What Are Your 2nd Amendment Rights in Texas? Carry, Defense, Limits

Your Second Amendment rights in Texas are among the strongest of any state: most adults can own firearms, carry a handgun in public without a permit, and use force (including deadly force) in a wide range of self-defense situations. Those rights rest on Article I, Section 23 of the Texas Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to keep and bear arms in lawful defense of themselves or the state, while giving the legislature power to regulate how arms are carried in public.¹ Federal law sits on top of that. The Gun Control Act of 1968 and 18 U.S.C. § 922 define who cannot possess a firearm anywhere in the country, and where federal and Texas rules overlap, the stricter one controls.

Who Cannot Legally Own a Firearm

Federal law bars nine categories of people from possessing any firearm or ammunition. The main ones are anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, fugitives, unlawful users of controlled substances, people involuntarily committed to a mental institution or adjudicated as mentally defective, anyone subject to a qualifying domestic violence protective order, and anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.²

Felony Convictions

Texas Penal Code Section 46.04 adds a state layer. A person convicted of any felony cannot possess a firearm during the first five years after release from confinement or supervision, whichever is later. After that five-year window, the person may possess a firearm only at the premises where they live. Violating the rule is itself a third-degree felony, carrying two to ten years in prison.³⁴ Important boundary: the Texas five-year rule does not override federal law, which generally imposes a lifetime possession ban on felons. A person who satisfies the state rule can still face federal prosecution.

Domestic Violence and Protective Orders

A conviction for Class A misdemeanor assault against a family or household member blocks firearm possession for five years after the sentence is completed, including any community supervision. Anyone under an active protective order issued under the Texas Family Code cannot possess firearms for the duration of the order.³ Federal law imposes its own penalties for domestic violence misdemeanors and does not include the same five-year sunset.²

Mental Health

Federal law prohibits firearm possession by anyone formally adjudicated as mentally defective or involuntarily committed to a mental institution. The ATF reads that to include a court or authority finding that a person is a danger to themselves or others, lacks the capacity to manage their own affairs, was found insane in a criminal case, or was found incompetent to stand trial. Voluntary admission does not trigger the ban.⁵

Age

Texas generally requires you to be at least 18 to buy a long gun. Federal law raises the floor for handgun purchases from a licensed dealer to 21. Private handgun sales between individuals are not subject to that federal dealer floor, but Texas still prohibits selling any firearm to a person under 18. Selling a handgun to a minor is a state jail felony; selling a long gun to a minor is a Class A misdemeanor.⁶

Carrying a Handgun Without a Permit

Since September 2021, House Bill 1927 (the Firearm Carry Act of 2021) has allowed anyone 21 or older who is not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm to carry a handgun in public without a state-issued license.⁷ It covers both concealed and open carry, but the rules split on visibility. Concealed carry has no holster requirement. Visible carry does: Section 46.02(a-5) makes it an offense to intentionally display a handgun in plain view in a public place unless it is in a holster.⁸ The statute does not specify a design, so belt, shoulder, and ankle holsters all qualify.

Permitless carry does not expand who can possess a firearm. HB 1927 explicitly says prohibited persons gain no new rights.⁹ Someone who carries while barred from possessing a firearm faces charges under Section 46.04.

Why a License to Carry Still Helps

The Texas License to Carry (LTC) program is still active and is worth having for two reasons. First, reciprocity: Texas has agreements with more than 30 states, so an LTC lets you legally carry a concealed handgun in those states under their rules.¹⁰ Permitless carry stops at the state line. Second, an LTC lets you skip the point-of-sale NICS check when buying from a licensed dealer, because the license itself involved a full background screening. Frequent buyers save time at the counter.

Self-Defense and Deadly Force

Texas Penal Code Chapter 9 lays out some of the broadest self-defense protections in the country. The rules differ depending on whether you are using ordinary force, deadly force, or force to protect property, so the thresholds matter.

Non-Deadly Force

Under Section 9.31, you can use force against another person when you reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect yourself against their unlawful use of force. The law presumes your belief was reasonable if the other person was unlawfully forcing their way into your home, vehicle, or workplace, or was committing a violent felony such as robbery, sexual assault, or kidnapping.¹¹ Force is never justified in response to words alone. You also lose the defense if you provoked the confrontation, unless you clearly tried to disengage and the other person kept attacking.

Deadly Force

Section 9.32 permits deadly force when you reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect yourself against another person’s use of deadly force, or to prevent the imminent commission of a violent felony like murder, robbery, or sexual assault. The same presumption of reasonableness applies when someone is forcing their way into your occupied home, vehicle, or workplace.¹²

No Duty to Retreat

Texas is a stand-your-ground state. Section 9.32(c) says a person who has a legal right to be at the location, who did not provoke the attacker, and who is not engaged in criminal activity has no duty to retreat before using deadly force. A jury cannot even consider whether you failed to retreat when deciding if your use of deadly force was reasonable.¹² This applies anywhere you have a legal right to be, not just inside your home.

Deadly Force to Protect Property

Section 9.42 goes further than most states. You can use deadly force to protect land or personal property when you reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to prevent arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft or criminal mischief committed at night. Deadly force is also allowed against someone fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, or nighttime theft, but only if you reasonably believe the property cannot be recovered by other means, or that using lesser force would expose you or someone else to a substantial risk of death or serious injury.¹³ The nighttime requirement for theft and criminal mischief trips people up. Shooting someone stealing your car in broad daylight does not fall under Section 9.42.

