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I am required by work to attend a conference in San Antonio later this month. We are staying at the Menger downtown.

As I plan on carrying concealed as allowed by my employer, what problems should I anticipate with having a CHL in the Riverwalk area? Postings at restaurants?

My employer is encouraging us to park on the nearby street lots as they don't want to reimburse us for $25 a day valet parking at the hotel. I know this is a bad idea having been born and raised in SA. Is parking at the Rivercenter Mall a reasonable alternative and will it cause any difficulties for a CHL holder?

Thanks for any input.

Nazrat wrote:I am required by work to attend a conference in San Antonio later this month. We are staying at the Menger downtown.

Nice place. I liked the our rooms, and have parked on the streets over night. Nothing happened. Probably as safe on the street in that location as anywhere else in down town. Lots oaf activity at all hours. Means lots of witnesses.

Nazrat wrote: As I plan on carrying concealed as allowed by my employer, what problems should I anticipate with having a CHL in the Riverwalk area? Postings at restaurants?

I don't like carrying much on the Riverwalk. Some nice bars {51%} I like to stop and and listen to the music. Keep it close to you and be aware of your surroundings. I'm not a late night person, but I would be careful late at night, lots of places for the bad guys toi hide. During the day its mostly a tourist crowd and lots of cops around.

Nazrat wrote: My employer is encouraging us to park on the nearby street lots as they don't want to reimburse us for $25 a day valet parking at the hotel. I know this is a bad idea having been born and raised in SA. Is parking at the Rivercenter Mall a reasonable alternative and will it cause any difficulties for a CHL holder?

Thanks for any input.

I never saw any 30.06 signs but its been almost a year. Make sure you visit the Alamo. A great place to visit

River Center Mall has raised its parking prices so the $25/day at the hotel would be cheaper, especially if you go in and out at all.

Check the municipal codes before you go. San Antonio has some baffling laws, including knife restrictions: http://www.municode.com/resources/OnlineLibrary.asp

Thanks for the replies.

I saw some comments earlier regarding the city council's response to weapons by requiring 30.05 signs.

Under 30.05, isn't the CHL still a defense to prosecution? In practical SA terms, does this mean that a CHL holder will be ticketed by the PD but prosecution will be blocked by the statute?

I did see a reference on the Rivercenter Mall website that they prohibit unlicensed firearms but no reference to 30.06. That's a good thing.

Being raised in SA, I am familiar with the area but I have not been there since receiving my CHL. In fact, my wife and I got engaged at the Alamo. So, this is home but don't know how things are in the downtown area for a CHL. My biggest fear is going to lunch with a group from work and having to duck away at the door due to a 30.06 sign or being stopped by PD or private security for some arcane municipal violation.

I will reread the muni code. Thanks for the link.

Here is the section that I am concerned about:

Sec. 21-157. Carrying of weapons, including concealed handguns, on city-owned premises prohibited; posting of notice.
(a) It is the intent of the city council to prohibit any person other than a commissioned security officer employed by the city and licensed peace officers from carrying or possessing weapons including concealed handguns on city-owned premises, including city-owned buildings, parking garages, lots, and other parking areas but excluding city-owned or operated public parks, streets and sidewalks.
(b) It is the intent of the city council that the term weapon shall include a firearm, handgun, club, illegal knife, knife, and any prohibited weapon listed in Texas Penal Code Section 46.05(a) and have the same meaning as said items are defined in Section 46.01, Texas Penal Code.
(c) The city council directs the city manager, or his designee to post the appropriate signs and such other notice, in accordance with Section 30.05 of the Texas Penal Code (the Criminal Trespass Law), to carry out the city council's above-stated intent.
(d) The city manager is authorized to take all steps reasonable and necessary to deny entry or continued presence on city-owned premises to all such persons possessing weapons including concealed handguns, including prosecution of such violators for the offense of criminal trespass.
(Res. No. 95-52-66, 12-21-95)
Editor's note: Provisions enacted by Res. No. 95-52-66, adopted Dec. 21, 1995, have been included herein at the discretion of the editor as § 21-157.

http://www.municode.com/resources/gatew ... 508&sid=43

I think is merely local grandstanding but I always like to hear a second opinion.

I visited San Antonio and the Alamo last year and had no difficulties with my CHL. The Menger is an awesome hotel and no difficulties there or the mall. Went up and down the Riverwalk, even took the boat ride, and no problems. None of the restaurants I went to were posted or 51%. I don't go to bars so that was not an issue. Parked in the shopping mall parking lot with no problems. All in all, a nice trip.

In reference to the cities' attempted regulation of CHL carry:

This is from the Texas State Rifle Association's email of 6/21/2003:

Governor Rick Perry has signed into law SB 501 by Senator Armbrister
(D-Victoria) and Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp (R-Lampasas) clarifying for
Texas Concealed Handgun Licensees again in law that it's the Texas
Legislature that regulates the wearing of firearm in Texas. This
landmark legislation corrects the loophole in law that allowed cities,
counties and other governmental entities to threaten Texas CHL's with
prosecution for criminal trespass if they entered certain properties
owned or managed by those entities.

Just for grins, I am including also a comment from an earlier email that year:

The main opposition was presented by the Texas Municipal League, the association of city government, and by the Association of Urban Counties. Their opposition was based on the contention that Rep. Hupp's legislation would "erode the power of cities to regulate firearms".

Rep. Hupp, our committee witnesses, and members of the committee explained to these associations that the Texas Legislature didn't give cities and counties this power so it wasn't theirs to be "eroded".

