Church signage required to ban handgun open carry after Jan. 1

GRAPEVINE—When Texas’ new open carry handgun law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2016, churches wishing to ban the practice should be prepared with proper signage, according to attorney Jim Guenther, who serves as legal counsel for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

The new law “allows persons who hold a license to openly carry a handgun in a belt or shoulder holster,” Guenther said. “A church may, if it chooses, prohibit persons from bringing openly carried handguns onto its property. To do so, the church must post a sign that gives notice of the church’s prohibition.”

The new law is in addition to the current concealed handgun law. In both cases, a church may prohibit the carrying of handguns on church property. However, two separate signs are required, Guenther said.

“If a church wishes only to prohibit openly carried handguns, it would post one sign to that effect. If a church wishes to prohibit only concealed handguns, it would post one sign to that effect. If a church wishes to prohibit both concealed and openly carried handguns, it would post two separate signs to make those prohibitions effective,” Guenther said.

“The signs may not be combined into one sign. These are two different sections in the law, involving two different licenses.”

Guenther offered the following guidelines and wording for the signs:

Signs must be displayed in a place clearly visible to the public and posted at each entrance to the property. Both signs must be in English and Spanish, and “appear in contrasting colors with block letters at least one inch in height.”

The wording of a sign prohibiting concealed handguns must read as follows:

Pursuant to Section 30.06, Penal Code (trespass by license holder with a concealed handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code (handgun licensing law), may not enter this property with a concealed handgun.

The wording of a sign prohibiting openly carried handguns must read as follows:

Pursuant to Section 30.07, Penal Code (trespass by license holder with an openly carried handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code (handgun licensing law), may not enter this property with a handgun that is carried openly.