Houston Zoo reinstates 'no gun' signs despite controversy

Photo: Craig Hlavaty | Houston Chronicle A "weapons prohibited" sign has been reinstalled at the Houston Zoo...

The Houston Zoo has reinstalled a series of signs that prohibit the carry of firearms into the gates of the family-friendly attraction almost three months after being forced to take them down at threat of legal action.

Attorney Edwin Walker with Texas Law Shield, a legal services firm for gun owners, sent a demand letter to the Houston Zoo and its corporate entity and the city's parks and recreation department on Sept. 3 asking that they take down all 30.06 (guns prohibited) signs at the zoo.

The signs came down just a week or so after the letter was received and read.

After the signs came down the zoo staff said that they would be conferring with lawyers to see what the next step should be.

On Tuesday Walker was notified of the zoo’s sign reinstallation and said that he soon plans on taking a complaint to the Office of the Texas Attorney General.

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In a statement sent to the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday, Houston Zoo spokesperson Jackie Wallace stated the zoo’s case for bringing the signs back.

“After consultation with legal counsel, the Houston Zoo, Inc. has concluded that Texas government code does not prohibit HZI from lawfully posting signs that ban weapons from its premises because HZI is – at its core – an educational institution,” Wallace wrote Tuesday.

The zoo argues that being an educational institution exempts it from being forced to allow firearms within its gates.

Wallace wrote that the zoo was established for educational and conservation purposes, bringing in some 200,000 children a year.

The zoo, Wallace added, “maintains an Education Department that employs 17 professional educators who develop and deliver educational programming on a daily basis at the Zoo.”

“Given the mission of the zoo and the presence of hundreds of thousands of children on its campus, it is clear that guns and zoos simply do not mix,” Wallace wrote.

“Texas law recognizes that weapons are not compatible with the education of our youth and prohibits weapons at a schools and educational institutions and places where activities sponsored by schools or educational institutions take place,” Wallace concluded, referencing Section 46.03 of the Texas Penal Code.

Walker responded to the statement on Tuesday, calling the signs among other things “provocative.”

“This is a sham,” Walker says. “This is clearly an act of desperation. They are hanging their hat on being an educational institution.”

The signs' initial removal incident was the first visible local example of a new state law that targets government entities illegally restricting concealed carry.

Under legislation that took effect Sept. 1, residents who believe governments are violating that law have a streamlined and strengthened means to file a complaint locally, with the option of appealing to the Texas attorney general. Local governments risk daily fines of up to $10,000, depending on the number of violations, if they fail to remove signage deemed illegal.

A 30.06 sign can be used by a business owner to prohibit a CHL holder from bringing a firearm into business. The signs refer to Texas Penal Code 30.06 which forbids CHL holders from bringing firearms into locales with 30.06 signs in plain sight at the entrance or a "conspicuous manner clearly visible to the public."

Walker noted in his letter earlier this year that the zoo's 30.06 sign was in violation of Texas Government Code §411.209 because, though the zoo is privately owned, it sits on property owned by the City of Houston

Accordingly, it is not a place where firearms or concealed handguns may be prohibited under Texas Penal Code §46.03 or §46.035.

Walker's complaint was the first and only one at the zoo.

Walker said Tuesday that by law, educational institutions are defined as accredited primary or secondary schools, technical institutes, or schools of higher learning like colleges or universities. Not zoos like the Houston Zoo or the Dallas Zoo, which itself is involved in a similar fight up I-45. That zoo’s signs prohibiting firearms are still up.

There is no curriculum, accreditation, or the ability to obtain a degree at the zoo, Walker says, which means that according to him the zoo has hung its hat on a flimsy position.

“The zoo’s argument is opaque,” Walker says. “It doesn’t provide any kind of defense and it’s based upon a definition of an educational institution that doesn’t exist.”

“The position before was that they were private property, so they looked for another excuse, which is that they are an educational institution,” Walker says.

Though the Houston Zoo is operated by a private entity, the Hermann Park land it sits on belongs to the city. Private business owners can restrict gun usage; on most government properties, however, licensed Texans are allowed to carry guns.

“It’s a place to obtain knowledge, but it’s a far cry from an educational institution,” Walker adds. “You can’t earn credits by staring at monkeys.”

Walker says that the 46.03 sign negates the 30.06, so he’s not sure why the zoo added that one this time.

We've reached out to the City of Houston to see what their take is on the reappearance of the signs this week. We've yet to hear back.