The bill, which has the backing of the National Rifle Association, grants immunity to gun owners without conceal carry permits to keep their weapons with them when fleeing disaster areas.
You gotta love CNN.
Buried at the end was a statement from a Senator in opposition to the bill. "During the floor debate, Huffman said the bill amounted to “permitless carry, open and concealed,” I guess they don’t know what a licensed gun owner is allowed to do in Texas.
Russell Ward
The term “licensed gun owner” is being misused by the press. Granted it is a complex bill. It relaxes the possession rules for unlicensed gun owners beyond the normal “home, car, boat, and to-from” rules. It also relaxes some of the prohibited places (e.g. school) if operating as a shelter. This applies to both licensed and un-licensed gun owners.
HB 1177 would revise the application of certain handgun laws in a declared state of disaster.
The offense of unlawfully carrying a weapon under Penal Code sec. 46.02 would not apply to a person carrying a handgun if:
the person carried the handgun while evacuating from an area subject to a mandatory evacuation order during a declared state of disaster or local state of disaster or while reentering that area following the person’s evacuation;
not more than 168 hours had elapsed since the evacuation was ordered or since it was issued and the governor had extended the period during which a person could carry a handgun; and
the person was not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm.
The offenses under Penal Code sec. 46.02 and certain provisions of secs. 46.03 and 46.035 would not apply to a person who carried a handgun if:
the person carried the handgun on an otherwise prohibited premises that was operating as an emergency shelter during a declared state of disaster or local state of disaster;
the person was authorized to carry the handgun by the owner, controller, or operator of the premises; and
the person was not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm.
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I don’t know how this is going to help in a hurricane harvey situation, given that there were no mandatory evacuations declared for Houston (and for good reason).
We got linked up with cajun navy guys because their boats were getting stolen at gun point and that helped prevent boat jackings, but it would be beneficial to have something that allowed carry during any kind of emergency, whether the person is evacuating or helping people evacuate. Really though, we need constitutional carry across the state.
I was rolling around Houston with friends all armed with rifles, helping people out of flooded homes and getting shot at. Good times
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The language went back n forth between the house and senate but ended up saying any declared emergency, state or federal. There is no requirement for an evacuation order. Again the media can’t seem to take the extra 30 min of research to get the story right.
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The presidents for a while now seem to be declaring national emergencies every 6 months or so.