Is Brandishing a Weapon Illegal in Texas? Charges and Defenses

Brandishing a weapon in Texas is not itself a named crime, but the act is illegal under several statutes and can be charged anywhere from a Class B misdemeanor up to a second-degree felony carrying two to twenty years in prison. Which charge applies turns on what you did with the weapon, where you did it, and who you did it to.

Intentionally Displaying a Handgun in Public

The closest thing Texas has to a standalone brandishing law is Penal Code Section 46.02(a-5), added in 2021 alongside permitless carry. It is an offense to carry a handgun and intentionally display it in plain view of another person in a public place. The only exception is a handgun in a holster, even one that is partially or fully visible.¹

A holstered handgun visible on your hip is legal. Pulling it out, holding it up, or waving it around in public is not, even without pointing it at anyone or making a threat.

Disorderly Conduct

Penal Code Section 42.01 makes it a crime to display a firearm or other deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm. Prosecutors use this charge when someone shows a weapon to intimidate or scare people without aiming it at a specific person. “Calculated to alarm” does not require proof that anyone was actually frightened; it looks at whether the display was designed to cause alarm.²

Disorderly conduct for displaying a weapon is a Class B misdemeanor: up to 180 days in county jail, a fine up to $2,000, or both. The conviction carries a hidden cost as well. Under Section 46.02, anyone convicted of disorderly conduct under this provision cannot legally carry a handgun in public for five years after the conviction.¹

Deadly Conduct

Penal Code Section 22.05 covers more dangerous behavior. A person commits deadly conduct by recklessly placing another person in immediate danger of serious bodily injury. Pointing a firearm at someone falls squarely within it, because Texas law presumes that knowingly pointing a gun at another person is reckless, whether the gun is loaded or not.³

The statute has two tiers:

Recklessly placing someone in immediate danger of serious bodily injury, including pointing a firearm at them, is a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to one year in county jail and a fine up to $4,000.
Knowingly discharging a firearm at or toward a person, home, building, or vehicle is a third-degree felony carrying two to ten years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

The presumption on pointing a firearm is powerful. Once the state proves you knowingly aimed a gun at another person, the burden shifts to you to rebut the presumption that the conduct was reckless. The only statutory exception is for peace officers performing their official duties.³

Aggravated Assault

The most serious charge is aggravated assault. Under Penal Code Section 22.02, a person commits aggravated assault by committing an assault while using or exhibiting a deadly weapon.⁴ Under Section 22.01, “assault” includes intentionally or knowingly threatening another person with imminent bodily injury. No physical contact is required.

So if you pull a gun and verbally threaten someone, or point a weapon in a way that communicates a threat of harm, prosecutors can charge you with exhibiting a deadly weapon during an assault. That is a second-degree felony punishable by two to twenty years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.⁵

The charge rises to a first-degree felony (five to ninety-nine years) when the victim is a family member, household member, or someone in a dating relationship with the accused, or when the victim is a public servant, security officer, or witness and the assault relates to their duties.⁴

Prosecutors have discretion over what to file, and they frequently stack charges. Someone who points a loaded gun while making threats could face both deadly conduct and aggravated assault out of the same incident.

When Displaying a Weapon Is Legal

Holstered Open Carry

Since September 1, 2021, anyone at least 21 years old who can legally possess a firearm can carry a handgun openly in public without a permit, as long as the handgun is in a holster.¹ Some people are still prohibited from carrying under this law, including anyone under 21, anyone convicted of deadly conduct or of disorderly conduct involving a weapon within the past five years, and anyone otherwise barred from possessing a firearm by state or federal law.

Defensive Display

Texas law recognizes that threatening to use force is not the same as using it. Under Section 9.04, threatening force is justified whenever actual force would be justified. Producing a weapon, or otherwise communicating that you will use deadly force if necessary, does not count as using deadly force so long as your purpose is limited to creating enough apprehension to stop an unlawful attack.⁶

In practice, you can lift your shirt to reveal a holstered gun, place your hand on a holstered weapon, or even draw and point a firearm at an aggressor if you reasonably believe force is immediately needed to protect yourself or another person. The line is purpose. The display must be aimed at deterring an unlawful threat, not intimidating, provoking, or escalating a confrontation. If a jury later decides the display went beyond what was necessary or that you were the aggressor, the justification disappears and the criminal charges stand.

On Your Own Property

Section 46.02 exempts people on their own premises or premises under their control from the unlawful carrying restrictions.¹ The other offenses do not follow that exemption. Pointing a gun at a neighbor during a front-yard argument can still be charged as deadly conduct or aggravated assault, because those statutes have no property carve-out.

Places Where Carry Itself Is a Crime

Even if you can legally carry a handgun, some locations are off-limits under state and federal law, and any display in those places starts as an offense before the brandishing analysis begins. Texas Penal Code Section 46.03 prohibits weapons at schools and college campuses, polling places on Election Day, courts and court offices, racetracks, and secured areas of airports, among others.⁷ Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 930 bars firearms in federal buildings where federal employees regularly work, including post offices, Social Security offices, federal courthouses, and IRS buildings.⁸ Texas permitless carry does not override those federal restrictions.

Long-Term Consequences of a Conviction

A conviction for aggravated assault or for discharging a firearm under deadly conduct is a felony, and any felony conviction permanently bars you from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.⁹ Even a misdemeanor can trigger a federal firearm ban if the offense involved domestic violence, meaning the victim was a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or someone in a similar relationship. The domestic-violence ban is potentially permanent and carries its own penalty of up to 15 years in federal prison if violated.¹⁰

A misdemeanor conviction for deadly conduct (§22.05), terroristic threat (§22.07), or disorderly conduct involving a weapon (§42.01(a)(7) or (8)) bars you from legally carrying a handgun in public for five years after the conviction.¹ Carrying during that five-year window is a separate criminal offense on top of whatever sentence you already served.

1
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 46.02 – Unlawful Carrying Weapons
2
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Chapter 42 – Disorderly Conduct and Related Offenses
3
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 22.05 – Deadly Conduct
4
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 22.02 – Aggravated Assault
5
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment
6
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 9.04 – Threats as Justifiable Force
7
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 46.03 – Places Weapons Prohibited
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
10
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions