Texas’ new gun rules causing frustration

Disputes over where they can, and cannot, be carried continue.

More than a year after Texas made firearms, including openly holstered weapons, legal in more places in the state, disputes remain over where guns are allowed — much to the frustration of advocates on both sides of the debate.

Firearms are banned in zoos but not wildlife preserves. Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has warned community and junior colleges not to impose blanket bans, even though children sometimes attend classes on campus. And a judge has upheld a ban on guns at the Waller County Courthouse near Houston.

“We can see a mess getting created here,” said Terry Hol- comb, who runs the gun rights group Texas Carry. “Because of the opposition, particularly in the liberal cities, it’s starting to become a big mess.”

Texas surpassed 1 million concealed carry license holders this year, and those who were worried about the possibility of tighter federal restrictions are probably breathing easier with the presidential election victory of Donald Trump. But an unintended consequence of looser gun restrictions in the state has been lingering disputes and bouts of confusion.

More than 120 complaints of firearms being unlawfully banned have been filed with the state since last year, according to the attorney general’s office. Paxton has issued formal responses to 20 of them, including one in November that upheld the outlawing of guns at the Fort Worth Zoo.

Waller County sued Holcomb after he complained that the county was wrongfully prohibiting guns — a lawsuit designed to have a judge settle the question of whether the county could keep guns out of the building.

Paxton later sued Waller County, saying a ban on firearms in its courthouse was a violation of the law.

But state District Judge Albert McCaig ruled last week that the county may prohibit guns in its courthouse, which doubles as the home to the county’s administrative offices.

A month before filing suit against Waller County, Paxton sued the city of Austin over its gun ban at City Hall.

City officials have refused to allow guns into the building, arguing that occasional meetings of the Downtown Austin Community Court, which addresses low-level offenses primarily committed by homeless people, meant City Hall was exempt from allowing guns.

Paxton argues that while local governments may ban guns from courtrooms and offices used by court personnel, weapons must not be prohibited from entire buildings that also house offices where guns are allowed. That case is pending. The attorney general’s office has issued more than a dozen letters to local governments about gun access in their facilities this year. Many of the letters simply notified cities and counties that they were no longer in violation of state law after ending or loosening gun restrictions at their facilities.

For instance, last fall, officials in Hays County asked Paxton what the new gun law meant for their multipurpose government building, which houses courtrooms as well as election offices and the tax collector’s office. The attorney general’s office responded that guns could be prohibited only from court-related parts of the building, an advisory opinion Hays officials adopted as policy.

Texas has allowed licensed concealed handguns in public since 1995. But universities had been off limits until Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law last year allowing concealed carry on public campuses.

In August, three University of Texas faculty members — Jennifer Lynn Glass, a sociology professor; Lisa Moore, an English professor; and Mia Carter, an associate English professor — sued to keep guns out of their classrooms on the 50,000-student campus.

They argued that the law was unconstitutional, experimental and dangerous. A federal judge denied their request for an injunction to block the law, saying they had failed to establish the likelihood of success at trial.

Republicans will press for even more relaxation of gun laws come January, including one proposal that would eliminate the $140 cost of applying for a handgun license, which is a fee that includes $2 for counties to perform a mental health background check.

Republican state Sen. Robert Nichols said under his bill he still wants to ensure that “counties have the required resources they need to conduct the required background and mental health checks.”

But for now, confusion reigns for some.

“It’s frustrating. I imagine there will be more confusion going forward,” said Andrea Brauer, executive director of Texas Gun Sense, which pushes for gun control measures. “It’s confusing to law enforcement. It’s confusing to the average citizen. It’s hard to discern what’s a real threat and what’s not.”