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There is an elementary school with a really nice playground within walking distance of my house. I would really like to take my kids to play there, but the neighborhood surrounding it is not so nice - there is no way I'd be caught without a weapon out there. So up until now, based on the assumption that anything having to do with a school is an absolute no-go, we simply haven't gone. But now I'm reading things that are challenging my understanding of the laws surrounding this. I would still never dream of OC'ing on a school playground, but am I correct in my understanding that I could CC there? It is fenced but not gated, it does not say that it is only for students, and it is not inside a building or even under a covering, but it is right up against a building so there is no question it is school property.

imkopaka wrote:There is an elementary school with a really nice playground within walking distance of my house. I would really like to take my kids to play there, but the neighborhood surrounding it is not so nice - there is no way I'd be caught without a weapon out there. So up until now, based on the assumption that anything having to do with a school is an absolute no-go, we simply haven't gone. But now I'm reading things that are challenging my understanding of the laws surrounding this. I would still never dream of OC'ing on a school playground, but am I correct in my understanding that I could CC there? It is fenced but not gated, it does not say that it is only for students, and it is not inside a building or even under a covering, but it is right up against a building so there is no question it is school property.

You should be able to carry there when students are not there for a school sponsored activity (i.e. recess). A playground is not the "premises" of a school under 46.035. While theoretically you could open carry there I would probably pass on that.

It's true that OC and CC are not prohibited on the grounds of a school when there is no school-sponsored activity occurring.

OC would be more trouble than it's worth.

Just conceal it and you're fine.

ScottDLS wrote: You should be able to carry there when students are not there for a school sponsored activity (i.e. recess). A playground is not the "premises" of a school under 46.035. While theoretically you could open carry there I would probably pass on that.

Now don't YOU start in with the "affraid of the ride" stuff. :-)

(Just bustin' your chops.)

Just be careful when you go, I went once with my kids a little before 6 one evening and there was an after school program with 4-5 kids playing. I figured that would easily qualify as school sponsored, so we just stick to the city parks where I know that carry is fine.

AJSully421 wrote:Just be careful when you go, I went once with my kids a little before 6 one evening and there was an after school program with 4-5 kids playing. I figured that would easily qualify as school sponsored, so we just stick to the city parks where I know that carry is fine.

The after school program at my son's school is run by the local YMCA. They use school facilities but I'm not sure if it would qualify as "school sponsored". We contract with the YMCA, and all literature and signage clearly says YMCA. I need to go inside the school building to pick him up, so it's a moot point for me.

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

AJSully421 wrote:Just be careful when you go, I went once with my kids a little before 6 one evening and there was an after school program with 4-5 kids playing. I figured that would easily qualify as school sponsored, so we just stick to the city parks where I know that carry is fine.

The after school program at my son's school is run by the local YMCA. They use school facilities but I'm not sure if it would qualify as "school sponsored". We contract with the YMCA, and all literature and signage clearly says YMCA. I need to go inside the school building to pick him up, so it's a moot point for me.

Good catch... I guess it could just as easily be a private entity. Good to know.

AJSully421 wrote:

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

AJSully421 wrote:Just be careful when you go, I went once with my kids a little before 6 one evening and there was an after school program with 4-5 kids playing. I figured that would easily qualify as school sponsored, so we just stick to the city parks where I know that carry is fine.

The after school program at my son's school is run by the local YMCA. They use school facilities but I'm not sure if it would qualify as "school sponsored". We contract with the YMCA, and all literature and signage clearly says YMCA. I need to go inside the school building to pick him up, so it's a moot point for me.

Good catch... I guess it could just as easily be a private entity. Good to know.

The problem is that in your case you would have no way of knowing without getting too close (assuming you are carrying). That's an issue with the whole "school sponsored" thing in general. If you see a group of kids walk into the McDonalds you are sitting in, and they have a couple adults with them, is it a school field trip, a school sports team headed to an out of town game, or a non-school club team, or a church group, or a private birthday party, or..............

