Texas’ public handgun-carrying policies – and the rights of certain businesses and private property owners to prohibit the carrying of handguns – have garnered a great deal of legislative and media attention over the past several years, most recently with the Texas Legislature’s passage of permitless carry legislation earlier this year.
If you’re a private-property owner and want to bar visitors from carrying on your premises – such as your private medical practice – there are certain steps you must take and considerations to keep in mind. The Texas Medical Association’s new white paper, Prohibiting Concealed or Open Carry of Handguns on Private Property (TMA login required), provides information on how you can provide the proper notice to handgun carriers that their weapons aren’t allowed inside your doors.
For example, the white paper notes, if you already post the required signs on your property to prohibit the carry of handguns by a “license holder,” those signs aren’t enough to opt out of the new permitless carry law. As described in the white paper, to post written notice you will “probably” need to add another sign citing the new law and stating that a person can’t enter the property with a firearm.
The law also requires the new sign to be displayed in both English and Spanish, with requirements related to letter height and colors. Among other facts, the white paper also explains why, while carrying a firearm is generally prohibited at hospitals, there isn’t a straightforward answer on whether handguns are prohibited at medical schools.
As always with legal matters, TMA urges you to contact your own counsel for specific legal advice.
Download the whitepaper.
Last Updated On
September 21, 2021
Originally Published On
September 17, 2021