A Needed Car Tool

Calendar September 23, 2004 | Posted by Aubrey Turner

One of the areas where I think Texas is overly restrictive with regards to handguns is in vehicles.  Texas law says that you can’t have a handgun “on or about your person”¹ unless you have a Concealed Handgun License.  A number of states (Colorado and New Mexico come immediately to mind) have laws allowing you to carry a handgun in your car without a license. 

I’d like to see Texas go that way as well.  A lot of people I have encountered don’t really know that this isn’t already the law, so they’re carrying guns in their cars/trucks anyway.  In some states, they actually accomplish this by defining your automobile as an extension of your home.  That sounds reasonable to me.  Further, given that you’re more vulnerable in your car than your home, it makes sense to make self-defense as simple as possible. 

¹  There are a few exceptions to this, such as when “travelling” (which isn’t defined in the law, so it’s up the courts to decide if you’re really travelling), when on the way to or from the range or somewhere else it’s legal to have/use the handgun.  However, it should be noted that you’re supposed to go directly to/from those locations, otherwise you might be subject to arrest if found with a handgun (carrying a handgun without a license is a Class A misdemeanor).

Category Categories: Guns

1 Comment

  1. Dave says:
    September 30, 2004 at 1:20 pm

    For what it’s worth Texas case law has held that “travelling” means crossing more than 2 county lines and consisting of 3 or more counties in a reasonably direct progression from origination to destination.  Driving from Dallas to Houston qualifies.  Hell, my drive to work (Trophy Club to Downtown Dallas) qualifies.  I start in Denton County, cross into Tarrant County, then into Dallas County. Problem is, it’s a little used exemption to the concealed carry law.  Many officers won’t be aware of it’s existance, and even if shown the statute would be likely to “shoot first and ask questions later”, both literally and figuratively.  You’d probably spend the day in a holding cell (or longer) until a DA decides whether or not they want to try and challenge your assertion you were “travelling”.