Hurst, TX asked in Criminal Law and Constitutional Law for Texas

Q: due to my class A misdemeanors I cannot get an open or concealed license carry.Under the constitution can I still carry

A cop showed me the state penal code and told me the constitution wouldn't be applicable I thought the constitution was over state law but i might be and am probably wrong

1 Lawyer Answer
Kiele Linroth Pace
Kiele Linroth Pace
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Austin, TX
  • Licensed in Texas

A: 1) It is also a violation of FEDERAL LAW for you to possess a firearm or ammunition. See: US Code Title 18 Section 922(g)

2) Second amendment exceptions include felons, those convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence, people with dishonorable discharges, anyone addicted to illegal drugs, children, and more. The type of "arms" a citizen might possess is also restricted. For example, I can't legally own a land mine, a fighter jet, a battleship, a canister of serin gas, or an intercontinental ballistic missile!

Way back in 1897, the U.S. Supreme Court said the following in the case of Robertson v. Baldwin, 165 U.S. 275:

"The law is perfectly well settled that the first 10 amendments to the constitution, commonly known as the 'Bill of Rights,' were not intended to lay down any novel principles of government, but simply to embody certain guaranties and immunities which we had inherited from our English ancestors, and which had, from time immemorial, been subject to certain well-recognized exceptions, arising from the necessities of the case. In incorporating these principles into the fundamental law, there was no intention of disregarding the exceptions, which continued to be recognized as if they had been formally expressed. Thus, the freedom of speech and of the press (article 1) does not permit the publication of libels, blasphemous or indecent articles, or other publications injurious to public morals or private reputation; the right of the people to keep and bear arms (article 2) is not infringed by laws prohibiting the carrying of concealed weapons; the provision that no person shall be twice put in jeopardy (article 5) does not prevent a second trial, if upon the first trial the jury failed to agree, or if the verdict was set aside upon the defendant's motion (U. S. v. Ball, 163 U. S. 662, 627, 16 Sup. Ct. 1192); nor does the provision of the same article that no one shall be a witness against himself impair his obligation to testify, if a prosecution against him be barred by the lapse of time, a pardon, or by statutory enactment (Brown v. Walker, 161 U. S. 591, 16 Sup. Ct. 644, and cases cited). Nor does the provision that an accused person shall be confronted with the witnesses against him prevent the admission of dying declarations, or the depositions of witnesses who have died since the former trial."

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