Trespass by Holder of CHL
If you were charged with any gun charge related to trespass by the holder of a license to carry a concealed handgun then contact an experience criminal defense attorney at Goldstein & Orr.
We represent clients throughout San Antonio, Bexar County, and the surroundings areas in Texas. Call today to talk with an experienced criminal defense attorney about the facts of your case.
Elements of the Section 30.06 Statute
Under most circumstances, a CHL holder is allowed to carry a concealed handgun into a residence or a business unless the possession is otherwise prohibit by federal or state law. Texas Penal Code Section 30.06 allows a home owner, business owner or commercial landowner to post signage that bars a person with a “Concealed Handgun License” or CHL from entering the premises while carrying a concealed handgun. These signs are colloquially called “thirty-aught-six signs” or “30.06 signage.”
The statute provides for Class C misdemeanor criminal penalties for a trespass by a holder of a license to carry a concealed handgun. Important defenses exist including the fact that the signage must comply exactly with the statutory requirements.
Elements of this form of trespass include:
- the person carried a handgun under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code on property of another without effective consent; and
- received notice that:
- entry on the property by a license holder with a concealed handgun was forbidden; or
- remaining on the property with a concealed handgun was forbidden and failed to depart.
Texas Law on the “30.06 signage”
For purposes of this trespass statute, the person receives notice if the owner of the property or someone with apparent authority to act for the owner provides notice to the person by oral or written communication. Written communication can be shown through any of the following:
- “a card or other document on which is written language identical to the following: “Pursuant to Section 30.06, Penal Code (trespass by holder of license to carry a concealed handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code (concealed handgun law), may not enter this property with a concealed handgun”; or
- a sign posted on the property that:
- includes the language described by Paragraph (A) in both English and Spanish;
- appears in contrasting colors with block letters at least one inch in height; and
- is displayed in a conspicuous manner clearly visible to the public.”
Section 30.06 provides an exception to the application of this trespass statute if the license holder carries a handgun is “owned or leased by a governmental entity” and is not a premises or other place on which the license holder is prohibited from carrying the handgun under Section 46.03 or 46.035.
Even without a warning or signage, a CHL may not carry a concealed handgun in any place where it is prohibited under Texas Penal Code Section 46.03 or 46.035 including:
- at any polling place on Election Day;
- at any correctional facility such as a jail or prison;
- at any court or offices used by a court unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization from the court;
- at any high school, collegiate, professional sporting event or interscholastic event;
- at any racetrack;
- in any building or passenger transportation vehicle of a public or private school or educational institution;
- in any premises licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, if that establishment derives 51% or more of its income from the sale of alcoholic beverages and has a conspicuous warning prohibiting firearms; or
- inside the secured area of any airport.
Additional Resources on Texas Gun Laws
Texas Gun Laws – Read a general summary on Wikipedia of the Gun Laws in Texas related to the possession, use, and sale of firearms and ammunition.
