License to Carry - BAPIL Law

House Bill 1177

As a result of compliance with a mandatory evacuation order, when leaving an area, Texans are allowed to carry an open or concealed weapon up to a week in public without a license. House Bill 1177, however, does not apply to you if you are prohibited by the state or federal law from possessing a firearm.

Before the bill was passed, during an evacuation initiated when a local, state or federal disaster is declared, it was illegal to have a firearm on your person without a license to carry. If people did not have a license, they either had to evacuate their homes and leave their personal protection behind or risk their lives if they chose to stay home with their guns. Laws previously in place provided what could have been seen as a loophole that allowed gun owners to keep their guns in their vehicles or watercraft during an evacuation. This bill was passed for people who thought they never needed to possess a license to carry because they never imagined they would have to carry their guns outside of their homes, and for the people that had their license to carry destroyed in a natural disaster.

The creation of the bill was a result of Hurricane Harvey hitting the Gulf Coast, which created a lawless environment, leaving many people unable to protect themselves and their property after the natural disaster. After the hurricane, gun owners requested that the requirements for obtaining a license to carry, which include: taking a course, a shooting test, having a successful background check and paying a fee, would be more lax. With the bill being passed, Texans do not have to fear about the possibility of looters taking their guns, or about breaking the law for bringing their firearms with them.

There were concerns about the bill in general. One of them was about how it would add safety risks to emergency shelters. Bringing guns into any situation, especially an unstable one, makes shelter operators wary about allowing them in. With this, it is up to gun owners and those that are running the shelters to decide on if the gun should be allowed in, and how to safely store it. Even with many people feeling as though the bill creates problems rather than solving them, the bill was ultimately passed in order to prepare for the worst possible situation.

If you have been injured in any way, do not hesitate to reach out to an assault lawyer in Arlington, TX today.

Thanks to Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC for their insight into personal injury claims.