I located a copy of the bill's text here:

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/ ... 00501F.doc

The relevant part of the text seems to be:

SECTION 1. Section 30.05, Penal Code, is amended by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1) the basis on which entry on the property or land or in the building was forbidden is that entry with a handgun was forbidden; and
(2) the person was carrying a concealed handgun and a license issued under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, to carry a concealed handgun of the same category the person was carrying.
SECTION 2. Section 30.06, Penal Code, is amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) It is an exception to the application of this section that the property on which the license holder carries a handgun is owned or leased by a governmental entity and is not a premises or other place on which the license holder is prohibited from carrying the handgun under Section 46.03 or 46.035.

I am not a lawyer, so you gotta figure this out for yourself or go find a lawyer if you really want to be sure. However, it appears to me that yes, you can be arrested for carry a handgun on posted city property, but you can use your CHL as a defense. This does not appear to me to be a "nice" as actually forbidding cities to mess with CHL holders, but it is better than nothing. Maybe the effect of this is the cities give up and don't bother, but given the actions of a certain DA in a certain large city with regards to a certain law on "traveling," I wouldn't count on this in all jurisdictions. The DA for Bexar County strikes me as having a much more correct view of citizen rights than certain other DAs, but I cannot tell what will happen in a specific circumstance with a specific cop.

Nevertheless, I carry my CHL and my handgun whenever I am in San Antonio including the Riverwalk (and have for a number of years), and have not encountered too many difficulties. I generally don't go to bars that have the 51% rating anyway, so not a big deal to me. I definitely DON'T go to San Antonio without my CHL accoutrements except under the most direst duress, e.g. I have to go on one of the military bases for something.

Historical interlude/"old timer's" story: When I visited the Riverwalk for the first time in 1980, on a break from ROTC summer field training, we were basically told to stay away from the R-walk at night for fear of being mugged, and from many other areas of San Antonio even in the day time. Since we were all young pups and would obviously not heed this advice, our officers told us to at least stay away from the darker areas and the bridge overpasses as much as possible. The Riverwalk has improved CONSIDERABLY since then, but occasionally bad things still happen, and can happen on the way to/from the Riverwalk.

Maybe next session someone will jump on Governor Perry's musings after the Virginia Tech rampage, where he thought maybe we should just do away with all the prohibited zones for CHL carry. Works for me!

ELB wrote: . . . Maybe next session someone will jump on Governor Perry's musings after the Virginia Tech rampage, where he thought maybe we should just do away with all the prohibited zones for CHL carry. . . .

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

ELB wrote: . . . Maybe next session someone will jump on Governor Perry's musings after the Virginia Tech rampage, where he thought maybe we should just do away with all the prohibited zones for CHL carry. . . .

I am all for that. Lets all pray that this can be done.

Pack everytime I go there and never seen a 30.06. I know there are stores in the rivercenter mall that will give you a voucher for your parking fee if you buy something from them. Parking anywhere is at least $5. Buy a $2 sticker everyday and your car is good to go. IMO, my car is just as likely to get broken into in my driveway as it is downtown with all the cops and security.

Nazrat wrote:I am required by work to attend a conference in San Antonio later this month. We are staying at the Menger downtown.

As I plan on carrying concealed as allowed by my employer, what problems should I anticipate with having a CHL in the Riverwalk area? Postings at restaurants?

My employer is encouraging us to park on the nearby street lots as they don't want to reimburse us for $25 a day valet parking at the hotel. I know this is a bad idea having been born and raised in SA. Is parking at the Rivercenter Mall a reasonable alternative and will it cause any difficulties for a CHL holder?

Thanks for any input.

Most of the time, there are available parking places at River Center Mall. I've parked there many times, but I've never seen any security in the parking building. There is a street lot right across the street from the Mall parking garage on Crockett Street. You can enter the parking area by either the Crockett Street or Commerce Street Access. The parking is pay by the hour too.

I do not recall any 30.06 signs, but I have never looked for them down there because I have not carried in the past and I do not walk on the walk down that nasty polluted river.

I hope this will help you with the parking at least.

Hoppes

DSARGE wrote:Pack everytime I go there and never seen a 30.06. I know there are stores in the rivercenter mall that will give you a voucher for your parking fee if you buy something from them. Parking anywhere is at least $5. Buy a $2 sticker everyday and your car is good to go. IMO, my car is just as likely to get broken into in my driveway as it is downtown with all the cops and security.

I think the parking voucher has gone by the wayside. We used it everytime and in the last year or so, the parking staff will not honor vouchers. I don't think many offer vouchers unless they have changed the policy yet again. I haven't tried to see if stores give a voucher in a long while though. Your mileage may vary.

Hoppes

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

ELB wrote: . . . Maybe next session someone will jump on Governor Perry's musings after the Virginia Tech rampage, where he thought maybe we should just do away with all the prohibited zones for CHL carry. . . .

See, when Charles gives us a thumbs up and a wink...

I tend to relax...Knowing a crown jewel of a bill, is in the works for the next session...

But shhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Loose lips sink ships...

I guess I should shut up too...

Skiprr wrote:Check the municipal codes before you go. San Antonio has some baffling laws, including knife restrictions: http://www.municode.com/resources/OnlineLibrary.asp

That's sorta crazy. Any knife. I don't see any length restrictions on knives in the municipal code. Will you stop carrying your pocket knife in San Antonio? I've had to leave in in our vehicle when we carry our daughter to Sea World and some other places like the SBC Center / AT&T Center.

Hoppes

ELB wrote: Maybe next session someone will jump on Governor Perry's musings after the Virginia Tech rampage, where he thought maybe we should just do away with all the prohibited zones for CHL carry. Works for me!

Works for me too. The current situation is absurd. Other than a private property owner having the right to ban, the CHL holder should be able to carry and even that one exception is debatable.