Since September 1, 2021, most law-abiding Texans have been able to carry a handgun, openly or concealed, without a license. That’s constitutional carry, passed as House Bill 1927. I’m Lance Rankin, owner of Western Sport, a gun shop in Roanoke just north of Fort Worth, and I’ve spent years explaining this law across my counter. Here’s the practical version. One caveat up front: laws change and court cases move, so treat this as accurate as of this writing and verify anything you’re betting your record on.
Who can carry without a license
The short rule: if you’re 21 or older and legally allowed to possess a handgun under state and federal law, you can carry it in public without a permit. Constitutional carry didn’t expand who may own a gun. It removed the licensing step for people who were already legal.
You cannot carry under this law if you’re a felon, subject to an active protective order, or otherwise a prohibited person federally. Texas also adds a five-year disqualification for certain recent misdemeanor convictions, including assault causing bodily injury, deadly conduct, terroristic threat, and some disorderly conduct offenses. And you don’t have to be a Texas resident. Visitors who meet the requirements can carry too.
Where you still can’t carry
The prohibited places didn’t go anywhere. Schools and school activities, polling places during voting, courts and court offices, secure airport areas, correctional facilities, racetracks with betting, hospitals and nursing homes (with proper notice), amusement parks, and open meetings of governmental bodies are all still off-limits.
Bars deserve their own sentence. If a business earns 51% or more of its revenue from on-site alcohol sales, it posts the red 51% sign and you cannot carry there, period.
Private businesses can also exclude firearms with proper signage under the penal code. If the sign’s posted and compliant, respect it. Whatever you think of a store’s policy, a trespass charge isn’t worth making the point.
Work, cars, and alcohol
Your employer can ban guns at work, and constitutional carry doesn’t override that. What Texas law generally does protect is your right to keep a legally owned firearm locked and out of sight in your personal vehicle in the company parking lot. Company-owned vehicles are murkier, so ask before you assume.
On drinking: it’s illegal to carry a handgun in public while intoxicated. The exceptions are your own property, your own vehicle, or someone else’s property or vehicle with their consent. My advice is simpler than the statute. If tonight involves drinking, leave the gun secured at home.
Open or concealed, your call, with one rule
You can carry hidden or in the open. If you carry openly, the handgun must be in a holster. Concealed carry doesn’t legally require a holster, though carrying without one is a bad idea for reasons any gunsmith who’s seen a trigger snag can explain. Buy a holster that covers the trigger guard completely and holds the gun securely. That’s non-negotiable at my shop.
Why I still recommend the LTC
Here’s the counterintuitive advice from a guy who benefits either way: get the License to Carry anyway. Constitutional carry made it optional, not useless. An LTC gives you reciprocity in other states, smooths out interactions where the law treats license holders differently, and the class itself is a solid day of legal education most carriers badly need. I wrote up the details in my Texas concealed carry permit guide.
And whether or not you get the license, get training. The law stopped requiring it; reality didn’t. Knowing when you may legally use force matters as much as marksmanship, and my post on what to do after a self-defense shooting is sobering reading on why.
What violations cost
Carrying while intoxicated in public or ignoring proper signage can start you at a Class A misdemeanor. Carrying as a prohibited person runs to third-degree felony territory, and a felon carrying in public faces a second-degree felony with serious prison time. Federal charges can stack on top of state ones. “I didn’t know” has never once worked as a defense.
The bottom line
Constitutional carry was Texas trusting its citizens, and I’m glad we have it. Repay the trust: know the prohibited places, stay sober when armed, use a real holster, and get more training than the law demands. If you’re just getting started, my guide on how to buy a gun in Texas covers the purchase side, and the shop is here for the rest. Call 817-393-4000 or come see us in Roanoke by appointment.
Lance Rankin is the owner and Chief Gunsmith of Western Sport, a family-run Type 07 FFL and Class 3/SOT dealer in Roanoke, Texas, serving shooters since 2007. Born and raised in Texas with over 50 years of experience handling firearms, Lance purchased Western Sport in 2017 and turned his lifelong passion into his profession. He specializes in AR-15 and AR-10 platform rifles, manufactures Western Sport’s own AR-15 line under the Rankin Industries brand, and runs the shop’s in-house Cerakote coating operation. When he’s not behind the counter or the workbench, you’ll find him on his ranch deep into the night, hunting coyotes with an AR-15 and thermal optics. Lance holds an MBA and personally shoots and tests the products Western Sport sells.
