Federal Judge Upholds Texas Gun Control that Bans Being Armed in Bars for Self-Defense

U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman on Tuesday upheld the Texas gun control that prevents anyone from being armed for self-defense in a bar in the Lone Star State.

Texas has a “51 percent” law that makes it illegal for law-abiding concealed carriers to be armed in an establishment that derives at least 51 percent of its money from alcohol sales.

The San Antonio Report noted:

The 51 percent sign is a gun control sign established in 1993 to protect bar owners. When a restaurant or bar initially applies for a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission license, those projecting higher alcohol sales will receive a red 51 percent sign. This informs gun owners that they may not carry a weapon into the establishment.

This law guaranteed that no one was armed on March 1, 2026, to shoot back when a 53-year-old attacker wearing a “Property of Allah” hoodie ignored the no guns policy and opened fire on Austin bar patrons, killing two.

Despite the disadvantage of being unarmed while under attack, on Tuesday of this week Judge Pittman ruled that Texas’ law disarming law-abiding citizens in bars “does not violate the constitution.”

Ammoland News observed that Pittman “did not say the Second Amendment stops applying in these locations. In fact, Pittman expressly wrote that ‘there is no carve out’ for sensitive places from the Bruen framework. But after recognizing that the right is implicated, the court still concluded that Texas had shown enough historical analogues to keep the bans in place.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. He enjoys reading Philosophy and novels by Jack Carr and Nelson DeMille. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.