We reported last year how the Texas State Fair banned concealed handguns and later reported on the resulting court battles, which the fair eventually won, keeping gun owners disarmed at the fair last fall.
Now, Texas lawmakers are taking aim at the situation with a measure that would prohibit lessees of publicly owned property from creating gun-free zones. On April 14, the bill, SB 1065, passed its first legislative hurdle by being approved by the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee.
In a nutshell, the measure requires any government entity controlling property to include in all contracts a provision that expressly prohibits restrictions that would prevent an individual who is licensed to carry a concealed firearm from doing so on that property.
“A contractor who uses property owned or leased by a governmental entity under a contract containing a condition described by Section 2251.911(b) may not take any action, including an action consisting of the provision of notice by a communication described by Section 30.06 or 30.07, Penal Code, that states or implies that a license holder who is carrying a handgun under the authority of this subchapter is prohibited from entering or remaining on the property or a portion of the property unless license holders are prohibited from carrying a handgun on the property or that portion of the property by Section 46.03, Penal Code, or other law,” the measure states.
Unlike many measures proposed in state legislatures, this bill has some serious teeth to it.
“A contractor that violates Subsection (b) is liable for a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 and not more than $1,500 for the first violation; and not less than $10,000 and not more than $10,500 for the second or a subsequent violation,” the measure states. “Each day of a continuing violation of Subsection (b) constitutes a separate violation.”
The bill also provides a means by which concealed carriers who are denied their rights can file a complaint.
“A resident of this state or a person licensed to carry a handgun under this subchapter may file a complaint with the attorney general that a contractor is in violation of Subsection (b) if the resident or license holder provides the contractor a written notice that describes the location and general facts of the violation and the contractor does not cure the violation before the end of the third business day after the date of receiving the written notice,” the measure states. “A complaint filed with the attorney general under this subsection must include evidence of the violation and a copy of the written notice provided to the contractor.”
If the measure passes by a two-thirds margin in both houses and is signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, the law will take effect immediately. If it passes but does not receive the votes for immediate effect, it will take effect on September 1, well before the Texas State Fair opens on September 26.
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