For the first time since San Antonio was a frontier town, citizens can now openly carry a holstered handgun if they are among the state’s 825,000 residents licensed to carry a concealed handgun. The new law signed by Gov. Gregg Abbott last year went into effect Friday.
It already was legal to open carry long rifles and shotguns in Texas, which now becomes the 45th state – a statistic that surprises many – to allow open carry of holstered handguns. Only California, Florida, Illinois, New York and South Carolina still ban the practice.
Texas recognizes carry licenses from 41 other states, so more than seven million people can now openly carry holstered handguns in the state.
The appropriate place and role of personal firearms in a modern democracy is fast becoming one of the most divisive issues between Red and Blue America. President Barack Obama will confer with Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch this week to explore ways he can use executive action to make it harder for people to obtain weapons and engage in mass shooting.
Republican presidential primary candidates are already attacking the president on the issue even before he has taken any action. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, meanwhile, made a national appearance Sunday morning on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and expressed hope that it will become easier rather than harder for individuals to purchase firearms in the future.
One issue for local law enforcement – San Antonio police and Bexar County sheriff’s deputies – is how much leeway individual officers have to stop gun-toting individuals in public and ask them to show concealed handgun permits. One of the most controversial aspects of the new law is the provision stating law enforcement officers cannot demand to see a license without cause. What constitutes cause? Many legal experts believe the matter will be tested in the courts once police start making such checks. The issue is explored in greater depth in this Texas Tribune article.
For people who oppose open carry and who support tighter firearms sales laws, the pro-Second Amendment, conservative position is hard to fathom. In the worst mass shooting cases in the United States in 2015, ranging from a lone wolf white supremacist to a Muslim fundamentalist couple who pledged loyalty to the Islamic State, individuals acquired their weaponry and ammunition legally. And in no instances were they deterred by private citizens legally carrying firearms.
For many in San Antonio who won’t be carrying guns, either openly or concealed, a key question is this: where can other people carry handguns? Do people have to worry about encountering armed strangers in church, at their children’s school, son or daughter’s university, at the mall, the grocery store, or on their neighborhood sidewalk?
There are broad exceptions to the new law. The new open carry law exempts public and private colleges and universities, and gives all religious houses of worship the right to ban open carry.
“I was at a priest council meeting … and I was told by the chancery officials that open carry is not allowed inside the churches,” said Fr. David Garcia, the archdiocese’s director of the Old Spanish Missions interviewed Saturday afternoon at San Fernando Cathedral.
Other exceptions include schools, correctional facilities, nursing homes, amusement parks, bars (anywhere that receives more than 51% of its income from alcohol sales), sporting events, scholastic events, and beyond security checkpoints in airports.
If you shop for groceries at H-E-B, the state’s largest private employer, you won’t see any open display of handguns, either. It’s one of several grocers and fast food chains to announce it prohibits open carry on its premises.
“As a retailer of alcohol, long guns and unlicensed guns are prohibited on our property under the Texas Alcohol and beverage Commission rules. H-E-B maintains the same policy we have for years, only concealed licensed handguns are allowed on our property,” the company announced in a statement.
Private property owners and businesses, including those that lease public property from the city or state, have the option to prohibit concealed carry and open carry. Locally, more and more companies have exercised their right to opt out of open carry and have posted signs prohibiting open carry, including Rivercenter Mall, Whole Earth Provisions at the Quarry Market, Rosella Coffee, and various movie theaters. That leaves hundreds that have not done so, like Bass Pro Shops and Kroger grocery stores.
Some businesses will try to deal with the issue in a more nuanced way. One is the Hotel Emma, which will not allow open carry on its premises, although guests and other visitors will not see a large sign outlining section 30.07 of the state’s penal code near the luxury hotel’s entrance or notifications stuck to windows like other businesses.
Instead, staff members have been instructed to discretely hand out a small card that outlines the hotel’s policy, in English and Spanish, in the event someone enters the hotel openly carrying a handgun.
Guest Service Associate Rita Perez takes a minute to find one of the cards at the front reception desk to show a reporter. This is the first time she’s had to find one, and hotel management does not foresee it becoming a significant issue. The Emma has other avenues to communicate with incoming guests that it is a no-open carry zone.
“We always send out a reservation confirmation letter and it lets people know, among other things, that (open carry is) not allowed,” she said.
Some businesses are just catching up to the news that the new law has gone into effect.
