Protection of firearm rights and defense of weapon-related charges in Texas.
Texas has some of the broadest firearm rights in the country but also serious criminal penalties when those rights are misused or when possession laws are violated. Federal firearm offenses, including possession by a felon and possession in connection with drug trafficking, add severe mandatory minimum sentencing on top of state exposure.
Texas Penal Code Chapter 46 covers weapons offenses. Most adults can legally possess firearms in Texas, including handguns, long guns, and now under the 2021 constitutional carry law, can carry handguns openly or concealed in most public places without a license. There are exceptions, however, and those exceptions are where most prosecutions arise.
Prohibited persons include convicted felons during certain periods, persons subject to family violence protective orders, persons unlawfully present in the United States, and persons with certain misdemeanor family violence convictions under federal law. Possession of any firearm by a prohibited person is a state jail felony in Texas and a federal felony with up to ten years in prison.
Although Texas now permits constitutional carry, restrictions remain on where firearms can be possessed. Schools, polling places, government meetings, secured airport areas, and certain bars are off-limits. Posting requirements (the 30.06 and 30.07 signs) can also create criminal exposure for licensed and unlicensed carriers alike.
Under 21 carry remains restricted in most circumstances. Carrying while intoxicated remains illegal. Possession during the commission of another offense triggers enhanced penalties.
Possession of a firearm by a felon is one of the most heavily prosecuted gun offenses in Texas, both at the state and federal level. Texas law restricts felon possession for five years after release from confinement or supervision, after which the prohibition narrows to possession outside the home. Federal law, by contrast, imposes a lifetime prohibition with no premises exception.
Federal felon-in-possession charges under 18 U.S.C. 922(g) carry up to ten years in prison and are often paired with the Armed Career Criminal Act, which imposes a fifteen-year mandatory minimum when the defendant has three prior qualifying convictions.
When a firearm or other deadly weapon is used or exhibited during the commission of a felony, Texas law allows the prosecutor to seek a deadly weapon finding. A deadly weapon finding affects parole eligibility, requiring the defendant to serve a higher percentage of any sentence before becoming eligible.
Defense work in cases involving deadly weapon findings often focuses on whether the weapon was actually used or exhibited in the manner the state alleges, and whether the weapon meets the statutory definition. Not every object the state calls a weapon meets that definition.
Federal sentencing includes substantial enhancements for firearm possession during drug trafficking offenses. The mandatory minimum under 18 U.S.C. 924(c) is five years consecutive to the underlying offense for simple possession of a firearm in connection with the offense, increasing for brandishing or discharge.
These enhancements stack with the guidelines on the underlying offense and can convert what looks like a moderate-exposure drug case into a decade or more of federal time. Avoiding the 924(c) is often the most important objective in federal drug cases involving any firearm at all.
Talk to an attorney who handles these cases regularly. Consultation requests are reviewed personally and treated with full confidentiality.
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