Handgun license holders can openly carry firearms as of Jan. 1, and concealed carry will be allowed on public college campuses and universities starting Aug. 1. Both laws were passed in the 2015 legislative session.
While concealed carry allows licensed holders to have a handgun concealed somewhere on their person, open carry allows for carrying a handgun in a shoulder or belt holster. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, there are 825,957 license holders as of Dec. 31, 2014.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office has taken a number of measures to spread awareness about how the laws will work, according to Sheriff Ron Hickman, including producing a series of educational videos, adding open carry information to the department’s website and distributing informational handouts through patrol deputies. A town hall meeting to answer questions and hear concerns from residents has been set for Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. at the Northwoods Presbyterian Church, 3320 FM 1960, Houston.
“There are a lot of discussions occurring, and the sheriff’s office anticipates many questions and concerns,” Hickman said.
New state Senate rules resulted in many unclear new laws that require interpretation from the state’s attorney general, according to Watson. For example, state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, asked the state in September to clarify whether handguns can now be openly displayed on public school district parking lots, driveways, sidewalks and walkways.
Although clarification from state attorney general Ken Paxton had not been provided as of late December, local law enforcement bodies were regardless preparing for the law to go into effect.
Texas Restaurant Association spokesperson Wendy Woodland said more than 100 restaurant owners attended a November webinar detailing open-carry laws. Any establishment that draws more than half its business from alcohol sales must automatically ban firearms, Woodland said.
“So if you have 48 percent alcohol sales, you can choose to allow open or concealed licensed handgun holders,” she said.
H-E-B already permits concealed carry, but the Texas-based grocer will not permit open handgun carry, spokesperson Leslie Lockett said. Whole Foods Market has not allowed firearms since the company was founded, according to spokesperson Rachel Malish, and that policy will remain.
In preparation for campus carry laws to go into effect, officials with Lone Star College System have been assessing the financial, staffing and social effects the legislation could have on faculty and students. The legislation would require the state’s public universities to allow handguns in dormitories, classrooms and campus buildings. Although the law goes into effect in August at colleges and universities, it will not apply to community colleges such as LSCS until August 2017.
Open carry
Allowed
- most government buildings
- most areas open to the public
- privately owned businesses that do not explicitly ban open carry
Not allowed
- privately owned businesses that post signs prohibiting open carry
- hospitals
- sporting events
- inside public schools/college campuses
- beyond security checkpoints at airports and poll locations
- commissioners court and other events subject to the open meetings law
- courthouses
- correctional facilities
- nursing homes
- any establishment that derives more than half of its revenue from alcohol sales
Campus carry
Allowed
- public colleges and university campuses
- classrooms and buildings
- dormatories
Not allowed
- campus hospitals
- sporting venues
- campus day care centers
- private colleges that post prohibitive signs
