As local arts venues are still dealing with how to keep guests safe from COVID, add one more concern: guns. A new Texas law goes into effect Sept. 1 that allows people 21 and older to carry a gun in public without a permit. 四虎影院 and The Dallas Morning News are collaborating to learn how venue leaders are preparing for this change.
Mary Pat Higgins, president and CEO of the , is concerned.
鈥淭his new law has us 鈥� has me 鈥� concerned about the safety of Texans in their daily lives,鈥� says Higgins, referring to one of the hottest talking points now enveloping the Lone Star State: the sweeping new gun law that takes effect today.
The law, , will allow permitless carry of handguns for citizens 21 and older 鈥� if they have a clean criminal record. Those who qualify will be able to carry a concealed handgun or carry one in public, if holstered.
From the moment he approved the law, Abbott鈥檚 pro-gun blessing sent shock waves through a state that, since 1982, trails only California and Florida in mass shootings.
The Washington Post that more than 1,800 people had been injured or killed in mass shootings in the U.S. in 2021. The noted recently that 鈥渆very day, 316 people are shot鈥� nationwide.
Law enforcement agencies have been among the the Texas law.
But when he signed the bill, Gov. Abbott framed it in philosophical terms, using language he鈥檚 applied to such issues as mask mandates or demanding proof of vaccination.
鈥淵ou could say that I signed into law today some laws that protect gun rights. But today, I signed documents that instilled freedom in the Lone Star State.鈥�
But for cultural organizations spread across the nearly 300,000 square miles of Texas, 鈥渇reedom鈥� is the last word they鈥檙e using.
For hundreds of such companies, already reeling from the pandemic and simply trying to hang on, the new gun law adds yet another layer of complexity and confusion.
Holocaust museum鈥檚 concerns
Since its opening in 2017, the Holocaust museum has used airport-style metal detectors to maintain security. As a private institution, the museum will continue to ban guns.
Even under the new law, private museums and performing arts venues have the legal right to do so. They are shielded for the most part by the loopholes that allow private companies to restrict guns by posting required signage in a visible manner. The signs must be written in both English and Spanish.
But communicating that right to guests means having to do even more work during an already peak era of stress.
鈥淲e just have to add some additional signage, which we are doing,鈥� Higgins says, with a sigh.
Signage that covered concealed carry and open carry had been in place for years, but now the museum has to post signage banning unlicensed carry.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a third level of signage,鈥� Higgins says. 鈥淚n other words, you have to alert people that bringing a gun inside the museum is prohibited, but as we understand it, you have to have three different signs that cover all of the different ways of carrying a weapon.鈥�
It remains a sensitive issue, Higgins contends, 鈥渂ecause we are a target for hate groups. We fear that there will be an increase of people wanting to bring guns into the museum, so we鈥檙e prepared for, shall we say, more difficult conversations, explaining to people why they can鈥檛 do that.鈥�
Higgins, of course, is hardly alone. Newly installed signage is popping up in Texas faster than bluebonnets in March 鈥� from gyms to supermarkets to museums and arts venues, all stating that guns are outlawed beyond their doors.
And yet, apprehension about the impact of the new law is as pervasive as the other spreading concern 鈥� the delta variant.
Debbie Storey, president and CEO of the , says Sept. 1 has added to the level of anxiety.
鈥淲e have artists and patrons who are expressing concern,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o, yes, we鈥檙e taking all the right steps to ensure the safety of everyone who works in or visits our venues.鈥�
The center is owned by the city of Dallas, so it鈥檚 self-managed and therefore allowed to restrict weapons by posting signs.
As an added precaution, ATTPAC screens for weapons at each of its venues by using metal detectors.
鈥淲e back that up with hand wands and bag searches if the magnetometer indicates that there is something that needs to be checked,鈥� Storey adds.
Expect metal detectors, security, signs
For the first time in its history, installed airport-style metal detectors for its current run of Wicked, the since the beginning of a nationwide lockout in early 2020.
