Texas: Happy Bring Your Gun to Work Day!

An armed society is a polite society.

You know what I did today for the first time in many, many years? I legally brought my handgun to work with me (chose my favorite old Springfield XD .45 ACP for the honor this morning), and left her locked up in my saddle bags out in the parking lot.

Thanks to the fine members of the GOP-led Texas 82nd Legislature, as of today I am legally allowed to carry my handgun in my vehicle onto my company’s parking lot or premises (and leave it locked in my vehicle) whether or not my company wants me to or not. Our current employee handbook specifically states that “weapons are not allowed on the company premises.” As of today, they’ll have to amend that to read “weapons are not allowed in the company’s building.”

From the NRA:

NRA-backed Senate Bill 321 takes effect this Thursday, September 1.  This measure, authored by state Senator Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) & state Representative Tim Kleinschmidt (R-Lexington), and signed into law by Governor Rick Perry, prohibits most employers from enacting and enforcing bans on employees transporting and storing firearms in their locked, private motor vehicles while parked at work.  This important new law recognizes that hard-working Texans’ right to self-defense does not end when they drive onto their employers property, and it honors the strong sporting culture of the Lone Star State where employees often hunt or visit the local gun club before or after work.

SB 321 applies to both public and private employers, as well as all lawfully-owned firearms – not just firearms in the possession of Concealed Handgun Licensees. However, SB 321 does not authorize an employee to possess firearms on any property where such possession is prohibited by state or federal law, and the provisions of the bill do not apply to the following:

• Vehicles owned or leased by the employer and used by the employee for work purposes;
• School districts, open enrollment charter schools, and private schools as defined in Section 22.081, Education Code;
• Property owned or controlled by a person, other than an employer, that is subject to a valid, unexpired oil, gas, or other mineral lease that contains a provision prohibiting the possession of firearms on the property; or
• Property owned or leased by a chemical manufacturer or oil and gas refiner permitted by TCEQ and on which the primary business conducted is the manufacture, use, storage or transportation of hazardous, combustible, or explosive materials; however, employees at  these facilities who are CHLs may store firearms (including rifles or shotguns) in their private motor vehicles in parking areas located outside of secured and restricted areas which contain the physical plant, are not open to the public and which are constantly monitored by security personnel.

Frankly, I’m surprised a single Liberal mustered up enough balls to even go to work today (for the 2-3 of you who have real, non-government jobs), what with all the random and spontaneous gun battles that are sure to take place in workplaces around the state…

Been monitoring the news…and so far at least…Liberal’s mythical claim that offices around the state would turn into the Old West with daily duels in the parking lots doesn’t seem to be playing out. Imagine that.

We may not have won Campus Carry in the 82nd Lege, but the Parking Lot bill was a huge victory for second amendment advocates, and a step towards less gun regulation in Texas. Oh, and Campus Carry and Open Carry? We’ll be revisiting you again in the 83rd.