County Jail Parking Lot

[stash]

I have some business to conduct at a county jail and just want to make sure I am good to go re leaving my handgun in my vehicle in their parking lot (if they have one for the public)?

[E.Marquez]

GC 411.207 (d) (1) would seem to support the legality of storing your weapon in the car in the jail parking lot.
(1) “Law enforcement facility” means a building or a portion of a building
used exclusively by a law enforcement agency that employs peace officers as
described by Articles 2.12(1) and (3), Code of Criminal Procedure, and support
personnel to conduct the official business of the agency. The term does not
include:
(A) any portion of a building not actively used exclusively to conduct the
official business of the agency; or
(B) any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk, walkway, parking lot,
parking garage, or other parking area.
(2) “Non-public, secure portion of a law enforcement facility” means that
portion of a law enforcement facility to which the general public is denied
access without express permission and to which access is granted solely to
conduct the official business of the law enforcement agency

[stash]

Thanks E.Marquez. Went yesterday morning. No sign in parking lot and no sign going into the jail building. The door I entered did go into a public area (bonding office, rest rooms, lock boxes for LEO's).

[mloamiller]

I believe those lockboxes are also available to CHL holders if they need to go into the secure portion of the building. Otherwise, carry should be permitted as it's a government-owned facility.

[G.A. Heath]

I believe a Jail, even a county one, would be considered a correctional facility.

[mloamiller]

See related thread:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=76760

GC Section 411.207 would seem to indicate that the restriction on CHL doesn't apply to the non-restricted parts of the building, and that lockboxes would have to be supplied at the entrance to the secured portions.

[Charlies.Contingency]

A county jail is a correctional facility. Most of them have public access, and have gun lockers in a safety vestibule between the public side and the secured side of the facility. I would like to say that at just about any county jail you can leave your firearm in your car/truck, but I would not tempt going into the lobby as a non-leo, simply because if something happens, not all Leos are up to date on CHL laws and their relation to the public side of a jail.