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

AJSully421 wrote:

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

AJSully421 wrote:Just be careful when you go, I went once with my kids a little before 6 one evening and there was an after school program with 4-5 kids playing. I figured that would easily qualify as school sponsored, so we just stick to the city parks where I know that carry is fine.

The after school program at my son's school is run by the local YMCA. They use school facilities but I'm not sure if it would qualify as "school sponsored". We contract with the YMCA, and all literature and signage clearly says YMCA. I need to go inside the school building to pick him up, so it's a moot point for me.

Good catch... I guess it could just as easily be a private entity. Good to know.

The problem is that in your case you would have no way of knowing without getting too close (assuming you are carrying). That's an issue with the whole "school sponsored" thing in general. If you see a group of kids walk into the McDonalds you are sitting in, and they have a couple adults with them, is it a school field trip, a school sports team headed to an out of town game, or a non-school club team, or a church group, or a private birthday party, or..............

Agreed... this all needs to go away in 2017.

Thanks for the help y'all. I think I'll just conceal my wife's 9mm to make it a little less likely to accidentally show if I bend over or something. Good to know that I don't have to watch my kids play from a bench a quarter mile away just so I can carry.

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

AJSully421 wrote:

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

AJSully421 wrote:Just be careful when you go, I went once with my kids a little before 6 one evening and there was an after school program with 4-5 kids playing. I figured that would easily qualify as school sponsored, so we just stick to the city parks where I know that carry is fine.

The after school program at my son's school is run by the local YMCA. They use school facilities but I'm not sure if it would qualify as "school sponsored". We contract with the YMCA, and all literature and signage clearly says YMCA. I need to go inside the school building to pick him up, so it's a moot point for me.

Good catch... I guess it could just as easily be a private entity. Good to know.

The problem is that in your case you would have no way of knowing without getting too close (assuming you are carrying). That's an issue with the whole "school sponsored" thing in general. If you see a group of kids walk into the McDonalds you are sitting in, and they have a couple adults with them, is it a school field trip, a school sports team headed to an out of town game, or a non-school club team, or a church group, or a private birthday party, or..............

"School sponsored activity" only applies to property that the school administration is in control of. McDonald's, a public park, etc would not fall under that definition because the school administration cannot bar anyone from entering such places. And yes, the antis have tried to argue that a "school sponsored activity" is a floating, conditional boundary. But the relevant statute is not written that way. And I've also seen public posts from a legal defense service that shall remain nameless claim that the various Livestock Show & Rodeos would be off-limits due to the "school sponsored activity" provision. But other posts & information that they've published lead me to believe that they err on the side of ultra-cautious in such matters. So their word should be taken with as much a grain of salt as you would most other sources.

AJSully421 wrote:

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

AJSully421 wrote:

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

AJSully421 wrote:Just be careful when you go, I went once with my kids a little before 6 one evening and there was an after school program with 4-5 kids playing. I figured that would easily qualify as school sponsored, so we just stick to the city parks where I know that carry is fine.

The after school program at my son's school is run by the local YMCA. They use school facilities but I'm not sure if it would qualify as "school sponsored". We contract with the YMCA, and all literature and signage clearly says YMCA. I need to go inside the school building to pick him up, so it's a moot point for me.

Good catch... I guess it could just as easily be a private entity. Good to know.

The problem is that in your case you would have no way of knowing without getting too close (assuming you are carrying). That's an issue with the whole "school sponsored" thing in general. If you see a group of kids walk into the McDonalds you are sitting in, and they have a couple adults with them, is it a school field trip, a school sports team headed to an out of town game, or a non-school club team, or a church group, or a private birthday party, or..............

Agreed... this all needs to go away in 2017.

I wholeheartedly agree! Let's get behind the effort to remove all of these off-limits places. The CHL/LTC track record has earned us that right.