Where Firearms Are Off-Limits

Strong carry rights do not mean you can bring a gun anywhere. State law lists specific banned locations, federal law adds its own, and private property owners can post signs that carry legal weight.

Locations Banned by State Statute

Under Section 46.03, possessing a firearm in the following places is generally a third-degree felony (two to ten years and a fine up to $10,000):¹⁴⁴

Schools and postsecondary educational institutions
Polling places during elections or early voting
Courtrooms and court offices
Racetracks
Secured airport areas
Bars that draw 51% or more of their income from on-premises alcohol sales
Correctional and civil commitment facilities
Licensed hospitals and nursing facilities
Mental hospitals
Amusement parks
Rooms where a governmental entity is holding a meeting

A few of these drop to a Class A misdemeanor rather than a felony: sporting events, amusement parks, hospitals, and civil commitment facilities.

Federal Property

18 U.S.C. § 930 makes it a federal crime to knowingly possess a firearm in a federal facility. Post offices, federal courthouses, VA clinics, and Social Security offices all count. Penalties reach one year for simple possession, five years if the firearm was intended for use in a crime, and up to two years for federal court facilities specifically.¹⁵

Private Property Signs

Three Penal Code sections govern signage on private property:

Section 30.05 bans both handguns and long guns when properly posted
Section 30.06 bans concealed handgun carry by LTC holders
Section 30.07 bans open handgun carry by LTC holders

Valid signs must use specific statutory language in English and Spanish, contrasting colors, block letters at least one inch high, and be posted conspicuously. Ignoring a proper sign is a Class C misdemeanor with a fine up to $200. If you enter and then refuse to leave after being personally told to, it escalates to a Class A misdemeanor.¹⁶

Buying and Transferring Firearms

Dealer Purchases

Buying from a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) means filling out ATF Form 4473, which asks eligibility questions and records identifying information.¹⁷ The dealer runs the buyer through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System.¹⁸ A clean check completes the transfer; a delay lets the dealer proceed after three business days if no denial has come through.

Private Sales

Private transfers between two Texas residents do not require a background check, and neither federal nor state law requires the seller to keep records.¹⁹ But a private seller who knows or has reason to believe the buyer cannot legally possess a firearm commits a crime. Selling to a convicted felon within five years of release from confinement or supervision is a Class A misdemeanor under Section 46.06.⁶

A recent federal rule broadening the definition of being “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms could affect people who buy and resell often, but a preliminary injunction has restrained the ATF from enforcing it against Texas and several other plaintiffs as of early 2026.²⁰

NFA Items

Suppressors, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, and machine guns are regulated under the National Firearms Act. Each item needs a separate registration and a $200 federal tax stamp. Texas adds no state-level restrictions beyond the federal requirements, so ATF approval is enough for lawful possession in the state.²¹

Traffic Stops and Police Encounters

Texas has no duty-to-inform law. You do not have to volunteer that you are carrying a firearm during a traffic stop. If an officer asks whether you have a firearm, you must answer truthfully. If you hold an LTC and are carrying, you must present the license on request. Many instructors recommend disclosing early to avoid surprises, but nothing in the statute requires it.

Local Ordinances and Red Flag Laws

Section 229.001 of the Texas Local Government Code stops cities and counties from regulating the transfer, ownership, possession, transportation, licensing, or registration of firearms, ammunition, or firearm supplies.²² A city cannot pass its own background-check requirements, ban specific firearms, or impose storage mandates that go beyond state law. Local governments keep limited authority to regulate the discharge of firearms within city limits and to zone firearm businesses, but they cannot use those tools to work around preemption. Where a local rule conflicts with state law, state law wins.

Texas also has no red flag law. Unlike roughly 20 other states, Texas courts cannot temporarily remove firearms from someone based only on a petition alleging danger. The 89th Legislature considered a bill that would have explicitly prohibited Texas courts from issuing or enforcing such orders.

1
Justia Law. Texas Constitution Art 1 – Sec 23
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
3
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.04 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm
4
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment
5
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Firearms Prohibition Under 18 USC 922(g)(4)
6
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.06 – Unlawful Transfer of Certain Weapons
7
Texas Department of Public Safety. Firearm Carry Act
8
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.02 – Unlawful Carrying Weapons
9
Texas Legislature Online. HB 1927 – Firearm Carry Act of 2021
10
Texas Department of Public Safety. State Reciprocity Information
11
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 9.31 – Self-Defense
12
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 9.32 – Deadly Force in Defense of Person
13
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Chapter 9 – Justification Excluding Criminal Responsibility
14
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.03 – Places Weapons Prohibited
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
16
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 30.06 – Trespass by License Holder With a Concealed Handgun
17
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Form 4473 – Firearms Transaction Record
18
Federal Bureau of Investigation. About NICS
19
Texas State Law Library. How Can I Sell My Gun to Another Person?
20
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Final Rule – Definition of Engaged in the Business as a Dealer in Firearms
21
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. National Firearms Act
22
Texas Attorney General. Opinion KP-0252