Town Hall Meeting on Open Carry Set for Local Churches

TYLER — Smith County Precinct 4 Commissioner JoAnn Hampton and Precinct 1 Constable Henry Jackson will host a town hall meeting to help community churches understand the new Open Carry Law, which went into effect January 1. According to a county news release, leaders of 75 churches in and around their precincts have been invited to the meeting. It’s set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, January 19, at the Smith County R.B. Hubbard Facility, “The Hub,” on E. Ferguson Street in downtown Tyler. Hampton and Jackson say they want to make sure church leaders and congregations know their rights when it comes to allowing or not allowing people to carry guns openly in churches in East Texas.

The 84th Legislature passed House Bill 910, authorizing individuals to obtain a license to openly carry a handgun in the same places that allow the licensed carrying of a concealed handgun, with some exceptions. There are two available signs in English and in Spanish that can be posted to ban guns from a facility.