Amongst the gun law reforms passed during the last Texas legislative session and signed into law by Governor Abbott: a statute to prevent local governments from infringing on Second Amendment rights in public buildings. The law has real penalties for willful infringement on the right to bear arms of Texans; at least those with accepted carry permits. From texasattorneygeneral.gov . . .
When uncooperative governments post signs to ban Texas citizens from carrying where it is legal, they are breaking the law and infringing on Texans’ Second Amendment rights. Pursuant to Senate Bill 273 passed by the 84th Legislature, citizens may file complaints against these political subdivisions that unlawfully post signs prohibiting concealed weapons on property where concealed handgun license holders are legally permitted to carry.
Individuals who observe violations must first file a complaint with the government that appears to be in violation. If the entity does not remove the sign within three (3) days, citizens may file a complaint with the Texas Attorney General’s Office to investigate the matter and enforce the law. If you believe a political subdivision is unlawfully posting 30.06 signs and you have already filed a complaint with that entity, you may call The Texas Attorney General’s 30.06 Hotline at 1-844-584-3006, or fill out the form below:
Complaints and Investigation Procedures for the 30.06 Concealed Handgun Sign.
Notice that there is a three-step process to complete before a complaint should be sent to the attorney general, Ken Paxton.
First, file a complaint with the local government entity. I recommend taking a picture of the offending sign, preferably with some sort of date/time stamp. Second, wait three days and see if the sign is taken down. If not…third, file a complaint with the attorney general at the convenient website set up for the purpose by AG Ken Paxton.
Several other states have made it illegal for local governments to infringe on the Second Amendment rights of citizens. Some of those states have found that mere illegality wasn’t sufficient to stop scofflaw governments from flagrantly violating the law. Both Florida and Ohio had to reform their preemption laws to create penalties for local government scofflaws.
Ken Paxton has shown that he takes his oath of office and his job seriously. It would not surprise me if Texans move him to a higher office once he finishes his tour as AG.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Gun Watch