Clarifying "premises" of a "sporting event"

[chabouk]

I think the conventional wisdom among CHLs is that you can't carry at any high school, collegiate, or professional sporting event. Some other thread made me take a look at the actual language in the statute, and it suddenly jumped right out at me that I've been reading it incorrectly, and so has the "conventional wisdom".

Sec. 46.035. UNLAWFUL CARRYING OF HANDGUN BY LICENSE HOLDER.
(b) A license holder commits an offense if the license holder intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries a handgun under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, regardless of whether the handgun is concealed, on or about the license holder's person:
(2) on the premises where a high school, collegiate, or professional sporting event or interscholastic event is taking place, unless the license holder is a participant in the event and a handgun is used in the event;

(f) In this section:
(3) "Premises" means a building or a portion of a building. The term does not include any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area.



Now, 46.03 has a slightly different version (the distinction is important):

Sec. 46.03. PLACES WEAPONS PROHIBITED. (a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm, illegal knife, club, or prohibited weapon listed in Section 46.05(a):
(1) on the physical premises of a school or educational institution, any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by a school or educational institution is being conducted, or a passenger transportation vehicle of a school or educational institution, whether the school or educational institution is public or private, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization of the institution;

(c) In this section:
(1) "Premises" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.035.


See the difference? Under PC 46.03, the "grounds" are included as a place off limits, but only for school sponsored events. Carry at professional sporting events is only restricted from the 46.035(f)(3) definition of "premises", which means a building or portion of a building where the event is taking place.

As a practical matter, most professional sporting events will still be off limits, because they require entering a building, even if you're just passing through to the outdoor seating. But, for those professional sporting events where you can gain admission without entering the "premises", carrying would be perfectly legal.

One other important distinction: violating 46.035(b)(2) is a Class A misdemeanor, but violating 46.03(a)(1) is a felony.

Comments? Critiques? Counter-analysis?

[ralewis]

As long as your are confident the arresting officer has that same interpretation, carry away...

Seriously though, I think there are all sorts of corner cases we can find if we parse the patchwork of laws that comprise the body of law regulating CHL in Texas. Since I only barely have enough brain cells to remember my kids' birth dates, I do my best to understand the restrictions and when I encounter ambiguity (or inconsistency), I am content to leave it in the car.

Given the frequency of discussions like in this forum and how easy it is to find cases to debate, it's pretty clear we've got a mess created by all the various changes over the years. I really would love to see an effort to clean up the web of various laws and make everything clearer.

[JNMAR]

As long as your are confident the arresting officer has that same interpretation, carry away...

...

Given the frequency of discussions like in this forum and how easy it is to find cases to debate, it's pretty clear we've got a mess created by all the various changes over the years. I really would love to see an effort to clean up the web of various laws and make everything clearer.

+1

[Bart]

Another important distinction is 46.035 only applies to handguns carried by a license holder. If someone without a CHL carries a handgun in those places, it's simply UCW. Since UCW is a Class A misd in most cases, they made it the same class of offense for CHL in those places.

46.03 applies to firearms, illegal knives and clubs. Even before CHL, it was a penalty enhacement for UCW based on location. It also restricts long guns.

[chabouk]

As long as your are confident the arresting officer has that same interpretation, carry away...

People get wrongly arrested for stuff that's not actually against the law. Just ask Handog!

We have to plan around what the law actually is, not what we fear an uninformed or misinformed officer might do.

[shootthesheet]

As long as your are confident the arresting officer has that same interpretation, carry away...

People get wrongly arrested for stuff that's not actually against the law. Just ask Handog!

We have to plan around what the law actually is, not what we fear an uninformed or misinformed officer might do.

I agree with that. I fear being murdered more than I fear what the law can do to me. I follow the law.