Asked earlier but trying to Clarify about driving from CA to Texas

[Kingofthehill]

Here is the rundown

+ Moving from Ca to Texas (Driving)
+ Do not hold a Permit in any state
+ Residence is now in Texas BUT operating under a Ca drivers license untill I get there.

From the looks of my research I can get to the AZ border and then place my Loaded Handgun IN a Holster and then IN my center Console of my car AND leave it there until I get to my new home in Texas.

This is research through OpenCarry.org and Handgunlaw.us

Am I on the right path here?

Im not used to having a loaded Firearm with me. I will be getting my permit in TX when i get there but need to get there first.

This is going to be a good drive with valuables that I did not let the movers pack, as well as my firearms collection.

I will only have a loaded firearm with me if I am in FULL compliance with the law. I want to be as SAFE as possible during this drive and Just like i have a set of tools, fix-a-flat, road flares and fire extinguisher, im doing this for the practice of "Better safe than sorry".

Can someone double check my work and make sure i am on the right path?

I also plan on printing out the stuff I have come across so in the event I get pulled over and I open my glove box and the Officer brings something up, i have my homework done and correct.

Thanks for your time.

Joe

 

[Kingofthehill]

Also, what I forgot to ask was..

Were towing MY car (in my name) and driving my g/f's SUV (NOT in my name)..

How does this work?... any difference?

Thanks again.

JOe

---------------------------------------------------
This is the part that is throwing me off.

Texas Must be Concealed
Title 10 . Section 1
Section 46.02
(a) A person commits an offense if the person [he]
intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or
her person a handgun, illegal knife, or club if the person is not:
(1) on the person's own premises or premises under the
person's control; or
(2) inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle
that is owned by the person or under the person's control.

 

[NavyLCDR]

If you are driving the vehicle, the vehicle is under your control and your gun would be legal, even if the vehicle was not yours. You would NOT be compliance with the Texas law if the gun was your gun and you were neither the owner of the vehicle nor the driver of the vehicle. However, there is no paperwork required for transfer of a handgun in Texas. So, as long as your girlfriend understood that the gun was hers while in her vehicle, then all would fine and legal assuming she is not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm.

 

[calaverasslim]

I understand you want to be perfectly legal and safe, but I would think that if you followed PRK law, unloaded and stored separately, that you would not be bothered. Once you hit El Paso, lock and load in the vehicle. Like the LT sed, if she knows you have a loaded pistola, your ok.

I wud, however, change your license to a TX license asap. That puzzles me. If your driving under a Ca. license, then your a resident of Ca. You will have to establish residency in TX., by getting a Tx. license and registering to vote. Then you can test and get a carry permit

 

[TexasRifleman]

If your driving under a Ca. license, then your a resident of Ca. You will have to establish residency in TX., by getting a Tx. license and registering to vote.

Having a drivers license or being registered to vote are not required to determine residency. They can be among the factors that some institutions, like colleges, use to help determine residency but they are not by themselves a determinant.


To be a "resident" as far as the Texas Department of Public Safety goes you just have to be here pretty much, when you have another state's DL.
Once living here, the OP has 30 days to turn in his California DL and get one from Texas.

So it's possible to own a house in Texas, be working here, and still have a California drivers license. You would not be considered a California resident simply because you hadn't switched DL's yet.

To be a "resident" as far as voting eligibility goes is a very different definition.


And, some things like colleges require at least 4 of the following to occur.

Purchase a residence in Texas and claim it as a homestead;
Register to vote in Texas;
Register an automobile in Texas;
Maintain a Texas driver's license;
Maintain checking, savings or safety deposit box in Texas;
Have a will or other legal documents on file in Texas that indicate residence in Texas;
Have membership in professional organizations or other state organizations; and/or
Establish a business in Texas.

 

[Art Eatman]

I'd have to hunt it up to be absolutely positive, but SFAIK the "travelling" provision of Texas law applies to anybody, whether or not they're residents. (We figure even tourists are people, okay?) And, basically, unless you're egregiously stoopid and eat up with the dumbbutt, no Texas LEO is gonna bother you, anyway.

