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by srothstein
Wed Apr 18, 2018 12:38 am
Forum: General Texas CHL Discussion
Topic: Reciprocity with WA?
Replies: 32
Views: 8472

Re: Reciprocity with WA?

I think the question of the MPA covering you or the LTC covering you is actually easy to understand if you look at the way the law is written.

Section 46.02 said it is illegal to carry a gun. The MPA modified this so that the the law now says it is illegal to carry a gun unless it is in your car and concealed. This means that it is no against the law for anyone to carry a gun in their car as long as it is concealed (and the other requirements are met of course).

Section 46.15 then comes along and says that section 46.02 does not apply if you have an LTC. This means that an LTC can carry a gun outside of the car or not concealed. Common sense would tell you that there would not be a section of law saying that something that is legal for everyone is now illegal because the whole section does not apply to you.

So, when you are driving your car, and you keep your weapon concealed, you are not breaking any law. You do not need any special authority to do something that is legal. The 30.06 sign on the garage only applies when you are breaking some other law and using the LTC as the authority to do so.

The only time you have a choice of what authority you are carrying under is when you have multiple exceptions to the law. For example, as a retired peace officer, I can carry a pistol. If I am walking and see a building posted 30.06, I can ignore it because I am not carrying under the authority of an LTC. But when I get my LTC in the next few days (DPS says it has been mailed), I have a choice of which authority I am carrying under. As a general rule, I will always be carrying under the authority of my retired peace officer status because it gives me more places I can carry. One of the general rules of law construction is that they must be interpreted to make sense. It makes no sense to say I could carry into a 30.06 location today but not legally carry there next week when an LTC is meant to expand where you can carry.

One of the things I was taught a long time ago in the police academy was that there are a lot of places where the law can be interpreted multiple ways. Always interpret the law in the way that is to your best advantage until a court has ruled on the interpretation. Once that happens, go with the court's interpretation. Taking a law as being against my best interests when it could be taken to benefit me makes no sense.

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