Our local County Clerk's office has signs posted prohibiting guns. Not the whole courthouse, just their office. Per state law, courtrooms themselves, and rooms used for the direct function of the court can be posted. I would read that last bit to include jury rooms, witness prep rooms, holding rooms, etc. Erath County claims the Clerk's office is a direct function since they file court documents there. I say the words "file documents" is administrative, not judicial in nature. But they refuse to remove the signs.
There are about 3.5% of Texas adults with a license to carry. The other 96.5% of the population falls under generic laws prohibiting any kind of carry outside their vehicle, home, RV, vacation home, or boat (Castle doctrine locations) and other prohibited conditions (felon, non citizen, mental defective etc). This 3.5% of Texan adults are the most well behaved in the State - by at least a factor of 10. Even LEOs have at least double the rate of felony convictions as licensees as a percentage of their respective populations. No one is talking about disarming the cops.
So my question is - just who is it they are afraid of? The least worrisome group in the state, or real criminals?
I believe they pick us licensees because (1) we are easily identifiable - we have a state-issued permit - and (2) we are likely armed at any given time. The least problematic of the population is the first disarmed. It's not like psychopaths, drug dealers, felons, and other criminals carry an ID with them, nor are they going to give up their guns because someone wrote a law in a book requiring it.
I figure if the entire population of Erath County committed felonies at the rate all licensees commit them across the state, there would be 3-5 felonies per year in this county. If the actual number of felonies across the state were evenly distributed by population, you'd expect around 60 felonies a year in this county.
The process to contest the signs is to complain to the county (I did, and got a letter back from the County Attorney saying the filing made it a protected place) and if they don't comply then to file a complaint with the state Attorney General. I did, and they immediately emailed me saying "'complaint received" but they are holding back any action while other stuff goes through the courts.
Since 2016 the AG has written many opinions to city, county and state admin offices and courthouses specifically noting County Clerk, Tax, and other administrative offices are not protected places. Several courthouses tried posting the whole building, others large portions including restrooms. Posting the Clerk's office means any visit to the courthouse which includes the Clerk's office effectively posts the whole courthouse as licensees won't go back and forth to their cars to arm/disarm depending on which office they visit next. The 30.06 and .07 statutes were written to give private property owners a means to ban guns; hardly anyone does. Administrative state and county offices are hardly private property. Add the logic of who they are trying to disarm and why, and the whole sign issue is nonsensical.
Well, it's about to come to a head. Waller County (Hempstead) received a complaint, then sued the complainant because he should have gone to the AG (which I think he did). Yes, the COUNTY sued the INDIVIDUAL for complaining. The local court agreed with the county, the appeals court disagreed. It's now at the State Supreme Court. Up till now it's been the AG's opinion driving the ban of these signs. Now the courts are about to weigh in for one hopes is the final say.
There are about 3.5% of Texas adults with a license to carry. The other 96.5% of the population falls under generic laws prohibiting any kind of carry outside their vehicle, home, RV, vacation home, or boat (Castle doctrine locations) and other prohibited conditions (felon, non citizen, mental defective etc). This 3.5% of Texan adults are the most well behaved in the State - by at least a factor of 10. Even LEOs have at least double the rate of felony convictions as licensees as a percentage of their respective populations. No one is talking about disarming the cops.
So my question is - just who is it they are afraid of? The least worrisome group in the state, or real criminals?
I believe they pick us licensees because (1) we are easily identifiable - we have a state-issued permit - and (2) we are likely armed at any given time. The least problematic of the population is the first disarmed. It's not like psychopaths, drug dealers, felons, and other criminals carry an ID with them, nor are they going to give up their guns because someone wrote a law in a book requiring it.
I figure if the entire population of Erath County committed felonies at the rate all licensees commit them across the state, there would be 3-5 felonies per year in this county. If the actual number of felonies across the state were evenly distributed by population, you'd expect around 60 felonies a year in this county.
The process to contest the signs is to complain to the county (I did, and got a letter back from the County Attorney saying the filing made it a protected place) and if they don't comply then to file a complaint with the state Attorney General. I did, and they immediately emailed me saying "'complaint received" but they are holding back any action while other stuff goes through the courts.
Since 2016 the AG has written many opinions to city, county and state admin offices and courthouses specifically noting County Clerk, Tax, and other administrative offices are not protected places. Several courthouses tried posting the whole building, others large portions including restrooms. Posting the Clerk's office means any visit to the courthouse which includes the Clerk's office effectively posts the whole courthouse as licensees won't go back and forth to their cars to arm/disarm depending on which office they visit next. The 30.06 and .07 statutes were written to give private property owners a means to ban guns; hardly anyone does. Administrative state and county offices are hardly private property. Add the logic of who they are trying to disarm and why, and the whole sign issue is nonsensical.
Well, it's about to come to a head. Waller County (Hempstead) received a complaint, then sued the complainant because he should have gone to the AG (which I think he did). Yes, the COUNTY sued the INDIVIDUAL for complaining. The local court agreed with the county, the appeals court disagreed. It's now at the State Supreme Court. Up till now it's been the AG's opinion driving the ban of these signs. Now the courts are about to weigh in for one hopes is the final say.