Going to Texas this weekend

[DemonOfTheFall]

Hey all, I'm headed to Austin for the weekend to visit a college buddy. I know the reciprocity agreement is in place, so I'm planning in carrying while there. Anyone have experiences, advice? Any wrinkles in the law that I should know about?

[headcase]

I would read up on the laws for carrying in Texas before you carry there. There are differences that are your responsiblity to know. I believe you are not allowed to OC there, but that is JMU. Whatever responses you get here, I would definately follow up with your own research. Have a good time down there

[BerksCountyDave]

Texas is really strict about keeping you concealed weapon concealed. Saying that open carry is illegal is an understatement. They'll nail you just for printing. It's really strange. In Texas, the laws regarding the use of deadly force are much less strict than in PA, but in TX you can't let anyone see your gun. WTF?

[netw0rkpenguin]

Watch out for bar laws, You can't carry in establishments that derive more then 49% of their income from alcohol sales. Bar walls are practically covered with the signs.

Now so sure about OC.

Do your research. I was in Austin in December and didn't have issues, had XD45C with TLR1 in a kydex holster. I am not a big guy so printing is an understatement. Looks like a tumor on a side under a business jacket.

[Johannes_Paulsen]

Might want to check out this page:

http://www.txchia.org/txcarry.htm


The Texas Dep't of Public Safety has a page with the entire code on it, but I can't get the PDF to load properly on my computer:

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/adminis.../chlsindex.htm

[Tomcat088]

What everyone is telling you IS correct about open carry. There is NO, I repeat NO open carry in Texas. It makes all of us VERY sad and we are working on getting that changed. Apparently the democrats got ahold of the wording and it was interpreted to be that there is no open carry, only concealed carry. Now about the printing issue, it kind of depends on the area. In general, they will not arrest you for printing, or if your jacket or something raised up a little and someone caught a glimpse or good print of your pistol. If you had it hanging out with your coat kind of tucked in and it showing, there would be a problem. Austin is VERY VERY VERY liberal, with more liberals in that city than the rest of the state combined. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not take the city that our capital is located in to be anything like the rest of the state. The people there are not friendly, I think the city is dirty as hell and most of the people weird. They have a saying "keep Austin weird" and it's true, there's so many transplants from everywhere else in Texas because they're outcasts. There might be as many homosexuals just in Austin as there is in the rest of the state too, lol. Because of how liberal the entire city is, you could possibly get arrested there just for printing. You probably wouldn't loose your LTCF, but you would maybe have to go through hell for it. Also be aware that in Texas you CANNOT carry inside of any federal building. This means do NOT carry inside of a post office, school, or state monuments (like the capital building). You may also NOT carry into any business that makes 51% or more of their income through alcohol sales, so that means that you will not be able to carry into bars or even maybe some restaurants. That is probably gonna mean if you're out on 6th street with your friends (which is where you'd need the pistol most, besides the drag with "drag rats"), you might as well leave the pistol home. If you are caught in a bar or some place like that you will go to jail and be charged with felony possession, then no more firearms for you period. I've heard that because we were one of the first to enact concealed carry, it's part of the reaosn that carry is so restrictive, we're fighting it but all the liberals in our capital and the big cities make it tough for us.

There is a plus side to Texas though. As others said, the use of lethal force is pretty lenient. Here is some of the code about deadly force just to get you started. http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes....000009.00.htm You can use lethal force to protect yourself, third parties, property, and even third person's property. The specifics are listed in the code so I'll let you read it yourself and interpret it as you see fit. I am NOT a lawyer and could only tell you how I have heard that all of it is interpreted, you can send me a PM about any of that if you like. Also, in Texas it is legal for anyone old enough to own a pistol (21) to carry concealed within your car. The pistol must be concealed so that it is not visible to cause panic (like someone calls in that someone in their car has a gun showing, related to our no open carry). So keep it under a jacket, or on your person, or in a case, or whatever just as long as it's not in plain view, you can legally carry it in your vehicle without a license. If you do not have a concealed license, it must remain in the vehicle though.

I hope that you enjoy our capital and as I said, please do not judge the people in Texas by the ones that you see in Austin. They claim that all of Texas is like them, and they're real Texans. They aren't, most of them make us sick and some of us wish an atomic bomb that only destroyed that city but left the capital would hit that place. Have fun and be safe, lots of weirdos in Austin. Oh and if you have any questions or need something, drop me a PM.

[Emptymag]

I'm just wondering, is there any truth to the rumors I've heard that there are weirdos in Austin?

[Tomcat088]

oh heck yes there are. There's some WEIRD WEIRD WEIRD people in Austin. I HATE AUSTIN!!!!! lol. You will see random weird people walking around in drag. You will see people walking around trying to look like the Matrix, wearing like $1K dusters with signs that say "Matrix Homeless" begging for money. College kids that wear wearing expensive clothing will walk up pan handling for change. Then they claim they don't have any money and go unlock a $700 bike from a pole. There's just some weirdos there. There's just some really twisted and strange people there, even the ones that don't look all that strange if you talk to them you find out most of them are weird as hell.

[Tomcat088]

Oh yes, something else I wanted to mention. Remember the 51% rule, and you will see signs right at the front talking about it. Realize that there are some places like hospitals, court houses, post offices, national monuments, etc that you do NOT have to see a 30.06 sign for it to be illegal to carry. If you see some sign saying that you cannot carry in a private business, etc, look at the sign carefully. There is only 1 sign that you must obey that says you cannot carry in a private property place. That is a 30.06 sign. Here is a webpage that talks a bit about this sign and what it means. http://www.burger.com/gunfaq08.htm . Here is what the sign actually says http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/adminis...ignposting.htm . The other signs are just BS, the only way you can't remain there with a firearm is if the owner or person acting on the owner's behalf asks you to leave. Hope this information helps, I just don't want you getting into any trouble.

[headcase]

Are the people in Austin really that weird?