MyWifeSaidYes wrote:When did handgun open carry first become illegal in Texas?
Well, before the CHL law was passed in 1995, the charge was "Unlawful Carrying Weapons". It had nothing to do with concealed or open, you simply were not allowed to carry a handgun at all.
The right to carry was lost in 1871 with the passage of a law entitled "
An Act to Regulate the Keeping and Bearing of Deadly Weapons Law of April 12, 1871, Ch. 34, Sec. 1, 1871 Texas General Laws 25", a product of the Texas Reconstruction Act of 1871. This law prohibited the carry of a firearm except in the case of personal protection from an immediate and imminent threat and any claim of such a threat had to be shown and proven as a valid claim. Violation of the law was punishable by a fine of $25 - $100 and forfeiture of the firearm. In addition, the law contained a mandatory arrest clause, meaning an officer was to arrest on sight without a warrant. (Incidentally, the law required that a person carrying a firearm under the exemption clause had to carry the firearm openly.)
This law remained in effect following the adoption of the current Texas Constitution in 1876 and was the charge Dallas police used against Franklin P. Miller in the landmark capitol murder case of 1894 that ultimately led to the
Miller v Texas U.S. Supreme Court case which, among other things, challenged the laws constitutionality under the second amendment. In this case, SCOTUS upheld the Texas law banning the carry of weapons as well as the other provisions of the Texas Reconstruction Act.
Since the enactment of this law in 1871, Texas has maintained a law against the carry of handguns in one manner or another until the passage of concealed handgun licensing by the 1995 legislature.
For the first 80-90 years, the law was enforced primarily against African-Americans, Hispanics, carpetbaggers, and people "known to be criminals". Ordinary white Texans were not concerned. By the 50s-60s, things were changing to also charge ordinary white Texans, and the current law Texas PC §46.02. UNLAWFUL CARRYING WEAPONS was enacted in 1973. It is still unlawful to carry a handgun open or concealed, but the law is written such that if you meet certain exemptions the law does not apply. Some exemptions are in your home, in your own business, in your car (as long as it is concealed), or possessing a CHL (as long as it is concealed).