AUSTIN – Today, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued this statement following Attorney General Ken Paxton’s opinion on guns and security in Texas churches:

“I want to thank Attorney General Ken Paxton for his timely response to my request for an opinion clarifying the rights of handgun license holders to carry their handguns in church. Following the shooting in Sutherland Springs in November, everyone in the state was very thankful for the brave Texan who stopped the attack through the exercise of his Second Amendment rights. I believed our state laws provided more protections than many realized and I requested the opinion to make sure that Texans are clear about our laws, especially when it comes to church security.

“The attorney general has affirmed the right of Texas handgun licensees to carry their guns in church unless the church has announced or posted signs prohibiting it, as the law allows. I also asked the attorney general to clarify the impact of Senate Bill 2065, passed in the last legislative session, which waived the requirement that churches pay private security fees to the state. These fees were a burden, particularly on smaller churches, and the attorney general has affirmed that Senate Bill 2065, which became law on September 1st, will exempt volunteer security teams from this requirement.”

You can read the attorney general’s opinion here.

You can read the lieutenant governor’s letter requesting an opinion on this issue here.