New open carry handgun law goes into effect
By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press
With Texas now the 45th state to legalize the open carry of holstered handguns by those with concealed handgun licenses, that doesn't mean they can open carry everywhere.
When House Bill 910 was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, it also meant private businesses may prevent customers from openly carrying their handguns. If businesses choose to ban either open or concealed carry, or both, they are required to post signs stating so. Those wondering about the legality of open or concealed carry at a business should look for those signs, called 30.06 and 30.07 signs.
30.06 signs indicate prohibited concealed carry, and 30.07 signs indicate prohibited open carry of handguns. According to the law, these signs must include exact language specified by the law in both English and Spanish, be printed in contrasting colors with block letters at least one inch in height and be displayed in a conspicuous manner clearly visible to the public.
There are no such signs posted at Cinergy Cinema. Cinergy Cinema, unlike larger movie theatre chains, welcomes those handgun owners who have a CHL to both open and conceal-carry handguns at the Copperas Cove theatre.
“At this point Cinergy's policy is sort of a wait and see if we have any problems, so as of now if you can legally open carry in Texas, you can open carry at Cinergy,” Jeffrey Benson, Founder and CEO of Cinergy Cinema, told the Leader-Press. “We of course reserve the right to change our policy and prohibit open carry at Cinergy if open carrying of firearms become an issue for us or our patrons (those carrying or those not carrying).”
Locally, H-E-B and Applebees have the required 30.07 signs posted which state that the open carry of handguns is prohibited. With H-E-B, customers with a CHL are still permitted to conceal carry in those stores. The grocery store chain did cause a stir among some CHL owners when it announced its policy last week to ban open carry in its stores.
“Nothing is changing for us, we just have to post a sign now for how we have always operated,” said Leslie Sweet with H-E-B public relations. “As a retailer of alcohol, long guns and unlicensed guns are prohibited on our property under the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission rules. H-E-B maintains the same policy we have for years, only concealed licensed handguns are allowed on our property.”
Applebees, however, takes things a step further and has 30.06 and 30.07 signs posted and prohibits the carrying of any handgun, concealed or otherwise.
Statewide, a number of retailers and restaurants have banned open carry, to include Whataburger, AMC Theaters,Barnes & Noble, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chili’s Grill & Bar, Chipotle, Chuck E. Cheese, Cinemark Theaters, Freebirds World Burrito, Hooters, Jack In the Box, Panera Bread, Simon Property Group (Simon Malls) which owns more than 20 malls in Texas, Sonic Drive-In, Starbucks, TGI Fridays, Walgreens and Valero.
If someone carries a gun where 30.07 signs are posted, they could face up to a $200 fine. However, if they refuse to leave after being told to do so, they could face up to a $4,000 fine and a year in jail.