Poll: Texas and car carry without license

[Larryes]

Texas is in the process of expanding the Castle Doctrine to private automobiles. The new law will allow car carry without the driver having a CCW.

The Austin NBC station has a poll which is currently going the wrong way.

KXAN.com - News, Weather, Sports - Austin, TX | Home

Thanks!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[64zebra]

this is already in place and has been for some time

for years people could have handguns in their vehicles while traveling; however it was often debated from jurisdiction to jurisdiction as to what exactly traveling was (no definition for it in our penal code)

then in 2005 a law was passed that said it was to be presumed that a person was traveling when having a handgun in the vehicle and it was the state's responsibility to prove otherwise; this caused problems with some anti DA's that still instructed LEO to arrest people without CHLs,
then our legislature got smart and fixed the problem by changing the penal code to eliminate prosecution for having a handgun in your vehicle/vehicle under your control, or en route to said vehicle

the castle doctrine has nothing to do with this, a totally separate issue

[farronwolf]

The only thing that the castle doctrine and the auto carry have in common is that both were addressed in legislation that became effective on September 1, 2007.

The auto portion is addressed by Texas Penal Code 46.02, which can be found here. Note at the very bottom of that section the amendment dated September 1, 2007. Just follow the law and you should be fine.

Penal Code

[USPnTX]

To 64Zebra's point - In the past the definition of "traveling" had been subjective. Most counties in Texas you didn't have to worry about. However, Lord help you if you got stopped in Harris County (Houston) or Travis County (Austin) with a weapon w/o a CHL. Last I heard the DA in Harris County was still prosecuting folks regardless of the law.

[Larryes]

I don't know Guys... It sure looks like a new thing to me. It was all over the Austin news last night and this morning, with the NBC station announcing the mentioned poll on this morning's news cast.

Check out: KXAN.com - News, Weather, Sports - Austin, TX | Home

The last time I checked the poll we're getting beat!

[64zebra]

I don't know why the news stations in Austin think this is new news,
maybe there was a shooting involving a non-CHL person that had a hangun in their car?

and yeah....DA in Harris county was one of the reasons the traveling/car carry law was passed...DA's drastically going against people's right to defend themselves

before I had my CHL I always had a pistol in the car, and when stopped a couple of times I told them up front where I was from, where I was going and none of the state troopers or deputies had a problem with it....but I wasn't in Harris county either :)

[Larryes]

More Texas drivers could be packing heat since the passage of a state law allows drivers to carry concealed handguns without a permit.

The law, also called the Carjacking Law, is the result of two bills passed in the Texas House and Senate.

Senate Bill 378, also known as the Castle Doctrine, expanded areas where people could use deadly force to protect themselves to include their automobiles.

House Bill 1815 eliminated most penalties against a person caught with a concealed weapon in their vehicles.

A person cannot have a criminal record or be engaged in criminal activity. Also, a person cannot be a gang member, but there are questions as to how that could be defined.

"By state law that would be somebody wearing the same colors, giving the same symbol, they could be considered a gang," said Austin gun shop owner Jim Kent. "The problem with people having a handgun in their vehicle too, as I see it, they're not responsible with a handgun to leave in the vehicle. They won't secure it, in other words lock it down or hide it."

Kent is not the only person who said the law is flawed. State Rep. Dawnna Dukes voted against it.

"Prosecutors felt it would make it easier for defendants to beat a murder rap, in some cases impossible to convict cases involving a wrongful death, mistaken identity or gang members, who might use the defense as justification to shoot an alleged attacker," Dukes said.

Kent said he does not agree with those who said the bill allows drivers to protect themselves.

"Most people would not be on their toes enough to prevent a carjacking," Kent said. "With a gun in the vehicle, where they might keep it, you know they'd be done and over before they realized they'd been carjacked, and the carjacker would probably drive off with their gun in the vehicle."

Another concern for opponents is people caught carrying a concealed weapon in a parking lot. A loophole could allow people to claim they are transporting the gun from their house to their car.

[64zebra]

More Texas drivers could be packing heat since the passage of a state law allows drivers to carry concealed handguns without a permit.

The law, also called the Carjacking Law, is the result of two bills passed in the Texas House and Senate.

Senate Bill 378, also known as the Castle Doctrine, expanded areas where people could use deadly force to protect themselves to include their automobiles.

House Bill 1815 eliminated most penalties against a person caught with a concealed weapon in their vehicles.