Southtown coffee shop, restaurant and bar Halcyon didn’t have an open carry notice posted on Saturday morning. General Manager Seth Williams, also a gun owner, ordered a “no open carry” sign Friday night after an SAPD officer reminded him of the new state law.
“What’s the point of open carry?” Williams said. “I don’t feel comfortable with it.”
Several Home Depot employees on Saturday at the SW Military location thought the chain would prohibit open carry, but its corporate office, according to the Dallas Morning News, has indicated it will allow open carry. No signs were posted and a spokesperson could not be reached by deadline.
Some businesses haven’t made an official decision yet.
San Antonio Shoemakers (SAS) employees said they’ll likely have a staff meeting sometime soon to talk about their policy. The same is true for Canyon Cafe in the Quarry.
“I don’t want them in here, but I still have to talk to the guy that signs my check,” said Gary Branch, Canyon Cafe assistant manager.
David Doyle, owner of Sunset Home & Hardware in Alamo Heights said his instinct is against “turning anyone away” from his story, but that he’s not making any “knee-jerk” decisions about open carry.
“I’m going to listen to my customers,” Doyle said during a particularly busy Saturday afternoon. “We’ll see what happens.”
Open carry in Texas changes almost nothing about the process governing an individual’s purchase of a handgun and obtaining a permit for open carry. Texans must pass a background check, complete a safety and training course which now includes information about proper open carry/holster practices, be at least 21 years of age, and not have any felony convictions or convictions above a class B misdemeanor in the last five years.
So if you want to carry around a gun, you’ll still need to carry a license, too, but now instead of a Concealed Handgun License (CHL), it’s called a License to Carry.
The open carry legislation, House Bill 910, had less of an effect on the City of San Antonio than Senate Bill 273 did, said Jeff Coyle, the City’s Government and Public Affairs director. SB 273 prevents government entities from prohibiting concealed and/or openly carried weapons from entire buildings. Weapons are still not allowed at public meetings and staff areas, but “the law is forcing us to more clearly define ‘staff’ and ‘public’ areas.”
Basically, people can conceal or open carry in the lobby of City Hall after signing in, but once they head to a meeting, they’ll have to go through a metal detector, Coyle said. If they’re carrying a firearm, they’ll have to leave it in a gun locker at the front desk or take it off the premises to their car.
A City Clerk counter was built over the holidays in the first-floor lobby of City Hall to make it easier for citizens to access most services without having to go through security to access other floors.
*Top image: Rivercenter Mall prohibits open carry as described by the signs posted at its entrances. Photo by Scott Ball.
Related Stories:
Coming Soon to San Antonio: Open Carry and Campus Carry
Moms Demand Action In Gun Debate
Lies in the Sand: A Look Behind The Alamo Gun Rally
Peaceful, Yet Startling “Come and Take It” Rally Brings 400 People With Guns to Alamo Plaza
The article is very informative, however, the video attached shows a liberal bias. Does anyone agree? Please don’t let The Rivard Report be akin to the liberal bias in the mainstream media. Keep the freshness going. I love reading your Report. Everyone is tired of the status quo!
You say there’s a “liberal bias” in the video? Really? Dan Patrick motor-mouthed his way through the “interview” getting out all his right-wing rhetoric. The few questions Chuck Todd was able to pose to Patrick were neutral ones. Taken as a whole, since Patrick monopolized the time getting out his bullet points (pardon the unintentional pun), the video was mostly right-wing.
IMO dividing issues into liberal or conservative is black and white thinking. Lots of people who identify as politically conservative don’t think it’s wise to unleash on the public people who think it’s okay to carry guns everywhere. The entire lib/con divide seems to me a ploy to divide and frighten people. I want my kids to be safe, have an opportunity to: get a good education, get a decent, fulfilling job, make a positive contribution to society and enjoy retirement. I also think that everyone in this country should have the same access to those opportunities. Am I a conservative or a liberal?
Good summary. Thank you.
Finally everyone with a small penis has a way to express himself.
Well put.
If I see a gun, I am leaving.
I will not take my business or spend my money at businesses that allow open carry. That includes Chili’s, and Home Depot. Also, I will not allow any firearms in my busines unless the person is a law enforcement officer.
It does not make me feel safer like everyone with a gun thinks it does, but for some reason, I’m surprised that Texas is one of the minority of states that didn’t have the law already. And personally, if I was a gun owner, and I was packing, I wouldn’t want anyone to know it anyway. But this is only me.
I can’t believe all the trigger happy bubbas ready to shoot somebody!!
