Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 360
disaster. With the substantial changes made to handgun carry laws in
the 87th Texas Legislature, the legality of carrying during a declared
disaster was also modified.
Previously, Texas Penal Code Section 46.15(k) provided a blanket
protection from prosecution for unlawful carrying of a weapon to a
person who was carrying a handgun if they were: evacuating from
an area following the declaration of a state disaster or local state of
disaster or reentering that area following the person’s evacuation; not
more than 168 hours had elapsed since the state of disaster or local
state of disaster was declared, or the governor extended the period
during which a person could carry a handgun under this subsection;
and the person was not prohibited by state or federal law from
possessing a firearm.
With the passing of the Firearm Carry Act of 2021, a constitutional
carrier would have little need for this non-applicability protection
in most scenarios. However, if a person is 18 to 20 years old,
this protection will serve them well should they find themselves
evacuating from a declared disaster and the rest of the provisions of
Texas Penal Code Section 46.15(k) apply.
When it comes to emergency shelters, Texas Penal Code Sections
46.02; 46.03(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(4) do not apply to a person
who carries a handgun if: (1) the person carries the handgun on the
premises of a location operating as an emergency shelter during a
declared state of disaster or a declared local state of disaster; (2) the
owner, controller, or operator of the premises or a person acting with
the apparent authority of the owner, controller, or operator authorized
the carrying of the handgun; (3) the person carrying the handgun
complies with any rules and regulations of the owner, controller, or
Law Of Handgun Carry: Part III 349
