ANST - strange craziness in the texas legislature

[Dale Carroll]

According to both the Texas State Legislature's web site, the following act was
indeed enacted on 6-19-99 and became effective on 9-1-99 as House Bill 2825.

1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the definitions of various types of weapons for the
 1-3     purposes of criminal prosecutions and to a defense to prosecution
 1-4     for certain weapon offenses.
 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-6           SECTION 1.  Section 46.01(3), Penal Code, is amended to read
 1-7     as follows:
 1-8                 (3)  "Firearm" means any device designed, made, or
 1-9     adapted to expel a projectile through a barrel by using the energy
1-10     generated by an explosion or burning substance or any device
1-11     readily convertible to that use.  Firearm does not include a
1-12     firearm [antique or curio firearms that were manufactured prior to
1-13     1899 and] that may have, as an integral part, a folding knife blade
1-14     or other characteristics of weapons made illegal by this chapter
1-15     and that is:
1-16                       (A)  an antique or curio firearm manufactured
1-17     before 1899; or
1-18                       (B)  a replica of an antique or curio firearm
1-19     manufactured before 1899, but only if the replica does not use rim
1-20     fire or center fire ammunition.
1-21           SECTION 2.  Section 46.15, Penal Code, is amended by adding
1-22     Subsection (e) to read as follows:
1-23           (e)  The provisions of Section 46.02 prohibiting the carrying
1-24     of an illegal knife do not apply to an individual carrying a bowie
 2-1     knife or a sword used in a historical demonstration or in a
 2-2     ceremony in which the knife or sword is significant to the
 2-3     performance of the ceremony.
 2-4           SECTION 3.  (a)  The changes in law made by this Act to
 2-5     Sections 46.01 and 46.15, Penal Code, apply only to an offense
 2-6     committed on or after the effective date of this Act.  For purposes
 2-7     of this section, an offense is committed before the effective date
 2-8     of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before the
 2-9     effective date.
2-10           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
2-11     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
2-12     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-13           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-14           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-15     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-16     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-17     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-18     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.


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