPLICABILITY OF SECTION 46.02
TEX. PENAL CODE § 46.15(b)(2) AND (3)
Sections 46.02, 46.03(a)(14), and 46.04(a-1) do not apply to
a person who:
(2) is traveling;
(3) is engaging in lawful hunting, fishing, or other sporting
activity on the immediate premises where the activity is
conducted, or is en route between the premises and
the actor’s residence, motor vehicle, or watercraft, if the
weapon is a type commonly used in the activity.
Handguns are allowed if traveling or engaged in sporting activities
The criminal provisions for possession of a weapon under Texas Penal
Code Sections 46.02 (including firearms), 46.03(a)(14), and 46.04(a1) are not applicable if a person is traveling or engaged in sporting
activities.
Unfortunately, there is no statutory definition of the term “traveling.”
In fact, much of the case law on matters addressing traveling is
contradictory as to what does and does not qualify as traveling. Of
note, however, is one case that declares definitively what traveling is
not: it is not traveling from a person’s place of business to the person’s
home. Bergman v. State, 90 S.W.3d 855 (Tex. App.— San Antonio
2002 no pet.). Who, then, determines whether a person was traveling
or not? Ultimately, a jury will make the determination. In Illingworth
v. State, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals held that “the question of
whether one is a traveler is a fact question to be resolved by the trier
of fact.” Illingworth v. State, 156 S.W.3d 662 (Tex. App.—Ft. Worth
2005 no pet.).
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