Houston: Carry Signage
and 1st Amendment Lawsuit
By Dean Weingarten. December 9, 2020
Everytownlaw, the Bloomberg financed anti-right to arms group, is involved in a convoluted lawsuit filed in Houston, Texas.
Texas statutes prescribe signs to be posted on businesses if the presence of a person who is armed, in the business, is presumed to be trespassing. This is not unusual. The regulation of signs to give effective notice, especially in licensed businesses, is common. Posting of business licenses, for example, is often required.
The lawsuit contends this is a First Amendment issue. Their logic is, the owners might post a different sign which would serve the same purpose; but if they post a different sign to the same purpose, it would not meet the legal requirements of notice, therefore, it violates their First Amendment Rights.
Meeting a legal requirement is not a First Amendment guarantee. Here is the relevant statute. From Texas statutes at capitol.texas.gov:
(c) In this section:
1) "Entry" has the meaning assigned by Section 30.05(b).
(2) "License holder" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.035(f).
(3) "Written communication" means:
..........
.... 
This subject brings up in some respects the ongoing debate over "gun-free-zones" - areas which purport to make people safer by banning firearms on the premises. It takes minimal logic to see that this is only going affect the legitimate carriers while being ignored by those of criminal intent - thus leaving good people unarmed and unable to defend themselves in the event of an armed attack. "Guns Save Lives".