If these people like playing with guns so much, why don’t they join one of our country’s branches of the military? They will get plenty of time to play with guns.
Open Carry is now the law. Deal with it.
Patrick’s “facts” beg to be checked.
Pulitzer-winning Politifact rates Patrick’s claim that more guns lead to less crime as “Mostly False.”
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/03/dan-patrick/texas-lt-gov-dan-patrick-claims-states-where-peopl/
Can one open carry in the Texas State House? Can I walk into Dan Patrick’s office with a gun on my hip?
Patrick says, “Where people have guns, bad guys don’t go.” Unless they’re desperate or mentally ill.
Dan Patrick better be right that the police are late to the scene and that they get there after the shooting has stopped, because SAPL is telling teachers in SA schools than when encountering a shooting situation, anyone — ANYONE (good guy or bad — how can you tell?) — holding a gun will be shot by the police.
I agree with the previous comments. Open carry is just plain crazy, or as they say in Norwegian, “Texan.”
It does not make me feel safer. Guns whether concealed or not really eek me out.
It doesn’t bother me that people can now openly carry guns. It does bother me that we wasted tax dollars and legislative time making this legal. Heaven forbid our politicians address real issues facing the state.
It’s too bad we don’t focus on the 15th and 19th amendments with as much zeal as we do the 2nd, and too bad we don’t stretch the true intent of those rights to ensure everyone votes and gets equal representation in our districts, states, counties, etc. Perhaps if we all had an equal voice and majority influenced legislation, we would not be subjected to the barbaric & distorted concept that guns are the solution to all things evil and bring peace and/or security.
Open carry books. Literary open carry.
If I see a gun, I will leave, I will call or email the owners to know why. I will be actively searching out restaurants and stores that don’t allow open carry. I will avoid those restaurants and stores that allow public display of stupidity.
The same thing was done when concealed carry passed..signs went up all over r the place..6 months later, the signs came down..why? Because businesses realized that the sky was not falling after all..the hysteria will subside, the signs will come down and everyone will go about there lives…
Maybe some signs came down a six months after concealed carry was legalized, as you say, but I’ve seen “no guns allowed” signs in businesses here in SA since for the past eight years. Not everyone is hysterical about guns in places of business — some businesses just don’t want their customers to be on the premises open carrying.
I still like Chris rock’s idea that we make bullets $1000 each. Then people will really think about shooting and semi and automatic weapons will be obsolete.
I say yes, but if not all public places agrees then that means guns will be left in glove compartment & could be stolen. Yes to all or no to none.
I’m scared … The data does not support those carrying guns limit crime.
I’m even more afraid … that society will begin to think “open carry means it’s legal to openly shoot”.
I’m angry that I live in a state and world that values weapons more than human life. Not to mention the hypocritical nature of all the rhetoric.
This is so wrong in so many social justice issues.
And I’m sad … Sad that we now are reacting to fear and violence with violence. If Dr King, or Cesar Chavez or Ann Richards were alive what would they say.
We should be ashamed!
It is the WILD WEST all over again.
There have been many situations where open carry led to the death of an innocent person that the gun carrier was originally trying to help. Sad.
Show me one..please
Please see this story of a good guy with the gun a/k/a the late Joseph Wilcox:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/dangerous-good-guy-myth-article-1.1829274
We are living in strange and violent times created through fear and ignorance.
Criminals will carry weapons whether it’s legal or not. Mexico doesn’t have open carry…how’s that working for them? And the only way to level the field between a 100 lbs lady and a 230 lbs mugger thugster would be a gun on the lady’s hip.
Open carry is an overt threat to use deadly force. I do not feel safe.
Crazy! We are not living in the 1880s!
boooo
Not looking forward to the drunken tourist shootouts on the Riverwalk.
Scares me.
This is a horrific miscarriage of justice– this legislation unfairly endangers all Texas citizens, especially those of us who would choose to never be around guns yet are now legislatively subjected to endure the risks of being around them in virtually any public setting.
If more guns made this country safer, then America should already be the safest country on earth, yet clearly, it’s NOT.
It’s insanity. We are going to get some Wild West shootouts that will blow everybody’s minds.
Still waiting for that shootout..