The Music Hall at Fair Park has a capacity of 3,420 and is selling out most of its Wicked shows, which DSM officials say may bring in as many as 125,000 people by the time Wicked wraps up its run Sept. 5. That鈥檚 more than the capacity of the neighboring Cotton Bowl, which seats 92,100.
Kenneth T. Novice, president of Dallas Summer Musicals, says the venue has also made other 鈥渆nhancements鈥� that may make it feel like going to a sporting event. For example, limiting bags toand prohibiting backpacks.
The Music Hall is owned by the city of Dallas but operated by Dallas Summer Musicals. The same applies to ATTPAC and the Meyerson Symphony Center, which is city-owned but operated by the . The DSO is also in the process of adding new signage.
鈥淲e will notify our patrons that they鈥檙e not to bring weapons into the building 鈥� guns specifically, but all weapons really,鈥� says Kim Noltemy, the DSO鈥檚 president and CEO.
Although the orchestra does not plan to screen its guests for weapons, Noltemy says the DSO will employ 鈥渂eefed-up security keeping an eye out for anyone we think would be violating that policy. Law enforcement is able to notice things that, say, you and I would not notice.
鈥淎nd hopefully between all of that we will be successful in having our patrons not even think for a moment about this, which is the goal. Because who wants to be thinking about things like that while enjoying a concert?鈥�
The installed metal detectors when it opened in 1989 but removed them years ago, says CEO Nicola Longford. Nor does it plan to bring them back, even with the new law.
Longford called the airport-style security 鈥渞eally confining,鈥� saying that it caused 鈥渉uge traffic jams.鈥�
鈥淭he Sixth Floor Museum will continue with its current practices,鈥� she says.
Existing signage bans weapons in the building and that, Longford says, will be enough to address the new law. 鈥淲e feel that what we have is very clear.鈥�
Dione Kennedy, president and CEO of Performing Arts Fort Worth Inc., the nonprofit operator of , vows that her organization 鈥渨ill continue to screen for weapons.鈥�
History of gun rights in Texas
Despite the restrictions, the new Texas law is gaining attention across the country for the magnitude of its sweep. It sets a new 鈥� and highly controversial 鈥� standard for allowing people to carry guns openly in public.
To be clear, section 46.03 of the Texas Penal Code will continue to prohibit guns in these locations:
- Schools
- A polling place where voting is under way
- Racetracks
- Airports
- Government meetings
- Courts
- Correctional facilities
- Bars
- Sporting events
- Amusement parks
Even in the face of these remaining restrictions, gun rights activists are praising the new law, saying they hope similar statutes will be adopted in other states.
The new gun law is the latest in a wave of pro-gun legislation. Texans have had the right to carry a gun in public since 1995, when then-Gov. George W. Bush signed concealed carry into law. In 2007, the Texas Motorist Protection Act made it legal for people without a handgun license to keep a firearm in vehicles. The state legislature authorized and in 2015. But you still needed a license to carry a gun outside your home or vehicle.
That鈥檚 what , and Gov. Abbott鈥檚 signature, eliminated.
Now Texans can legally own a firearm and carry it 鈥� in a holster 鈥� in public, for the first time since Reconstruction. Texas joins in adopting what supporters call 鈥渃onstitutional carry.鈥�
鈥淭exas is finally a pro-gun state despite years of foot-dragging, roadblocks, and excuses from the spineless political class,鈥� Texas Gun Rights executive director Chris McNutt said in a statement after Abbott signed the bill. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud of the work grassroots gun owners have put in to get Texas Constitutional Carry finally signed into law.鈥�
But as Kevin Lawrence, executive director of the Texas Municipal Police Association, told The Texas Tribune:
鈥淲hen it comes down to it, it鈥檚 just a sense of disappointment that the bill ultimately was passed.鈥�
He won鈥檛 get an argument from many North Texas arts venue leaders, who 鈥� in addition to 鈥� now have another rule to oversee for the sake of safety.