Question about a "No Carry" Zone in Texas....

[MadDawg34]

According to Texas Law, there are certain areas that are considered "No Carry" zones even if the 30.06 sign is not present. I have a question about one of the areas, specifically schools. The law reads...

"On the physical premises of a school or educational institution, any grounds or building on which an
activity sponsored by a school or educational institution is being conducted, or a passenger
transportation vehicle of a school or educational institution, whether the school or educational institution is public or private."

If I read this literally...this means any building or land that is dedicated as "school property". so my question is this....I drive my son to school every morning on my way to work. I drive through the car pool lane, which is on school property, and drop him off, then leave. Am I breaking the law here from a technical stand point? Does my right to have a firearm in my vehicle supercede this property "line?"

Surely, they wouldn't expect me to leave the house, drop him off at school, go back home and re-aquire my defense weapon would they?

Thoughts?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[azchevy]

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/Interne...rms/CHL-16.pdf

Here is the law clearly spelled out.

[DaRedneck]

I could be wrong but the way I understand it is as long as you leave it concealed in your car you are okay. I think the federal gun free zone is 300 ft but Texas excludes "grounds" and just lists "premises" for CHL. I am sure someone will come along and clear this up cause now I just confused myself. Sorry!

[mcp1810]

Dropping off you are fine in your car. The only time the parking lot would be off limits is when there is a school activity (field day for example) where the parking lot is being used for that activity.
Very important thing to remember though is that you are only exempt in Texas from the federal gun free school zone if you have a Texas CHL. If you are carrying under a reciprocity agreement or LEOSA you are still subject to the federal restrictions.

[Spartacus100]

This is how the Texas Penal code defines carrying with regards to schools....PC §46.03. PLACES WEAPONS PROHIBITED. (a) A person commits
an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm, illegal knife, club, or prohibited weapon
listed in Section 46.05(a):
(1) on the physical premises of a school or educational institution, any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by a school or
educational institution is being conducted, or a passenger transportation vehicle of a school or educational institution, whether the school or educational institution is public or private, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization of the institution;

The Penal Code also defines premises as (3) "Premises" means a building or a portion of a building. The term does not include any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area...

From what i understood from my CHL instructor, concealed in the vehicle while you are dropping off/picking up is ok as is leaving it locked in the car while you are in the building. And as MCP1810 stated as long as there are no school related activities going on in the parking lot at the times... Hope this helps.....

[TX0303]

Spartacus is correct, you can carry on your person or in your vehicle if you are only in one of the places he listed, such as when dropping off or driving thru. If you have to go into one of the buildings, or go to watch an event, you must leave your weapon in your vehicle.

[Slafav]

This is how the Texas Penal code defines carrying with regards to schools....PC §46.03. PLACES WEAPONS PROHIBITED. (a) A person commits
an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm, illegal knife, club, or prohibited weapon
listed in Section 46.05(a):
(1) on the physical premises of a school or educational institution, any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by a school or
educational institution is being conducted, or a passenger transportation vehicle of a school or educational institution, whether the school or educational institution is public or private, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization of the institution;

The Penal Code also defines premises as (3) "Premises" means a building or a portion of a building. The term does not include any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area...

From what i understood from my CHL instructor, concealed in the vehicle while you are dropping off/picking up is ok as is leaving it locked in the car while you are in the building. And as MCP1810 stated as long as there are no school related activities going on in the parking lot at the times... Hope this helps.....

This has been an area of interest for me as well, as I attend a Texas University. The way it reads here, I could carry on the campus as long as I didn't enter any buildings and avoided any areas that were holding school sponsored functions. Would this be an accurate reading of the law, or would it just be safer to lock my weapon in my car when I go to the campus to pick people up or meet with people?

[mcp1810]

This has been an area of interest for me as well, as I attend a Texas University. The way it reads here, I could carry on the campus as long as I didn't enter any buildings and avoided any areas that were holding school sponsored functions. Would this be an accurate reading of the law, or would it just be safer to lock my weapon in my car when I go to the campus to pick people up or meet with people?

That is correct. That is why all of the talk in the media here about campus carry was IMHO misleading. It is already perfectly legal to carry on campus. The only issue is going into the buildings or specific areas where a school function is taking place.

[Eagleks]

Wow, we can carry in schools themselves if they aren't posted. No issues about it have occurred at all. The one's out in the town I'm in are NOT posted, so we can carry inside them. On top of that, Ks law only allows them to post a building, not any grounds.

This is all legal per Fedl law if you are licensed by the state to carry, and the State that issues the license allows it .

[baren]

I agreed with Spartacus100. When I took my TX CHL course that was a question that was asked and answered in the same referance.