I work for a Oil & Gas company and in the previous years we were not allowed to carry a firearm on us or on company turf. No matter if it was concealed in our vehicles. If I remember correctly a law was passed last year allowing employees to carry a concealed firearm to work. I want to buy another pistol to keep in my truck at all times. Does anyone know what the law entails? A friend of mine said that the law that was passed last year excluded Oil & Gas companies for some reason. Is this true?

I'm bias if this is correct. I don't want to lose my job over this if for some reason it was found, but also feel like I have the right to protect myself to and from work as a CHL holder. I'd rather lose my job then my life, but more importantly want to know what the law says. Can anyone help me out?

Thanks!!

Listen, this is Texas. You can be fired at any time, without a reason.

There are exceptions in the parking lot law for certain types of companies (chemical I think, but I don't remember).

I suggest you contact the TSRA, as the "parking lot law" does, as mentioned, have certain exceptions, primarily some refinery/chemical operations, and oil and gas leases, where the landowner still has authority.

NRA-backed Senate Bill 321 takes effect this Thursday, September 1. This measure, authored by state Senator Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) & state Representative Tim Kleinschmidt (R-Lexington), and signed into law by Governor Rick Perry, prohibits most employers from enacting and enforcing bans on employees transporting and storing firearms in their locked, private motor vehicles while parked at work. This important new law recognizes that hard-working Texans' right to self-defense does not end when they drive onto their employers property, and it honors the strong sporting culture of the Lone Star State where employees often hunt or visit the local gun club before or after work.


SB 321 applies to both public and private employers, as well as all lawfully-owned firearms - not just firearms in the possession of Concealed Handgun Licensees. However, SB 321 does not authorize an employee to possess firearms on any property where such possession is prohibited by state or federal law, and the provisions of the bill do not apply to the following:

Vehicles owned or leased by the employer and used by the employee for work purposes;
School districts, open enrollment charter schools, and private schools as defined in Section 22.081, Education Code;
Property owned or controlled by a person, other than an employer, that is subject to a valid, unexpired oil, gas, or other mineral lease that contains a provision prohibiting the possession of firearms on the property; or
Property owned or leased by a chemical manufacturer or oil and gas refiner permitted by TCEQ and on which the primary business conducted is the manufacture, use, storage or transportation of hazardous, combustible, or explosive materials; however, employees at these facilities who are CHLs may store firearms (including rifles or shotguns) in their private motor vehicles in parking areas located outside of secured and restricted areas which contain the physical plant, are not open to the public and which are constantly monitored by security personnel.
Please contact NRA-ILA's Grassroots Division at 1-800-392-8683 about alleged violations of this act. We have already received information about companies who are misinterpreting the law or planning on ignoring it altogether. NRA-ILA will monitor and investigate those situations to ensure that your rights under the new law are protected!

Thanks for the feedback and contact info.