So Perry veto'd HB 1503, due to some 11th hour additions giving those poor felons some gun rights.

Isn't there another bill that expands the right to carry for CHL holding prosecutors? What is that bill number?

Who was the legislator(s) who amended and messed up 1503?

HB 2300 is the bill you're looking for. It is much more expansive than HB 1503 and comes without that pesky-and-potentially-dangerous amendment to the Felon in Possession of a Weapon statute that was tacked on at the end of the session.

All's well that ends well!

Thanks Shannon.

So a follow up question for the Leg guru Shannon. It says in the text of 2300 that if the bill passes with 2/3 vote of house and senate it is effective immediately. Did this occur or is it effective 9-1-07?

Thanks again!

Greg,

according to www.capitol.state.tx.us, HB2300 is effective immediately. The vote details show that the votes were practically unanimous.

chickenman

Specifically, HB 2300 became effective on June 15, 2007.

I have not read any exemption in HB 2300 regarding not having to conceal the weapon, but I know many electeds, judges and assistants who were interested in that issue.

Was that any kind of issue in this session, Shannon?

I'm thinking about investing in body armor . . . is there a prosecutor's rate on DragonSkin?

Won't folks get some strange looks if they have a pistol on their belt but not a badge? Would it be prudent to wear your badge on your belt if you're going to carry openly, as the law seems to allow? Seems like most times I see folks out of uniform carrying that they have their badges visible on the belt? Or maybe my BAC has creeped back toward 0.25 today . . .

[This message was edited by JohnR on 06-22-07 at .]

I don't think that 2300 allows for open carry. By open carry I mean on the belt visible and not wearing a jacket.

Total concealment is required by the CHL regulations and the law. That means not being openly carried.

As a former peace officer who often worked plainclothes assignments, I can tell you that even wearing a suit jacket will not always yield total concealment.

And I certainly would agree that if you are carrying a weapon on your belt and you have a badge you should wear that badge near the gun.

There are some who disagree with that, because they do not want to ID themselves to crooks as law enforcement. Many of my friends and former co-workers believed it was better to carry a badge holder backwards on the belt, with the badge facing the body. The theory is, that a cop will recognize a badge holder but perhaps a bad guy won't.

In any event, total concealment is difficult. I was just wondering if there was some magic word I missed in 2300 that allows for something other than total concealment.

But one prosecutor I know is disappointed because there is not some leeway built into the law for active judicial officers to not be subject to the "concealed" portion of the requirement, for the reasons stated above.

From DPS, in response to an inquiry from me:

"We are working on the implementation of HB 2300 ... we expect the new licenses to be available by mid to late September. We will have information available on our website as we get closer to implementation ...."

BTW, the legislature did not provide DPS with any additional funding to create the new special CHLs (shocker!), but they are making due.

"Due"?

I told my judge that our next jury trial I am wearing holster and gun. Now that would be fun!

Given your location, maybe you should join SASS (the "Single Action Shooting Society") and wear a John Wayne rig, with a Colt .44. That would put the fear of God into a def. Heck, I would wonder as an expert witness what I had gotten myself into...

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Originally posted by GG:
In any event, total concealment is difficult. I was just wondering if there was some magic word I missed in 2300 that allows for something other than total concealment.

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I think I was tired when I wrote that. Read literally, that means you can't ever take your coat off, huh?

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...but they are making due.

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My great grandfather made dew. But then the revenuers came around. I understand his family had a hard time making do while he paid society its due.

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Originally posted by R.W. Dickson:

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...but they are making due.

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My great grandfather made dew. But then the revenuers came around. I understand his family had a hard time making do while he paid society its due.

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Did he pass on the family recipe?

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Originally posted by Shannon Edmonds:
From DPS, in response to an inquiry from me:

"We are working on the implementation of HB 2300 ... we expect the new licenses to be available by mid to late September. We will have information available on our website as we get closer to implementation ...."

BTW, the legislature did not provide DPS with any additional funding to create the new special CHLs (shocker!), but they are making due.

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What new licenses? Are we entitled to a special license now? Please explain, o' legislative guru...

Yep, you get a CHL that IDs you as a prosecutor (same with judges).

To find out more, come to one of our legislative updates! (Hey, we gotta pay the bills somehow!)

p.s. - hey JB ... "byte" me.

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Originally posted by Mark Edwards:
I told my judge that our next jury trial I am wearing holster and gun. Now that would be fun!

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BTW, the new law does not provide a defense to prosecution under 46.035(a), which requires a CHL holder to keep his weapon concealed, regardless of the location.

quote:

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Originally posted by Shannon Edmonds:
Yep, you get a CHL that IDs you as a prosecutor (same with judges).

To find out more, come to one of our legislative updates! (Hey, we gotta pay the bills somehow!)

p.s. - hey JB ... "byte" me.

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See you tomorrow!