San Antonio Weapons Charge Lawyer: Gun Charges in Bexar County

The stop on Highway 90 is for a burned-out taillight. The driver is twenty-three, has no record, and has a pistol lying loose on the passenger seat. He knows Texas rewrote its carrying law in 2021 and assumed a gun could ride anywhere in his truck. Within the hour he is in the back of a patrol car, charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon. The law that let him carry without a license also told him how to carry, and nobody mentioned that part.

Texas no longer requires most adults to hold a license to carry a handgun, but it did not abolish the crime of unlawful carrying. It narrowed it. Under Penal Code § 46.02, carrying is still a crime for someone under twenty-one away from home and vehicle, for someone with certain recent convictions, for anyone carrying while intoxicated in public, and for a driver whose handgun sits in plain view outside a holster. Most of these are Class A misdemeanors. Other statutes make it a felony to carry into certain places or to possess a firearm after a felony conviction. The question for a San Antonio weapons charge lawyer is which rule the State says you broke, because each has its own elements and its own punishment.

What the State has to prove under Texas weapons law

Section 46.02 builds each offense from parts, each proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The first is constant: the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carried a handgun on or about his person. For an adult, that alone is no longer a crime. What makes it one is a second fact about the person, the place, or the manner of carrying.

In the basic offense, that fact is age (under twenty-one) or a conviction for assault causing bodily injury, deadly conduct, terroristic threat, or disorderly conduct by firing or displaying a gun in public, where the earlier offense was committed within five years before the new one. Even then, the statute does not reach a person on his own premises or in, or headed directly to, a vehicle he owns or controls, and it is subject to exceptions in § 46.15, including for license holders.

Inside a vehicle, a handgun in plain view is an offense unless the person is twenty-one or older, or licensed, and the gun is holstered. Carrying in the vehicle is also an offense while engaged in criminal activity beyond a Class C traffic violation, or while prohibited by law from possessing a firearm. Other subsections cover intentionally displaying an unholstered handgun in a public place and carrying while intoxicated, except on one's own property or in one's own vehicle.

Section 46.03 lists places where firearms are prohibited, including schools, courts, the secured area of an airport, businesses earning 51 percent or more of their income from on-premises alcohol sales, sporting events, hospitals, amusement parks, and government meeting rooms. "Premises" there means a building or part of one, not the parking lot outside, but schools are different: the ban also covers grounds where a school activity is under way and school vehicles. A license is generally no defense.

Section 46.04 governs possession. A person convicted of a felony may not possess a firearm until five years after release from prison or from community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision, whichever is later, and after that only at the premises where he lives. Federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), separately bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year from possessing a firearm, with no five-year limit and no home exception. A person convicted of Class A assault against a family or household member is barred for five years after release from jail or community supervision, whichever is later. A person under certain protective orders is barred once notified, until the order expires.

Punishment ranges for Texas weapons charges

• Unlawful carrying, most forms (Class A): Up to 1 year in jail, fine up to $4,000 (Penal Code §§ 46.02(b), 12.21)
• Prohibited place, most locations (third degree): 2 to 10 years, fine up to $10,000 (§§ 46.03(g), 12.34)
• Sporting event, hospital, amusement park (Class A): Up to 1 year, fine up to $4,000 (§§ 46.03(g-2), 12.21)
• Felon in possession (third degree): 2 to 10 years, fine up to $10,000 (§§ 46.04(e), 12.34)
• Possession after family violence conviction or under protective order (Class A): Up to 1 year, fine up to $4,000 (§§ 46.04(e), 12.21)
• Carrying while barred as a felon (second degree): 5 to 20 years, fine up to $10,000 (§§ 46.02(e)(1), 12.33)
• Carrying while barred by family violence conviction or order (third degree): 2 to 10 years, fine up to $10,000 (§§ 46.02(e)(2), 12.34)

A person barred by a family violence conviction who keeps a gun at home faces a misdemeanor. The same person with the same gun in a jacket pocket at a gas station on Loop 410 faces a felony.

Consequences outside the courtroom

Under Government Code § 411.172, a pending Class A, Class B, or felony charge makes a person ineligible for a license to carry, a Class A or B conviction bars one for five years, and a felony conviction bars one outright. A felony conviction also brings the possession limits of Section 46.04, and so does a family violence assault conviction (more on the family violence page). Whether a record can later be sealed depends on the offense and the outcome. Anyone who is not a United States citizen needs advice about immigration consequences before entering any plea.

How a weapons case moves in Bexar County

After an arrest in San Antonio, the person goes before a magistrate, usually at the Magistrate's Office on Comal Street, where bond is set. The Bexar County District Attorney's Office decides what to file. A Class A charge goes to a Bexar County Court at Law. A felony is presented to a grand jury, and if an indictment is returned the case goes to a district court at the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center or the Bexar County Courthouse.

What this office looks at in a weapons case

First, how the officer came to see or find the gun. A stop needs a lawful basis, and so does a search of a car, a bag, or a person. Under Code of Criminal Procedure article 38.23, evidence obtained in violation of the law may not be used against the accused at trial.

Second, the element that turns lawful carrying into a crime. A prior conviction must be proved, with the date of the earlier offense, and the five-year window may not reach. If it rests on a place, the question is whether the spot was a "premises" at all.

Third, possession and knowledge. In a shared or borrowed car, the State must connect this person to this gun. Statements are examined for how they were obtained; the post on confessions explains why.

Questions people ask about weapons charges in Texas

Can I carry a handgun in Texas without a license?

Generally, yes, if you are twenty-one or older, are not barred from possessing a firearm, and have no conviction within the past five years for assault causing bodily injury, deadly conduct, terroristic threat, or firearm-related disorderly conduct. You still may not carry while intoxicated, intentionally display an unholstered handgun in public, or carry into the places listed in Penal Code § 46.03.

Can I keep a gun in my car in Texas?

Usually. Section 46.02 lets a person carry a handgun inside a vehicle he owns or controls. If the gun is in plain view, it must be holstered and the person must be twenty-one or older or licensed. Carrying in the vehicle is a crime while engaged in criminal activity beyond a Class C traffic violation, or while barred from possessing a firearm.

Can a convicted felon ever have a gun in Texas?

Under Penal Code § 46.04, a person convicted of a felony may not possess a firearm anywhere until five years after release from prison or from community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision, whichever is later. After that, Texas law allows possession only at the premises where the person lives. But federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), bars possession by anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year, with no time limit and no home exception.

Back on Highway 90

The driver on Highway 90 was old enough, had no record, and was in his own truck. A holster, or a closed console, was all that separated his evening from a Class A charge. Weapons cases turn on facts that small. To talk about yours, call (210) 201-3096, or send the details through the contact form.

By Christian O. Vega, Attorney at Law

The Law Office of Christian Vega · 130 E Travis St, Suite 425, San Antonio, Texas 78205

Texas State Bar No. 24121180

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