EC Commissioners say ‘Come on in’

WAXAHACHIE – If the idea of touring the historic Ellis County Courthouse has been on your bucket list, this might be a good time to visit.

Even if you have a handgun license, since prior to the county commissioner’s 3-2 vote to allow the opening of the four doors, even licensed carriers were not allowed to bring a handgun inside the building.

Since the courthouse is a public building, state law states county and city government may not forbid a person who is licensed to carry from entering with a handgun.

At the July 2 Ellis County commissioners court the opening of the four doors to the courthouse vote passed, with County Commissioners Kyle Butler, pct. 4 and Randy Stinson, pct. 1, voting against the idea while commissioners Lane Grayson, pct. 2, Paul Perry, pct. 3 and Ellis County Judge Todd Little gave the greenlight.

Little was the deciding vote in the tiebreaker.

While in the realm of tourism the opening of the four doors might seem like a good idea, and it was a campaign promise Little made before being elected as Ellis County Judge, from a safety standpoint it is debatable.

The question is about the safety of employees and those attending court there.

The opening of the doors was discussed at the June 18 meeting with much discussion before it was tabled for the next meeting.

The safety concern stems from the fact that inside the courthouse both commissioners court and JP court are still held there.

There are also five departments that still work out of that building.

With Texas being a licensed-to-carry state, it is the law that visitors to the courthouse can carry an approved handgun inside the building.

The problem of security becomes skewed when it comes to the actual courtrooms and what can and can’t be taken inside. It is against the law to carry handguns into a courtroom, however for the record, it is fine to carry a rifle, a sword and a knife according to the law.

Currently, those attending JP Court where Justice of the Peace Dan Cox resides are being wanded before entering that courtroom.

No such security measure is being taken to enter the commissioners court held in the historic courtroom located on the floor above.

The difference in entering the courthouse now versus before the four doors were opened is the entrance in the basement, which was the only way into the courthouse prior to the re-opening on July 4. There was a metal detector in the basement that all visitors were required to pass. The metal detector is no longer in use.

Back in May, Ellis County Sheriff Chuck Edge said it was not in accordance with state law to have the metal detector in the basement prohibit licensed to carry holders from bringing a firearm into the courthouse.

Perry, at that time agreed with Edge regarding the violation of the law.

Butler said he voted “no” regarding the opening of the four doors because “I would rather be overprotective because God forbid anything happen on my watch.”

The law to close the four doors and only utilize the basement door with the metal detector was implemented about three years ago when Butler reminded there had been multiple threats.

Perry said he voted for the opening of the four doors because “it is a mixed-use building barring people who have a legal right to the courthouse.”

Perry also said commissioners court is not a court of law – it is a public meeting.

According to County & District Attorney Patrick Wilson, who said at the June 18 commissioners court meeting it “shocked his conscious” regarding the misrepresentation of the law by the commissioners that while he took no position on the matter, he would refer to Texas Penal Code 46.035c.

“Texas Penal Code § 46.035(c) clearly states that a handgun license holder cannot carry a handgun in a duly posted meeting of a governmental entity. There is conflict in the law, however, regarding the specific applicability and notification requirements of that statute. Section 46.035(i) of the same statute states that section (c) does not apply unless effective notice is provided ac-cording to Penal Code § 30.06 or § 30.07. However, Penal Code § 30.06(e) says that the notification requirements of that statute do not apply to places where license holders are otherwise prohibited from carrying. Those are contradictory statements of law.”

County commissioners are considered governmental entities.

Nathaniel Pecina, Public Information Specialist, said in an email regarding the decision “As of now the only information as it relates to courthouse security is that the constable for Precinct 3 will oversee the JP#3 courtroom and the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office will maintain security of the historic courthouse.

“I am excited the commissioners are standing with me to reopen our beautiful courthouse to its citizens, tourists, and downtown area merchants,” Little said. “This marks a new chapter for a commissioners’ court that is transparent and open to the people they serve. I believe this will continue to support our partnership with downtown Waxahachie as it relates to increasing tour-ism and with our Ellis County taxpayers.”

Regarding safety, Wilson concludes, “The historic courthouse is an unquestioned gem of our county and our state. Those of us who see the building on a regular basis sometimes take its magnificence for granted. If the desire is to open it up for the free flow of tourists and community members, then perhaps consideration should be given to relocating governmental operations, including commissioners court meetings, out of the building. Doing so would eliminate much of the hand-wringing that has taken place over the past several weeks. Those decisions, however, are made by the commissioners. I respect that.”