The City of San Antonio pulled its long-standing 30.06 and 30.07 exclusionary signage from City Hall entrances late last month, ending more than a decade of blocking licensed-to-carry handgun holders from open public meetings, after the Texas Attorney General's Office warned that the policy violated state preemption law, Bearing Arms reported Monday.

The AG's office contacted Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones in March after receiving citizen complaints that license holders were being turned away from City Council sessions. Assistant Attorney General Lauren McGee cited Texas Government Code Section 411.209, which prohibits state agencies and political subdivisions from posting signage that implies a license holder may not enter government premises. McGee wrote plainly that "licensed handgun holders cannot be excluded from an open meeting because they are carrying a handgun in a concealed manner or in a holster." The statute carries a civil penalty of $1,000 to $1,500 per violation.

San Antonio's exclusionary signs had been in place since 2015, spanning multiple mayoral administrations and surviving years of questions about their legality under the state's preemption framework. On April 29, 2026, the city issued an updated policy allowing current license holders to carry concealed handguns into open public meetings at City Hall and Municipal Plaza. Council business for both the A and B sessions now takes place in the council chambers with license holders present. According to a city spokesperson, the San Antonio Police Department has updated its safety protocols in response, though specific details were not released.

Texas has one of the country's stronger firearms preemption regimes. State law bars municipalities from enacting or enforcing firearms regulations that conflict with state-level rules, and Section 411.209 specifically closes a common loophole that local governments had used to exclude carry holders from open meetings under the guise of building security. KSAT first reported the policy change on May 9.

The San Antonio reversal follows a pattern of the AG's office taking a more active posture on preemption compliance in recent years. Other Texas cities have received similar letters in comparable situations, and several have quietly updated their policies without litigation. Whether any other municipalities receive similar warnings in the current enforcement cycle remains to be seen, but the San Antonio outcome illustrates that the AG is willing to move from warning to formal liability when cities do not voluntarily comply.