Maybe they could try actually reading the law

More news on Texas HB 823. Waco Tribune-Herald reports:

Some police agencies basically accepted all trips made in a private vehicle, even if it was just to the store and back. Others required people to be traveling from city to city, across county lines or even to another state.

To stop that uneven application of the law, Rep. Terry Keel, R-Austin, authored House Bill 823 this spring. It says people are presumed to be traveling as long as they are in a private vehicle, are not engaging in criminal activity other than a minor traffic violation, are not a member of a criminal street gang and are not prohibited by any other law from possessing a firearm.

Keel said he chose those terms because they are objective measures police can quickly check in the field. He said the way the law is worded gives a legal presumption in favor of citizens. That means as long as someone meets that criteria, he or she should be allowed to go on his way and not fear arrest.

The new law took effect Sept. 1.

'I don't think there is any ambiguity at all,' said Keel, who has served as both the sheriff and an assistant district attorney in Travis County.

But some of Keel's colleagues in law enforcement disagree.

'Regardless of what the Legislature intended, what they wrote on paper is unclear,' said Shannon Edmonds, a staff attorney for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. 'That happens a lot.'

Gee, maybe because they're more interested in harrassing law-abiding citizens than actually fighting crime?

Unfortunately, as Edmonds said, "A defense is a legal concept for the court," Edmonds said. "There is no such thing as a defense from arrest. There's just a defense from prosecution. This issue is going to have to be hammered out in the courts."