Private property is private property. An owner of a business has the right to restrict or outright ban the carrying of firearms on his or her property if they so choose. The public then has the right to decide not to patronize that business. But Texas has a law that gives peace officers the right to carry in establishments that serve the public, whatever their policy is on concealed or open carry.
As the law states . . .
Pursuant to Article 2.1305 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, an establishment serving the public may not prohibit or otherwise restrict a peace officer or special investigator from carrying on the establishment’s premises a weapon that the peace officer or special investigator is otherwise authorize to carry, regardless of whether the peace officer or special investigator is engaged in the actual discharge of the officer’s or investigator’s duties while carrying the weapon.
For purposes of this law:
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- “Establishment serving the public” means:
- A hotel, motel, or other places of lodging;
- A restaurant or other place where food is offered for sale to the public;
- A retail business or other commercial establishment or an office building to which the general public is invited;
- A sports venue; and
- Any other place of public accommodation, amusement, convenience, or resort to which the general public or any classification of persons from the general public is regularly, normally, or customarily invited.
- “Sports venue” means an arena, coliseum, stadium, or other type of area or facility that is primarily used or is planned for primary use for one or more professional or amateur sports or athletics events and for which a fee is charged or is planned to be charged for admission to the sports or athletics events, other than occasional civic, charitable, or promotional events.
- “Establishment serving the public” means:
Last week Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against five business — including the State Fair of Texas — that banned peace officers, including off-duty officers, from carrying firearms on their property. Paxton says banning peace officers carrying their heaters jeopardizes public safety.
The AG’s office issued a statement that said, in part . . .
“Texas law must be respected to ensure the safety and well-being of our citizens,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Criminal activity can occur at any time and any place. Peace officers are often well-positioned to prevent and suppress crime, even when they are out of uniform and off duty.”
Watch this space.
7 Responses
“Peace officers are often well-positioned to prevent and suppress crime,”
Even more “often well-positioned to prevent and suppress crime,” is the ordinary law abiding armed citizen, at least in freedom-liberty (e.g. not democrat run) states and cities.
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Either civilians can carry guns on private property or they can’t. Tiered citizenship base on a job is bs.
Why sue them? They are breaking the law. Arrest them, conviction them, and find a tree.
I am feeling a bit short- tempered, right now. 😅
Nah, better pro move:
Find one of these places that have this attitude. Then have a conga line of off duty cops ready to show up, one after the other, with video cameras rolling to document all the individual violations. (After one cop gets turned away, he goes to the back of the line.) Rinse and repeat until you have several hundred violations, so that the fine has some real teeth.
Do that to one place, publicize the result, and the rest will get the message.
LKB,
Brilliant!!!
Lot of bootlickers here. The cops are no different then any other citizen. The same citizens who’s rights the police very often violate. I would think that this “law” should not be upheld by the courts.