Pressured by Second Amendment activists, the Houston Zoo has removed signs from its entrances that barred Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holders from carrying firearms there.
Under current Texas law, the owners of private businesses may post “no guns” signs—commonly called 30.06 signs for the section of Texas Penal Code authorizing them—to prohibit anyone, even CHL holders, from bringing firearms onto the premises. However, even though the Houston Zoo is privately operated, the property on which it’s located is owned by the city of Houston—and Texas law forbids the prohibition of firearms or concealed carry on public land. So the signs, and the unlawful ban, went away.
“Effective immediately, the Houston Zoo will not ask anyone who is lawfully permitted to carry a concealed legal handgun to stow their weapon in their vehicle while visiting the zoo,” a spokesperson for the zoo told KHOU in a statement.
