KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com | New Concealed Handgun Laws

New Concealed Handgun Laws

This year's legislative session made several changes regarding concealed handgun licenses.

House Bill 2730 and House Bill 2664 concern CHL policies and the authority of DPS to enforce those policies.

As of today, defaulting on a student loan no longer disqualifies a concealed handgun applicant and a Justice of the Peace can no longer confiscate your conceal-and-carry permit if you refuse to display it while you are not in possession of the weapon.

And the eyes of the law are a little more tolerant concerning carrying a firearm in public places.

Previously, carrying a firearm into a business that derives more than fifty percent of its revenue from alcohol sales was a third-degree felony.

Now the same violation is considered a class A misdemeanor, and is legally defensible if the establishment does not clearly post their alcohol revenue percentage.

To read more complete analyses of those bills, follow the links below.