TexasCHLforum.com

lkd wrote:BTW, I don't recommend it. My roommate did a VERY brief "test squirt" of FOX OC in my backyard (not in this state -- she was pretty excited that she finally had some OC) and, um, the wind shifted.

We coughed and choked for about two days.

Lesson learned.

LarryH wrote:While you can legally open carry on your own property, if some one else sees you doing so, they can claim you're a "hazard to the public" and call the police on you.

srothstein wrote: There is a legal difference between property and place that many people do not understand. Private or public property refers solely to the ownership of the property. Private or public place refers to who has access to the property. The public place concept is somewhat confusing to many, but we all understand the difference when we look at the larger distance concepts. We know a business open to the public is different from our homes even though both are still private property. But the concept applies in a finer detail still to places like our front yards (or back yards if no fence).

Thus, if you have a front yard with no privacy fence, it is open to the view (which is a type of access) of the public and is a public place. But since it is still property you own or under your control, you may still carry a handgun there openly without worrying about unlawfully carrying.

But there are always other laws to worry about. Without regard to ownership of the property, it is illegal to display a weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm. This is in the Disorderly Conduct statutes (PC 42.01). The first important part to note here is the public place. As I showed above, your front yard is very probably legally a public place. This is what the officer you spoke with was referring to. The other half of this is "in a manner calculated to alarm". There is a lot of debate on what that phrase means. I take the position that calculated means that I planned it. Others take the meaning that it is solely dependent on the victim's mental response. Apparently the officer you spoke with is in the second group. If this is the correct interpretation, then if anyone saw your weapon, whether concealed or open, and was frightened by it, you could be charged with disorderly conduct.

Thus, you can be charged with violating a law for carrying your gun in your own front yard. This is a class B misdemeanor, btw. Thus it is a little less than unlawfully carrying and why the difference in law exists.

I hope this helps clear it up for you. I am not a lawyer, but this is the way I was trained as a police officer and the way I have trained others since. I would like to see all of the firearms sections taken out of disorderly conduct and put in the weapons chapter so we keep everything together but I have no say in the matter. If I have any of this wrong, I am sure Charles or one of the other lawyers can correct it quickly.

gigag04 wrote:Yes.

Thread closed?

m pretty sure that the question was about Open Carry, not pepper spray

sjfcontrol wrote:Why not just wear it concealed while in your front yard?

(That's what I do when working in the yard or on the outside of the house.)