Texas Constitutional Carry – Texas Concealed Carry
So firearms are being used for safety purposes these days. If you are 18 plus and want to protect yourself then you must be having a firearm for emergency Purposes. A handgun safety course is required for each person who wants to apply for the Texas License to Carry. This is mandatory for everyone and everyone who wishes to apply for the concealed Texas Constitutional Carry license must complete the course which will provide you the evidence as well. The one who wants to have a concealed carry license, should know both the criminal and civil requirements. Even if a trial or criminal justification finds that you were justified in your case, you will still have to face civil charges for that.
So there are different strategies and laws in different states of America according to their society. On June 16, 2021, Governor Greg signed HB 1927, the firearm carries Act of 2021, (commonly it is known as the constitutional carry bill or the permit less carry bill). Both these terms are described for one thing. It says that Gun owners having age of 21 or older than that are allowed to keep a gun without the Texas License to Carry (LTC). There are several things that you do not know about concealed carry before you start carrying a gun without LTC.
Why Does Texas Constitutional Carry Begin?
As it is described earlier that Texas Constitutional Carry has been officially signed, HB 1927 will not go into effect till September 1, 2021. This can be the most crucial information you need to know. The effective date means an then a qualified person who does not have a license or permit cannot carry in public until that day. Remember ignorance of the law, such as the date it goes into effect, is not a proper legal defense.
Who can carry under HB 1927?
For having concealed carry, there are some requirements that you need to fulfill and those are
- With exceptions, you must be able to legally purchase and process handguns under both Texas and Federal Law.
- You must be 21 years of age or older than that
- You should not be convicted of a certain misdemeanor crime in the last five years otherwise you will be disqualified. Those misdemeanor crimes are Deadly Conduct, Assault causing Bodily Injury, Terroristic Threat, and Disorderly Conduct Discharge. Display under HB 1927, you cannot carry without a license until five years have elapsed from the date of conviction.
Who is prohibited from Firearms Ownership?
Some people will be prohibited from carrying under HB 1927, just as there are people who are prohibited from purchasing or processing under Texas and Federal Law. So these are the following
- Felons (Anyone who is convicted in any court or crime for more than a year)
- A person who is below 21 is not eligible for having it
- Fugitives from justice
- A person who does not follow the laws and rules or is addicted to any controlled substance.
- A person who is mentally not stable or ill cannot have the firearms with himself.
- The people who are having non Immigrant visas or outsiders cannot have firearms with themselves.
- Anyone who is dishonorably discharged from the U.S. armed forces.
- Those who have renounced their U.S. citizenship are prohibited from firearms ownership
- A person who is subject to an explicit court order restraining them from harassing, threatening, or stalking a child or his/her partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child is prohibited from the ownership of firearms.
- A person who is convicted in court in the case of domestic violence.
Where can you carry with a Texas LTC?
- According to the Texas LTC, a person is exempt from the general federal prohibition on possessing a handgun within 1000 feet of a school. Even if you have LTC, still you cannot carry the handgun inside the school. If you have the written authorization or proof then you can take than inside.
- You can carry the firearms on the lower Colorado River Authority property with an LTC but not without one.
- People having LTC are allowed to carry their guns in amusement parks and nursing homes as long as the facility has not been provided.
- You can also carry the firearms into the rooms or rooms of an open meeting of the government bodies.
How does HB 1927 affect interactions with law enforcement?
Knowing the second amendment rights when dealing with law enforcement is vital HB 1927 contains what law enforcement can and cannot do to those carrying a firearm.
- A law enforcement officer acting in their duty can anytime disarm a person if they believe it is necessary for the protection of himself or all the other citizens near him. Once he is disarmed he is taken to the court and after the processing, the weapon is returned to the person after releasing that person unless the firearm returns as stolen or the person has been arrested while following the encounter.
- There are a lot of things that are remaining. We all hope that a court would conclude that the seizure of a firearm would constitute detention and for that there should be proper or reasonable reasoning. Until this provision is interpreted, we will have to wait for the next practices that will be implemented in Texas LTC.
So in the above article, we have tried to teach you the pros and cons of carrying a handgun around. We all believe that the protection of ourselves and our families must be our priority but we need to see and explore ourselves what are the rules and regulations of Texas Concealed carry that we need to follow.
There are a lot of things that need to be modified while implementing the rules and for that, we need to wait. From now onwards we must know what the places where we are not allowed firearms are and what are the eligibility criteria that we need to fulfill for having the ownership of a gun. Protect yourself and your families but stay updated as well.
