The office of Attorney General Ken Paxton is set to determine if any of the 34 pending complaints regarding facilities in Texas that ban concealed handguns have merit.
State law says that local and municipal governments cannot ban concealed handgun holders from carrying weapons in their facilities, unless those facilities fall into one of several weapon-free zones that include courtrooms, polling places and correctional facilities.
A bill that went into effect last September allows people to send a written complaint to a state agency or political subdivision if they believe it is improperly posting the signs where guns are allowed. If three days go by without a response, the complainant can file a complaint with the attorney general's office, which will investigate the allegation and forward it to the appropriate division if further action needs to be taken.
The Houston Chronicle reports that the facilities that have had complaints lodged against them include the Dallas Zoo and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.
The Houston Zoo reinstalled signs prohibiting carrying firearms into the zoo after they were removed due to a complaint from attorney Edwin Walker with Texas Law Shield demanding that they be taken down. The zoo said the signs were put back up because the zoo is an educational institution, which exempts it from being forced to allow firearms within its gates.
Walkers said in his letter that the zoo's signs were in violation of state code because even though it is privately owned, it sits on property owned by the City of Houston.