To Dan Patrick: Just because someone took the arms course and passed the test does not mean s/he will be prepared to use the gun properly in the future — especially the distant future. Cops go thru rigorous marksmanship training routinely to ensure they are as adept at handling and shooting guns as possible. Also, what guarantee is there that these new hip-holstered hotshots will maintain their guns properly to prevent accidental misfiring (such as the woman who plopped her purse on the counter at Walmart jarring the pistol in her purse to fire — luckily the bullet didn’t hit anyone. Yeah, the more guns the safer we are….baloney. Ask any hunter how many times he’s heard of a dog jumping up on its master and snaring a paw in the trigger of his gun… kaboom! And remember that “good guy with a gun” a year or so ago in Walmart or Target or somewhere who pulled his gun on a bad guy with a gun, BUT the bad guy’s bad wife with a gun was right behind him and shot and killed the good guy (then shot and killed herself). And remember those SA guys who hung out at Starbucks on 410 somewhere with their rifles on their shoulder. Just. Because. They. Could. I suggest that on 12/31/2016 we compile a list of the most horrible instances of open carry gone wrong wrong wrong. There will be many to chose from.
Is that why 2 NY cops fired 16 shots from 10 feet and didn’t hit anyone, including the criminal..
I can’t speak for the instance of those two NY cops (citation, please?), but a lot of SAPD fire at people as situations dictate and our cops seem to fire accurately according to their intentions. Do you really think two bad-aim cops are representative of the entire police force in the USA? I don’t.
Jerry Patterson, who authored the concealed carry bill when he was in the Lege and then went on to serve a Comm. of the Land Office, stated on the radio last week that he thinks no one should open carry except under certain extraordinary conditions (he didn’t elaborate). He said he doesn’t want anyone to know whether he is armed or not and he definitely doesn’t want anyone to know what kind of gun he’s carrying. I agree with Patterson (although that’s probably the only thing he and I would agree on).
You are so full of shit that your eyes are brown. Most Depts only require their officers to shoot 50-100 rounds, annually.
I am an instructor, and many officer involved shootings, they empty their mags at the suspect and never hit them. Most officers have never fired their weapons in the line of duty, however, that metric is and has been rising the past 8 years. Take that amount of time and apply it to the White House and you’ll see why…..
Most officers can’t hit the broad side of a barn from 3 feet, meaning they are some of the worst shots I’ve ever seen. The reason I carry, is because I believe in exercising my right to do so, and because in my line of work our success rate is high enough to earn a bounty on us via the cartels.
I see a gun and I’m leaving immediately!
Ridiculous
A return to the wee wild west. Frightening at best.
What a cowboy step backwards for this state. #okcorral
Maybe they will make open sword carry lol.
The country has been fine without such a moronic law for YEARS.
It’s only become a “thing” as an exercise in obnoxiousness and contempt for a civil society for a band of people whose idea of constitutionality is based on talk radio logic.
That’s why I will boycott every place that promotes this nonsense and will walk out of places where these provocateurs show up.
I have these ready to go.
Can’t wait to scream, “he has a gun!” in the middle of a restaurant. Let’s see how long the businesses want to see their patrons run screaming. And never come back. So stupid.
You know you can go to jail for that, right..you just posted on the Internet that you are actively waiting to incite a riot/ spark a shooting
Great article. Open carry of handguns is now legal in Texas by a licensed individual that has passed the background check, taken the class, and proven proficiency. Rifles and shotguns have been legal to carry in this state for years no license required. Handguns have been legal to carry concealed for years if a permit was obtained by a law abiding citizen and they have been carrying around you for years concealed. Criminals don’t care about the law, penal code, or anyone’s opinions. It occurs to me that the real problem has been overlooked. Most would rather argue about a licensed persons right to carry rather than how to stop the criminal that does not care what anyone thinks. The criminal steals his guns or purchases on the street because the criminal does not abide by the law. The majority of mass shootings we see reported are in gun free zones such as schools (Sandy Hook) and federal facilities (Ft. Hood) or in States with extreme gun laws already in place (New York, California etc.)…further evidence that criminals don’t care about the law. We should quit worrying about the law abiding citizens and focus on the criminals. Less emotion and more logic.
I am just curious…prior to Jan 1, Texans were allowed to open carry long guns and in 44 other states citizens were allowed to open carry long guns and hand guns. With all of those people carrying long guns and hand guns, when was the last time someone openly carrying shot and killed someone?
If this law is going to scare people, there should be a reason for the fear. It seems to me there is no rational reason for the fear.
Distress
Perfect Point!
Fantastic suggestions ! I was enlightened by the facts . Does someone know where my company could get a fillable a form form to use ?