Texas Penal Code Section 46.03: Schools, Bars, Courts, Airports

Even with a valid Texas License to Carry, there are places weapons are prohibited in Texas under Section 46.03 of the Penal Code. The list runs to more than a dozen locations and includes some that catch people off guard: racetracks, polling places during early voting, hospitals, and bars that earn most of their revenue from alcohol. Most violations are third-degree felonies punishable by two to ten years in prison, and a felony conviction permanently ends your right to possess any firearm under federal law.

What Weapons the Law Covers

Section 46.03 reaches four categories: firearms (handguns and long guns), clubs, location-restricted knives, and the prohibited weapons listed in Section 46.05(a), such as explosive devices and armor-piercing ammunition.¹ A location-restricted knife is any knife with a blade longer than five and a half inches,² which captures many hunting knives, machetes, and swords. The prohibition applies whether you carry openly or concealed.

Schools and Colleges

Weapons are prohibited on the premises of any school or postsecondary educational institution, whether public or private. The ban covers school grounds, buildings where a school-sponsored activity is taking place, and school vehicles like buses.¹ Federal law layers on top: the Gun-Free School Zones Act makes it a crime to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of any public, parochial, or private school.³

One exception is widely misunderstood. Licensed handgun holders may carry a concealed handgun on the premises of a postsecondary institution (campus carry), as long as they carry no other prohibited weapon.¹ That exception does not reach K-12 schools. A licensed adult can concealed-carry at a university but commits a felony walking into an elementary school with the same handgun. Individual universities may also set rules about where on campus concealed carry is allowed.

Polling Places

Carrying a weapon at a polling place is prohibited on Election Day and throughout early voting.¹ The ban covers the building where voting occurs, not just the room with the machines, and there is no license-holder exception.

Courts and Court Offices

Weapons are banned from any government court and from offices used by the court, including judges’ chambers and administrative workspaces.¹ This covers every level of the Texas judiciary. The only way around it is written authorization from the court itself. The offense is complete the moment you bring a weapon onto the premises, whether courthouse security catches it or not.

Bars (51% Establishments)

Any business that holds a liquor license and earns 51 percent or more of its revenue from on-premises alcohol sales is off-limits for weapons. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission makes that determination and requires those businesses to post a conspicuous red “51%” sign.¹ A restaurant that serves alcohol but earns most of its money from food is not a 51% location; a bar that serves some food but earns most of its money from drinks is. If you see the red sign, the firearm has to stay in the vehicle.

Airports Past the Checkpoint

Weapons are prohibited in the secured area of an airport, meaning past the TSA screening checkpoint.¹ You can lawfully possess a firearm in the general terminal before screening, and you can transport an unloaded firearm in checked luggage following federal rules.

Bringing a firearm to the checkpoint is treated separately, and the penalties are steep. The TSA can impose a civil fine ranging from $3,000 to $12,210 for a loaded firearm or one with accessible ammunition on a first offense, with repeat violations reaching $17,062, and the agency can refer the case for criminal charges.⁴ That penalty exists alongside the state charge under Section 46.03. A licensed handgun holder who is screened, notified, and immediately leaves has a statutory defense under state law, but only for a handgun and only if they exit right away. That defense will not stop the TSA fine.

Racetracks

Weapons are banned on the premises of any racetrack in Texas, including grandstands, betting areas, and surrounding facilities. The prohibition applies whether a race is happening or not.¹

Hospitals, Nursing Facilities, and Mental Hospitals

Weapons are prohibited on the premises of hospitals licensed under Chapter 241 of the Health and Safety Code and nursing facilities licensed under Chapter 242.¹ Mental hospitals and civil commitment facilities are also restricted; a mental hospital administration may grant written authorization to a specific person.

Hospitals, nursing facilities, civil commitment facilities, and amusement parks fall under a lower penalty tier than most 46.03 locations: Class A misdemeanor rather than third-degree felony. That is still up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine, but it is not the two-to-ten-year prison exposure attached to a schoolhouse or courthouse violation.

Sporting Events and Amusement Parks

High school, collegiate, and professional sporting events are prohibited locations.¹ The only exception is for a participant whose weapon is part of the competition, such as a fencing or shooting event.

Amusement parks are restricted, but the statute defines the term narrowly. The park must sit in a county with a population over one million, cover at least 75 acres, be enclosed with controlled entry points, operate more than 120 days per year, and have security on-site at all times. That targets a handful of large theme parks. Smaller attractions, traveling carnivals, and county fairs are not amusement parks for this purpose.

