cuchulainn
Member
from the A.P via the Star-Telegram
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/7087874.htm
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/7087874.htm
Posted on Thu, Oct. 23, 2003
Group sues Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority
PAM EASTON
Associated Press
HOUSTON - A gun rights organization headed by Texas General Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson sued Harris County's Metropolitan Transit Authority on Thursday, saying the authority is violating the state's constitution by banning concealed handguns on its buses.
Patterson, president of the Civil Liberties Defense Foundation, is among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in state court in Houston.
Patterson, who lives in Austin, said the lawsuit was filed in Harris County because some of his group's members who live in Houston and the surrounding area have been harmed by the policy, which carries no punishment.
"If they chose, they could forego their unconstitutional, unlawful and silly ban of concealed handguns," said Patterson, who authored the state's concealed handgun law approved in 1995. "It is merely a Metro rule that has no penalty."
Metro spokesman Ken Connaughton said the authority had not yet seen the lawsuit and didn't have an immediate response Thursday. He said Metro has banned handguns on its buses since 1995.
Because Metro is a public transportation agency, it can't prohibit concealed guns carried on its property like private buildings and businesses can, Patterson said.
The state's constitution provides citizens with the right to carry a gun, he said. According to the lawsuit, only the Legislature has the power to limit the right to bear arms "with a view to prevent crime."
"On occasion, plaintiffs have been forced to find alternate transportation because of Metro's insistence that no passenger carry a concealed weapon even when lawfully entitled to do so," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also said that a person found carrying a concealed handgun on a bus faces unwanted public attention, which is contrary to the purpose of the concealed handgun law.
Metro isn't the only public transportation authority which prohibits concealed carry on its buses.
"We do not allow concealed handguns on buses except by licensed law enforcement personnel," said Libba Letton, a spokeswoman for Capital Metro in Austin. "Our board did pass that as a systemwide policy."
Letton said signs aboard buses and bus stops warn of the prohibition.
San Antonio's VIA Metropolitan Transit Priscilla Ingle said guns are also banned on the authority's buses.
Dallas Rapid Area Transit may be the only public transportation agency in the state which allows concealed handguns aboard its buses and light rail, Patterson said.
"If folks are properly permitted and it is indeed concealed, it's OK," said Dart spokesman, Morgan Lyons. "Dart cannot prohibit a passenger from carrying a concealed handgun."