The best source for info on Texas firearms laws, aside from direct reading, is the Texas State Rifle Association (TSRA).

 

[Zoogster]

From the looks of my research I can get to the AZ border and then place my Loaded Handgun IN a Holster and then IN my center Console of my car AND leave it there until I get to my new home in Texas.

The main trouble is not the laws of the state themselves but the hassle of changing the position of the gun and loading it as you travel.
In California the handgun must be unloaded and in a locked container. The glove box or center console are not legal.
In Arizona they become the primary legal spots. So you could transfer them into those locations, but would have to remove the firearm from the locked container or trunk, and then load it.

In California you can have a loaded detached magazine locked in the same case with the firearm, so would just have put it in the firearm and chamber a round. (Or manually load a revolver without moonclips).
In Arizona you can have a loaded firearm in a holster, or in the center console or glove box with you.
In Texas you have no problems.

The issue is getting it from the unloaded state to the loaded state without breaking the law.
Now nobody should notice what you do in your vehicle, but since this is a legal forum, the act of loading the firearm in the vehicle itself and chambering a round may not be legal. That is a manipulation of the firearm I don't see covered under the legal methods of transportation of a firearm in Arizona.

Unloading it on your way back to California before crossing into California would be the same situation. Should have no trouble simply doing it in the vehicle, but I don't know if that is legal and would imagine it is outside the scope of permitted actions during transport. You may have to go someplace to technically not be in violation of the law to load and unload the firearm or otherwise handle and manipulate it outside of what is permitted during transport under Arizona law.

 

[NavyLCDR]

I'd have to hunt it up to be absolutely positive, but SFAIK the "travelling" provision of Texas law applies to anybody, whether or not they're residents. (We figure even tourists are people, okay?) And, basically, unless you're egregiously stoopid and eat up with the dumbbutt, no Texas LEO is gonna bother you, anyway.

The best source for info on Texas firearms laws, aside from direct reading, is the Texas State Rifle Association (TSRA).

Art,

The "traveling" provision is completely gone in Texas. A concealed handgun in a vehicle is perfectly legal in Texas, period. And a concealed handgun going between a residence and the vehicle is also legal, with or without a permit.

 

[TexasRifleman]

A concealed handgun in a vehicle is perfectly legal in Texas, period.

Well, there's some goofy fine print. The vehicle either has to belong to the gun owner or be under his control.

Someone couldn't have a concealed handgun while riding in the back seat of MY car for example.

The OP mentions that he's coming to Texas in the girlfriends car. As long as HE is driving he can have a concealed handgun. If she is doing the driving the gun has to be carried FOPA style.

inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle that is owned by the person or under the person's control.

 

[3pairs12]

Also you are going to love the line at DOt compared to DMV. Registration for your vehicle will also be significantly less. I use the money I save every year for ammo or another gun.

The OP mentions that he's coming to Texas in the girlfriends car. As long as HE is driving he can have a concealed handgun. If she is doing the driving the gun has to be carried FOPA style.

If she is driving than she can conceal it.

 

[TexasRifleman]

If she is driving than she can conceal it

If she's willing to tell the correct story to LE on the off chance things go wrong

 

[Zoogster]

Of course don't forget Federal law while carrying that legal firearm within your vehicle.

No going within 1,000 feet of a school while legally carrying without paying your "rights tax" to obtain a concealed permit.

For example while traveling through the Phoenix area you will need to stay on the pink and gray lines that do not go through a red dot if you have a loaded firearm in the vehicle without a concealed carry permit:





And that was in 2005, there is even more red dots today with the addition of new schools.

The law applies in every city and school district you drive through in all of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.


So to technically stay legal and carry a loaded firearm you will need to research the location of every school anywhere near your route and go at least 1,000 feet around it.
Or you can just commit felonies like a criminal minded felon, and hope to not get caught for violating that federal law and committing multiple felonies.