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I work part time at a shelter in Texas. We currently have both 30.06 and 30.07 signs posted. We are a non-profit that receives funds from HHSC and VOCA. However, we currently lease the building out for $1 a year from our city. Am I correct that if the city owns it, the signs should come down, much like the big mess with the zoo?

thinblueguy wrote:I work part time at a shelter in Texas. We currently have both 30.06 and 30.07 signs posted. We are a non-profit that receives funds from HHSC and VOCA. However, we currently lease the building out for $1 a year from our city. Am I correct that if the city owns it, the signs should come down, much like the big mess with the zoo?

If it was the non-profit that posted the signs and it is a government owned building, then the AG believes that a court would find you not in violation of 30.06 and 30.07 for carrying a handgun on those premises as long as it was not a prohibited place under 46.03 or 46.035 of the penal code.

KP-108 wrote:A court would likely conclude that a license holder who carries a handgun on property that is owned by a governmental entity but leased to a private entity and that is not a premises or other place from which the license holder is prohibited from carrying a handgun under sections 46.03 or 46.035 of the Penal Code is excepted from the offenses in subsections 30.06(a) and 30.07(a) of the Penal Code."

However, this has not been tested in a court of law yet and it is not law, just an Attorney General's opinion.

The signs cannot be forced down if it is the leasing agency that is posting the signs.

This is like the Ft Worth gun show, the city rents the building to the gun show people who then post .06 and .07, the city posts LEOs there for security, per KP-108 the leasee can post the signs but the police can't enforce them. The whole thing is a bluff but nobody wants to be a test case to make it solid!

But as of yesterday, if you are "volunteer as defined by Section 773.003, Health and Safety Code, and any individual who, as a volunteer, provides services for the benefit of the general public during emergency situations..." you have a defense against prosecution in the 06/07 case, under HB435.

So, I'd discreetly carry on and not worry about it.

I'm actually employed by this place. It's a domestic violence shelter, not a temp one designed for recent events. I do appreciate the information!

thinblueguy wrote:I'm actually employed by this place. It's a domestic violence shelter, not a temp one designed for recent events. I do appreciate the information!

You are not at legal risk, IMHO, for the max $200 fine. But if you work there you are at risk of losing your job if your employer has a policy that bans firearms.

I am in the same boat as I am sitting in my office that has cute little "no guns allowed" signs on the doors, but the employee manual clearly states that possession of weapons on company property is a violation that can result in consequences up to, and including, termination. I should also note that we hire off duty LEO's for our security and they openly carry right past the cute little signs. Those folks are also in violation of our company policy since it applies to contractors and others as well as full time employees, and allows for no exceptions in Houston (there is an exception for our Tel Aviv office though). But I haven't seen any of them fired as a consequence of their policy violation.