TexasCHLforum.com

. . . is an article in the July issue of Concealed Carry magazine. The article is written by a Kansas City lawyer and quotes a "commentator on personal protection". For those who want to read the article in its entirety, it's on pages 44 and 45.

One of the more interesting statements in the article is this: "In Texas it is illegal to merely mention that you are carrying a gun." My dear wife, who read the article before I did, asked me about it. My response was something to the effect that the only similar provision I could remember was the prohibition against intentional failure to conceal (IFTC).

I believe we've had a previous discussion along those lines (whether stating that one is carrying violates IFTC) but don't remember the conclusion. My thought is that the author is saying that making a fairly extreme statement, along the lines of "I've got a gun and you better not mess with me.", could be construed as threatening behavior.

One of my wife's concerns is that, being a concealed carry evangelist of sorts, she is not exactly shy about telling people she trusts (a far more inclusive list than mine) that she holds a CHL and carries regularly. So she's concerned that she could be arrested, etc., over making such a statement. My relative reticence about the subject is one of the areas in which we've had to "agree to disagree" because I can't convince her that the number of people who "need to know" that information is in the low-double-digit range.

Thoughts? or reference to any similar previous thread? I'd like to ease her fears, but would also like some help convincing her not to let her mouth get the rest of her in trouble.

Thanks.

LarryH wrote:. . . is an article in the July issue of Concealed Carry magazine. The article is written by a Kansas City lawyer and quotes a "commentator on personal protection". For those who want to read the article in its entirety, it's on pages 44 and 45.

One of the more interesting statements in the article is this: "In Texas it is illegal to merely mention that you are carrying a gun." My dear wife, who read the article before I did, asked me about it. My response was something to the effect that the only similar provision I could remember was the prohibition against intentional failure to conceal (IFTC).
......
Thanks.

This sounds like the same stuff the open carry org keeps throwing out: *failure to conceal can get you arrested, your license revoked, fined and/or jailed. I think the lawyer's been reading the wrong forum.

*Yes, I left out intentional on purpose. They never point this out.

I'm not against open carry, I'm against misinformation.

There is no case law on this that I am aware of, and I do not know any officer who would arrest for two people discussing CHL and one saying that they have a CHL and carry. In a case like that, I would even think it would be okay to state they are carrying now.

The difference is that someone who says "I have a gun so you better not mess with me" is not failing to conceal. they are making a threat and can be charged under the assault laws (class C misdemeanor, Assault by threat). This is an entirely different scenario from your wife discussing CHL with people. I recommend she be a little more discreet about telling who she carries, based on tactics for defense, but my interpretation would be that she is not breaking the law.

Remember that the law for her is intentionally failing to conceal, which means the pistol must be discernible to the average person. Stating that you have a gun does not mean you really do since it is not against the law to lie in discussions of this type. The pistol is still not readily discernible.

If the author was correct, it would be illegal to say "yes" when a peace officer asks if you have a handgun.

If she's not threatening anyone, it's fine. Of course, i'm sure she's smart enough to not tell a stranger or meer aquaintance for they might interpret her wrong.

Too bad the attorney didn't reference the law statute he feels he knows so well. Might email the mag to see if they'll retract it.

I hate seeing misinformation put out by ignorant people. There is absolutely no excuse for it since the correct information - often from primary sources - is just a google away.

I believe there is caselaw on it, and I think i read about it on here. Though it's iffy.

From memory, two people wer einvolved in a verbal altercation, and one let the other know they had a handgun.
He was later arrested for failure to conceal and convicted.

Reasonableness is everything in this situation - saying "I have a CHL and carry a gun," through the course of a conversation is much different than screaming at someone in traffic and making sure that they know what you carry and how many spare mags you have with you.

A letter to the author requesting more information may be in order. I have a feeling that he would be more knowledgeable about our laws because of it. Not that being from another state means he isn't capable of being knowledgeable about our laws, but I'd hope that he would try harder or word things differently. I always tend to take things less seriously from authorities outside of their daily realm.

I was on a forum for another state today where they were explaining that printing is illegal in Texas.....

Thanks. I'll follow up with the magazine sometime this week. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something "obvious".

Let us know if you get any response from him.

too many people get their information second and third hand from internet forum discussions... the "printing" issue is another perfect example!

srothstein wrote:"I have a gun so you better not mess with me..."

...is a pretty weak threat. It seems more like stating a fact and giving advice. There is no statement of intent to inflict harm or apparent ability to do so, as long as the handgun remains concealed. If one were to be arrested for such an offense, I think it wouldn't take much of a lawyer to get the charge dropped. However, I am not a lawyer...