Chl in Church

[misterlarry]

I carry mine every Sunday religiously.

[Aileronguy]

From the TXDPS website under FAQ. You can't carry in a church. Anyone have anything different? Or is DPS wrong on the website?

On the premises of a business that derives 51% or more of its income from the sale or service of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption
On the premises where a high school, collegiate, or professional sporting or interscholastic event is taking place
On the premises of a correctional facility
On the premises of a hospital or nursing home (unless licensee has written authorization)
In an amusement park
On the premises of a church, synagogue, or other place of worship
At any meeting of a governmental entity
§46.02, Texas Penal Code and §46.03, Texas Penal Code also specifically prohibit handguns or weapons under other circumstances and from other locations other than those listed above. For example: It is against Texas law to carry a concealed handgun if the person has the handgun in plain view; or if the person is engaged in a criminal activity (other than a Class C traffic offense); or if prohibited from possessing a firearm, or is a member of a criminal street gang. Some other areas where weapons are prohibited include the premises of polling places on the day of an election or during early voting, the premises of any government court, the premises of a racetrack, in a secured area of an airport or within 1,000 feet of premises designated as a place of execution on the day a sentence of death is set to be imposed.

DPS cannot provide legal advice to CHL holders. For more information and exceptions, please see Texas Penal Code Chapter 46. You may also consider contacting the local law enforcement or the local County or District Attorney for more information about carrying a weapon in your area.

[carlson1]

Go read all the law and you will see there are exceptions for churches, hospitals, etc...

[SewTexas]

From the TXDPS website under FAQ. You can't carry in a church. Anyone have anything different? Or is DPS wrong on the website?

On the premises of a business that derives 51% or more of its income from the sale or service of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption
On the premises where a high school, collegiate, or professional sporting or interscholastic event is taking place
On the premises of a correctional facility
On the premises of a hospital or nursing home (unless licensee has written authorization)
In an amusement park
On the premises of a church, synagogue, or other place of worship
At any meeting of a governmental entity
§46.02, Texas Penal Code and §46.03, Texas Penal Code also specifically prohibit handguns or weapons under other circumstances and from other locations other than those listed above. For example: It is against Texas law to carry a concealed handgun if the person has the handgun in plain view; or if the person is engaged in a criminal activity (other than a Class C traffic offense); or if prohibited from possessing a firearm, or is a member of a criminal street gang. Some other areas where weapons are prohibited include the premises of polling places on the day of an election or during early voting, the premises of any government court, the premises of a racetrack, in a secured area of an airport or within 1,000 feet of premises designated as a place of execution on the day a sentence of death is set to be imposed.

DPS cannot provide legal advice to CHL holders. For more information and exceptions, please see Texas Penal Code Chapter 46. You may also consider contacting the local law enforcement or the local County or District Attorney for more information about carrying a weapon in your area.

yes, the website is wrong.

[gthaustex]

From the TXDPS website under FAQ. You can't carry in a church. Anyone have anything different? Or is DPS wrong on the website?

On the premises of a business that derives 51% or more of its income from the sale or service of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption
On the premises where a high school, collegiate, or professional sporting or interscholastic event is taking place
On the premises of a correctional facility
On the premises of a hospital or nursing home (unless licensee has written authorization)
In an amusement park
On the premises of a church, synagogue, or other place of worship
At any meeting of a governmental entity
§46.02, Texas Penal Code and §46.03, Texas Penal Code also specifically prohibit handguns or weapons under other circumstances and from other locations other than those listed above. For example: It is against Texas law to carry a concealed handgun if the person has the handgun in plain view; or if the person is engaged in a criminal activity (other than a Class C traffic offense); or if prohibited from possessing a firearm, or is a member of a criminal street gang. Some other areas where weapons are prohibited include the premises of polling places on the day of an election or during early voting, the premises of any government court, the premises of a racetrack, in a secured area of an airport or within 1,000 feet of premises designated as a place of execution on the day a sentence of death is set to be imposed.

DPS cannot provide legal advice to CHL holders. For more information and exceptions, please see Texas Penal Code Chapter 46. You may also consider contacting the local law enforcement or the local County or District Attorney for more information about carrying a weapon in your area.