Execution Sites and Correctional Facilities

On any day a death sentence is scheduled to be carried out, weapons are prohibited within 1,000 feet of the execution site designated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, provided the person has received notice of the restriction.¹ An exception applies if you are in a vehicle on a public road or at your own home or workplace inside that zone.

Correctional facilities are a separate prohibited location under the same statute, with no equivalent carve-out.

Government Meetings

Weapons are prohibited on the premises of a meeting of a governmental entity, but with a wrinkle. The 46.03 offense does not apply if the entity has posted notice under Section 30.06 or 30.07, the sign-posting statutes that let property owners ban concealed or open carry.¹ If those signs are up, a violator is charged under 30.06 or 30.07. If they are not, 46.03 fills the gap, and 46.03 carries heavier penalties. Either way, carrying a weapon into a government meeting is illegal.

What “Premises” Actually Means

This definition keeps a lot of people out of felony trouble. Under Section 46.03, “premises” means a building or a portion of a building. It does not include driveways, streets, sidewalks, walkways, parking lots, parking garages, or other parking areas. Walking through a courthouse parking lot with a firearm holstered or locked in your vehicle is generally not on the “premises” for this statute. Stepping through the courthouse door is.

The parking-area exclusion lets drivers leave a firearm secured in a vehicle before entering a restricted building. The definition applies to Section 46.03 only. Other state statutes and federal facilities may draw their restricted zones differently.

Federal Restricted Locations in Texas

Section 46.03 is not the only source of weapons restrictions you can run into in Texas. Several federal rules apply regardless of your Texas license.

Post offices and all U.S. Postal Service property prohibit firearms, explosives, and dangerous weapons, openly carried or concealed. Violations can bring a fine, up to a year in federal prison, or both, with penalties rising to five years if the weapon was intended for use in a crime.⁵

Department of Veterans Affairs facilities are also weapons-free zones. No one on VA property may carry a firearm, dangerous weapon, or explosive, openly or concealed, except for official purposes. Violators face arrest, removal, and a fine of up to $500 for firearm possession.⁶

Who Is Exempt

Section 46.15 of the Penal Code lists people exempt from Section 46.03.⁷ The main categories:

Peace officers and special investigators, on or off duty.
Parole and community supervision officers in the discharge of their duties and in compliance with agency policies.
Active and retired judicial officers who hold a License to Carry under Subchapter H, Chapter 411 of the Government Code.
Qualified retired law enforcement officers with a certificate of proficiency and photo identification, consistent with the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act.
District, criminal district, county, and municipal attorneys and their assistants, if licensed to carry.
Bailiffs escorting a judicial officer, if licensed to carry.

Section 46.03 also contains its own defenses. Members of the armed forces, National Guard, and guards employed by penal institutions have a defense for carrying at schools, polling places, courts, and racetracks while in the actual discharge of their duties. Commissioned security officers have a similar defense for airport secured areas if they meet uniform and visibility requirements.¹

The federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) lets qualified active and retired law enforcement officers carry concealed firearms across state lines, overriding most state restrictions. LEOSA does not override private property bans and does not exempt anyone from TSA rules at airports.⁸

Penalties for Carrying in a Prohibited Place

Section 46.03 uses a three-tier penalty structure keyed to the weapon and the location.

Third-degree felony is the default. It applies to weapons at schools, polling places, courts, racetracks, airports, execution sites, 51% establishments, and correctional facilities. The range is two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.⁹
Class A misdemeanor applies at sporting events, civil commitment facilities, hospitals, nursing facilities, and amusement parks. The maximum is one year in county jail and a $4,000 fine.¹⁰
Class C misdemeanor applies when the only weapon involved is a location-restricted knife and the location is anything other than a school. That is a fine-only offense. The same knife at a school is a third-degree felony.

A felony conviction under this statute carries a permanent federal consequence. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year of imprisonment becomes a prohibited person who can no longer legally possess any firearm or ammunition.¹¹ That federal ban has no expiration. A single conviction for carrying at a polling place or a school can end your gun rights for life.

1
State of Texas. Texas Code Penal Code – Places Weapons Prohibited
2
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.01 – Definitions
3
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Gun-Free School Zones Act (ATF P 5310.1)
4
Transportation Security Administration. Civil Enforcement
5
United States Postal Service. Poster 158 – Possession of Firearms and Other Dangerous Weapons on Postal Service Property
6
eCFR. 38 CFR 1.218 – Security and Law Enforcement at VA Facilities
7
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.15 – Nonapplicability
8
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Guidance Regarding the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA)
9
Texas Attorney General. Penal Code Offenses by Punishment Range
10
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor
11
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Identify Prohibited Persons