A person cannot have a criminal record or be engaged in criminal activity. Also, a person cannot be a gang member, but there are questions as to how that could be defined.

"By state law that would be somebody wearing the same colors, giving the same symbol, they could be considered a gang," said Austin gun shop owner Jim Kent. "The problem with people having a handgun in their vehicle too, as I see it, they're not responsible with a handgun to leave in the vehicle. They won't secure it, in other words lock it down or hide it."

Kent is not the only person who said the law is flawed. State Rep. Dawnna Dukes voted against it.

"Prosecutors felt it would make it easier for defendants to beat a murder rap, in some cases impossible to convict cases involving a wrongful death, mistaken identity or gang members, who might use the defense as justification to shoot an alleged attacker," Dukes said.

Kent said he does not agree with those who said the bill allows drivers to protect themselves.

"Most people would not be on their toes enough to prevent a carjacking," Kent said. "With a gun in the vehicle, where they might keep it, you know they'd be done and over before they realized they'd been carjacked, and the carjacker would probably drive off with their gun in the vehicle."

Another concern for opponents is people caught carrying a concealed weapon in a parking lot. A loophole could allow people to claim they are transporting the gun from their house to their car.

wow, been awhile since I've seen an article/news story with that much "the sky is falling" BS

as for the fear about the new castle doctrine law: before the law people still had the right to use deadly force against someone if they reasonably believed deadly force or serious bodily injury would occur
and scumbags don't stand a chance of beating a murder rap...hello what part of "engaging in criminal activity" do they not understand

as for the what if scenario for car-jacking Most people would not be on their toes enough to prevent a carjacking,"
....uhh, with their viewpoint we should all just be and let the scumbags be scumbags
and most people are not on their toes enough to avoid car accidents, well crap, lets get cars off the road too

and yeah, to use their words....a "loophole"...the law says if you are going to your car/car under your control you won't be prosecuted...hmmm, imagine that, you have to walk to your car and some people don't have teleporters to get their gun in the car...wow
(yes, humous sarcasm)

seems to me its typical liberal media BS from one of the liberal armpits of our state

[Rock and Glock]

This is just a liberal media outlet rehashing old news. The Texas Legislature meets every two years. They are not even in session this year.

The general media is lost in the woods so to speak, and the media in Austin doesn't even realize they're lost yet..........

They're just trying to generate controversy and traffic. The response in the Austin Poll, from the Aussie was good. Here it is:

Charles Deiterich 01-22-2008 2245
Good law

Australian Gun Law Update


From: Ed Chenel, A police officer in Australia
>
> Hi Yanks, I thought you all would like to see the real figures
> from Down Under. It has now been 12 months since gun owners in
> Australia were forced by a new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms
>to be destroyed by our own government, a program costing Australia
>taxpayers more than $500 million dollars.
>
> The first year results are now in: Australia-wide, homicides
> are up 6.2 percent, Australia-wide, assaults are up 9.6 percent ;
> Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)! In
> the
> state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent.
> (Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals
> did not and crimin*******till possess their guns!)
>
> While figures over the previous 25 ye*******howed a steady
> decrease
> in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the
> past 12 months, since the criminals now are guaranteed that their prey
> is unarmed. There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and
> assaults of the elderly, while the resident is at home.
>
> Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety
> has decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended
> in "successfully ridding Australian society of guns." You won't see this on
> the American evening news or hear your governor or members of the State
> Assembly disseminating this information.
>
> The Australian experience speaks for itself. Guns in the hands of
> honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws affect
> only the law-abiding citizens.
>
> Take note Americans, before it's too late!

[Larryes]

Yeah, that's what I was wondering... why is this station so big on this story right now?? We're staying in a RV park south of Austin and this story has been the big one both last night and today. I've not checked their poll in a few hours, hopefully we can get on there and beat it big time!

[glock27mark]

just voted and the polls as of 1:37 est was
41% yes
54%
5% dont know

[grady]

4 PM Central

43% yes
53% no
4% don't know

[ibez]

The that posted there in the comment blog
KXAN.com - Concerns Arise Over Law Allowing Drivers To Carry Guns Without Permit | COMMENTS
their comments, I am at a lost for words

.

[grady]

The that posted there in the comment blog
KXAN.com - Concerns Arise Over Law Allowing Drivers To Carry Guns Without Permit | COMMENTS
their comments, I am at a lost for words

.

Agreed. They don't sound like the Texans I know.

[Rock and Glock]

Agreed. They don't sound like the Texans I know.

They're not - they're from Austin!