Section 46.035 (i) goes on to say:
(i) Subsections (b)(4), (b)(5), (b)(6), and (c) do not apply if the actor was not given effective notice under Section 30.06, That means that hospitals, nursing homes, amusement parks, churches, etc. and governmental meetings must be posted 30.06 for it to be illegal to carry there. The Texas legislature stuck the exceptions at the end of the code, rather than striking them out. I have met LEOs who did not read far enough and thought the places above were illegal for CHL holders.

[jmra]

From the TXDPS website under FAQ. You can't carry in a church. Anyone have anything different? Or is DPS wrong on the website?

On the premises of a business that derives 51% or more of its income from the sale or service of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption
On the premises where a high school, collegiate, or professional sporting or interscholastic event is taking place
On the premises of a correctional facility
On the premises of a hospital or nursing home (unless licensee has written authorization)
In an amusement park
On the premises of a church, synagogue, or other place of worship
At any meeting of a governmental entity
§46.02, Texas Penal Code and §46.03, Texas Penal Code also specifically prohibit handguns or weapons under other circumstances and from other locations other than those listed above. For example: It is against Texas law to carry a concealed handgun if the person has the handgun in plain view; or if the person is engaged in a criminal activity (other than a Class C traffic offense); or if prohibited from possessing a firearm, or is a member of a criminal street gang. Some other areas where weapons are prohibited include the premises of polling places on the day of an election or during early voting, the premises of any government court, the premises of a racetrack, in a secured area of an airport or within 1,000 feet of premises designated as a place of execution on the day a sentence of death is set to be imposed.

DPS cannot provide legal advice to CHL holders. For more information and exceptions, please see Texas Penal Code Chapter 46. You may also consider contacting the local law enforcement or the local County or District Attorney for more information about carrying a weapon in your area.

Welcome to the forum. I know your question has already been answered (yes, you can carry in a church), but I was just curious if your instructor covered this topic at all and if so, what did he say about it. I assume since you applied online May 5 that you have taken your class already.

[Aileronguy]

My instructor said it is ok to carry in a church, but also said you can carry at the local university. After conferring with a local LEO, he looking it up, he said it would not be prudent to carry on campus due to the way the regs were written.

I don't like grey areas, so wonder why the DPS FAQ section of the website is wrong about churches. Inconsistency in an area as touchy as CHL seems to be a big reason for so much animosity and angst between groups who should all be together.

Just my 2 pennies as well.

[jmra]

My instructor said it is ok to carry in a church, but also said you can carry at the local university. After conferring with a local LEO, he looking it up, he said it would not be prudent to carry on campus due to the way the regs were written.

I don't like grey areas, so wonder why the DPS FAQ section of the website is wrong about churches. Inconsistency in an area as touchy as CHL seems to be a big reason for so much animosity and angst between groups who should all be together.

Just my 2 pennies as well.

You can carry on campus as long as you don't enter buildings or are at an organized sporting event.

[Aileronguy]

What about public schools like high schools?

[jmra]

What about public schools like high schools?

The same applies for high schools. You can not enter a building but the sidewalks and parking lot are not off limits.

[TacShot]

I hate to jump in so late on this topic with this information. Charles provided some great answers to my questions about churches with schools and carry in: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=56192" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[elpjt]

As a response to the recent shootings in CA and a scare from a homeless person our pastor today brought up an idea about posting the church for no weapons. My wife responded she should first speak to me about it. I am looking for ideas here to help in the conversation we will have.

[mojo84]

As a response to the recent shootings in CA and a scare from a homeless person our pastor today brought up an idea about posting the church for no weapons. My wife responded she should first speak to me about it. I am looking for ideas here to help in the conversation we will have.

The pastor needs to realize the signs will not stop a bad guy from carrying a gun and doing harm. All he would be doing is subjecting the flock he is charged with shepherding to unnecessary danger without the tools to defend themselves. If he thinks rendering his congregation almost helpless is the right thing, I would have to question his judgement on other issues.

Be sure to let him know it is already against the law to shoot someone without justification. What good is a sign going to do?

At some point, common sense needs to come into play. Show him how many of the shootings have happened in "gun free" locations.

Hopefully, he will reconsider and come to his senses. If not, you may have a decision to make.

[Keith B]

Tell him that the only people who obey no weapons signs are the law abiding people that you don't need to worry about. Anyone bent on doing harm will ignore a sign or law and continue to carry out their evil. By posting the sign you will disable those that legally carry concealed and could potentially stop an attack if one occurred.

[elpjt]

Thanks for the responses. I am looking for stats or numbers that show the benefits on CHL's in the congregation.