AUSTIN, TEXAS — In January, Texans will be legally allowed to open carry their handguns with pride. Considered a major win for pro-Second Amendment rights supporters, Governor Abbott signed two laws into effect – one for campus concealed carry and the other for open carry.
Now that the law is signed and set to go into effect, Texas business owners have less than six months to ensure their signage is correct if they want to prohibit open carry on their premises. According to new Texan law, if business owners want to prohibit open and concealed carry, they must give due notice through signs posted in both English and Spanish.
Dubbed “30.06” signs due to a hiccup in Texan penal code, the concealed carry signs must include the following:
- Contrasting colors
- “Pursuant to Section 30.06, Penal Code (trespass by holder of license to carry a concealed handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code (concealed handgun law), may not enter this property with a concealed handgun”
- Inch tall text
- Specific 38 word message
- Message must be in both English and Spanish
Even as business owners gripe about having to post aforementioned signs in order to prohibit customers from wearing firearms, one enterprising Texan is helping out.
Russell Jones, the site creator of Texas3006.com, has included a “Texan Wall of Shame” which includes the name and location of each business that wants to prohibit customers from wearing guns.
On the website, users have the ability to detail out specifically what’s missing – with either the hopes that the business will make the correction or strike their ban.
Texas Already Has Their Fair Share Of Signs
In the State of Texas – as like many other states – the sign “Guns not allowed” in a private business carries the full weight of precisely nothing. If a person is spotted with a concealed carry handgun and reported to the business owner, he or she can be asked to leave. Failure to do so is, indeed, trespassing.
Concealed carriers shouldn’t be getting spotted, though. That’s amateur hour.
Yet, plenty of businesses in Texas and across the country still feel the need to post the superlative “No Guns Allowed” poster. …Because surely criminals heed those signs as surely as law-abiding carriers do.
And then there’s the infamous 51% sign in Texas. This one is truly unique. If a business gets more than 51% of their proceeds from alcohol, they are mandated to post this sign. And unlike the first one mentioned, this one carries the big ole hammer of Texan justice if the person doesn’t comply. This sign is predominantly aimed at bars and restaurants that serve alcohol – it’s illegal to have a concealed carry firearm in those sorts of places.
For note, in many other states, a concealed carrier is not automatically barred from carrying in a bar. He IS ALWAYS barred from drinking while carrying. There is a distinction but Texas legislature hasn’t gotten there – yet?
Final takeaway? Concealed carriers are not allowed in bars. Criminals know there’s at least one safe place to drink in Texas.
In conclusion, as January hops just right around the corner, Texas business has two options: a.) accept a new, steady influx of open and concealed carriers into their businesses or b.) get ready to post some big, gaudy looking signs on their front doors (and be prepared to lose business).
To our Texan readers out there, do you feel this new law mandating posting the aforementioned 30.06 sign will draw business to or away? Tell us about it in the comments section below.