Handgun Licensees in Texas Churches

By Justin Stakes

Yes, We can carry in Church!

Houston, TX -(AmmoLand.com)- In 1995 when CHL law passed, Penal Code 46.035, Unlawful Carrying of Handgun By License Holder, prohibited license holders from carrying in church.

(b)(4) on the premises of a church, synagogue, or other established place of religious worship.

In 1997, the Legislature added line (i) to PC 46.035 which reversed the prohibition on churches and certain other locations such as “governmental meetings”.

Subsection (i) reads:

(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.

This allowed churches to be treated as they are, as private property. A church has been able to post PC 30.06 since 1997.

Effective notice could also mean that a person in authority representing the church asked the licensee to leave. The net result is Texans have had access to this important form of personal protection in church for over a decade.

The last attempt to prohibit licensees from carrying in church was during the 1999 Legislative session.

Pastor Willard Rother, a Lutheran minister, testified against the bill saying the peace of God was not disturbed by law-abiding …read more

Source:: AmmoLand