As I understand it, open carry is NOT permitted in Texas.
That is correct. There are some occasions when open carry is legal in Texas but they are actually exceptions to the ban on open carry and are more useful as defenses to prosecution than permissions.
There is more fiction rampant in Texas about OC or any kind of carry than you might imagine but after the passage of the CHL law and then the passage of the extended castle doctrine classifying motor vehicles as extensions of one's premises (basically your home, for ease of understanding) the rules changed dramatically but in both cases CONCEALED CARRY is required.
The sections of the Texas Penal Code that apply to this discussion are as follows:
Sec. 46.02. UNLAWFUL CARRYING WEAPONS. (a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun, illegal knife, or club if the person is not:
(1) on the person's own premises or premises under the person's control; or
(2) inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle or watercraft that is owned by the person or under the person's control.
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun in a motor vehicle or watercraft that is owned by the person or under the person's control at any time in which:
(1) the handgun is in plain view; or
(2) the person is:
(A) engaged in criminal activity, other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance regulating traffic or boating;
(B) prohibited by law from possessing a firearm; or
(C) a member of a criminal street gang, as defined by Section 71.01.
(a-2) For purposes of this section, "premises" includes real property and a recreational vehicle that is being used as living quarters, regardless of whether that use is temporary or permanent. In this subsection, "recreational vehicle" means a motor vehicle primarily designed as temporary living quarters or a vehicle that contains temporary living quarters and is designed to be towed by a motor vehicle. The term includes a travel trailer, camping trailer, truck camper, motor home, and horse trailer with living quarters.
(a-3) For purposes of this section, "watercraft" means any boat, motorboat, vessel, or personal watercraft, other than a seaplane on water, used or capable of being used for transportation on water.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree if the offense is committed on any premises licensed or issued a permit by this state for the sale of alcoholic beverages.
and
(b) Section 46.02 does not apply to a person who:
(1) is in the actual discharge of official duties as a member of the armed forces or state military forces as defined by Section 437.001, Government Code, or as a guard employed by a penal institution;
(2) is traveling;
(3) is engaging in lawful hunting, fishing, or other sporting activity on the immediate premises where the activity is conducted, or is en route between the premises and the actor's residence, motor vehicle, or watercraft, if the weapon is a type commonly used in the activity;
I omitted the sections dealing with LEOs and security personnel.
The big issues are two:
1. What does the statute mean by "traveling"?
2. How does the law define the carrying of a handgun openly when lawfully hunting or fishing?
As a general rule, if you're carrying a handgun openly while you're hunting or fishing the game wardens and police will probably ignore it - even though it is NOT normally used in the activity. But they might not -it's a risk one takes. Arguing that you normally hunt with a 30.06 Remington and 2" .357 Magnum will likely fall on deaf ears if the LEO wants to arrest you. But if you're behaving it's unlikely that you're be harassed.
Traveling, however, is more difficult to deal with. The case law in Texas says that you're traveling if you're staying out at night, not just driving around, even across several counties (a famous Texas fiction). Why? because when the law was originally written if you literally traveled you almost ALWAYS stayed out at night - and I mean OUT, in a sleeping bag, under the stars, not at the local Holiday Inn. But the definition carried over from horse and buggy days to motor vehicles. (And NEVER forget that these laws were almost always passed with a racial undertone, whether it was freed black slaves in the South or Irish gangsters in new York City - but I digress.)
The problem is, now that the law permits you to carry a concealed weapon in your motor vehicle, using the traveling defense to carry openly is a VERY BIG MISTAKE. Until Texas passes OC for everyone, everywhere, carrying a handgun openly in your car, even if you're driving from Texarkana to El Paso, will probably get you arrested.
There you have it; a brief summary of the present state of the law in Texas in re open carry.
***GRJ***
PS:
Yes, yes, I'm a level III combined instructor, a CHL instructor, and a nasty old lawyer.....
