Open carry is unfolding quietly in Pearland and Friendswood, according to government and law enforcement officials in both cities. Since Jan. 1, concealed carry permit holders may also carry handguns openly in a belt or shoulder holster, with exceptions.

Public spaces, including parks, sidewalks, public transportation and government buildings, allow open carry. Some places, like courthouses and polling places on election days, may not allow open carry while private property owners have the option to prohibit it.

Residents are not voicing concerns about the new law, officials said. Law enforcement has seen little effect as well.

“I’d say so far it’s been a nonissue,” Brazoria County Sheriff Charles Wagner said.

When not to carry

Property owners can give “effective notice” of their open or concealed carry bans by verbally telling a gun owner not to carry or with a clearly posted sign. Business owners have the option of banning open carry, concealed carry or both.

Sections 30.06 and 30.07 of the Texas Penal Code describe what a business must write on a sign to prohibit concealed or open carry, and whatever is written must be in English and Spanish.

Drew DeFoor, sales operations manager at Signarama in Stafford, said the signs could be costly because they usually measure 30-by-30 inches or 30-by-36 inches, with contrasting block letters in English and Spanish. As a result some customers ordered signs with paraphrased wording that are not in compliance with the law, he said.

“Most of the requests are for both [open and concealed carry] because that’s how people are reading the statute,” DeFoor said.

Carrying a weapon was already a felony at businesses with at least 51 percent of gross receipts from on-premise alcohol consumption.

Pearland City Council Member Keith Ordeneaux said he has not received feedback from residents since the law passed. However, he heard from business owners concerned about backlash if they posted signs banning open or concealed carry.

“Like me, [owners] were [concealed handgun license] holders,” Ordeneaux said. “They just knew some of their customers were not in favor of it. They kind of feel like they’ve been put in an awkward situation.”

Some chain stores, like H-E-B and Whole Foods, banned open carry but officials in Pearland and Friendswood could think of few local businesses putting up signs.

Neither Ordeneaux nor fellow Council Member Derrick Reed said they had seen anyone carrying openly.

“More residents have come to me about terrorism and being fearful about acts of terrorism than about the [open carry] law,” Reed said.

Pearland Mayor Tom Reid also said he had not heard concerns.

“Our prime concern was that we did not want them to carry in courtrooms or in council meetings,” he said.

Reid said some in the local religious community expressed anxieties about people carrying firearms into places of worship. However, amusement parks, high school, collegiate and professional sporting events and gatherings subject to the Texas Open Meetings Act are exceptions to open carry.

Law enforcement perspective

Law enforcement also said they received few calls related to someone openly carrying. Friendswood Police Chief Robert Wieners said his department had in-house training and, from officers’ perspectives, the law has not changed how police deal with license holders.

“For us, it’s really a matter of educating the city staff so that they understand that the public has a right to open carry in public facilities,” Wieners said.

Pearland Police Lt. Onesimo Lopez said his office had several people call with general questions about open carry. The department held training in January regarding what officers and regular citizens can do. So far no handguns have been spotted, Lopez said.

“We were anticipating there being more of a citizen involvement than we’ve seen,” he said. “We’re actually surprised.”

Wagner said his office has not held any informational programs on the law and has experienced no problems. Of the license holders he spoke to, he said, “They don’t want to carry openly. They don’t want to be the first target.”

Gray areas

While Pearland City Council bans open carry at their public meetings, Friendswood will not. Friendswood Council Member Steve Rockey said members considered whether a visible gun dissuades people from speaking about issues at meetings.

“As far as intimidation, I don’t think anyone in Texas reads [open carrying] that way,” he said.

There was confusion about the law’s wording related to public facilities, Wieners said.

“There’s some controversy as it relates to where you can carry in a building where a court is located,” Wieners said. “Some people will say it’s the court room, [but] some people will say it’s the office and some [will say it’s the entire building].”

He said the same confusion exists for school district buildings, which prohibit open carry. Open carry is also banned from college campuses, but concealed carry has a delayed effective date of Aug. 1 for certain institutions, as stated in Texas Senate Bill 11.

For law enforcement, Lopez said that the law lacks a penalty for gun owners who fail to produce their license to carry if requested by a police officer.

“I think that the lack of an enforcement provision is something the legislature is going to have to bring up in the future,” he said.