Can you carry your gun in your car or home if you are not a felon and your family member living in the home is?

With the passage of HB 823 (Keel/Hinojosa) into law September 1, legislators and the National Rifle Association believed they'd finally resolved a longstanding dispute that for years turned thousands of legal gun owners into law enforcement targets. Texas law lets drivers carry a weapon in their car when they're "traveling," but the definition of traveling has never been legally settled.So the Legislature passed HB 823 creating a "presumption" that the driver is "traveling" unless one of five things is true: (a) the weapon is in plain view, (b) the defendant is a convicted felon, (c) it's a public, not a personal vehicle, (d) the defendant committed a Class B misdemeanor or worse, or (e) the defendant is a gang-banger. (Conflict alert: I testified at the hearings in both chambers in favor of the bill on behalf of ACLU of Texas.)The new law seemed pretty straight forward.

If the gun is legal, you're not a crook, you're driving your own car, and if the gun is stowed (i.e. , you're not driving around with it laying on the passenger seat like an idiot), then you can carry a gun in your car when you're driving. At least, that's what legislators thought they'd passed.

Nearly immediately, though, prosecutors and police began to say they wouldn't enforce the new law, or, rather, would continue to enforce the old one. Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal led the charge, announcing instructions to officers to continue to make arrests for UCW (unlawfully carrying a weapon) just like they always had. On the District Attorney Association's public user forums, a discussion occurred that gives a good idea of what the arguments will ultimately look like when this plays out in court.

Several prosecutors are looking for a way to agree with Mr. Rosenthal.