Mississippi Gun Laws

• Any police, sheriff or highway patrol station: any detention facility, prison or jail.
• Any courthouse; any courtroom, except that nothing in this section shall preclude a judge from carrying a concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in his courtroom;
• Any polling place; any meeting place of the governing body of any governmental entity; any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof.
• Any school, college or professional athletic event not related to firearms;
• Any portion of an establishment, licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, that is primarily devoted to dispensing alcoholic beverages; any portion of an establishment in which beer or light wine is consumed on the premises, that is primarily devoted to such purpose;
• Any elementary or secondary school facility; any junior college, community college, college or university facility unless for the purpose of participating in any authorized firearms-related activity;
• Inside the passenger terminal of any airport, except that no person shall be prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal if the firearm is encased for shipment ,for purposes of checking such firearm as baggage to be lawfully transported on any aircraft;
• Any church or other place of worship;
• Or any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.
• In addition to the places enumerated in this subsection, the carrying of a concealed pistol or revolver may be disallowed in anyplace in the discretion of the person or entity exercising control over the physical location of such place by the placing of a written notice clearly readable at a distance of not less than ten (10) feet that the "carrying of a pistol or revolver is prohibited."
• No license issued pursuant to this section shall authorize the participants in a parade or demonstration for which a permit is required to carry a concealed pistol or revolver Laws, 2016, ch. 421, § 2,

(6) It shall not be a violation of this section for any person to possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, any gun, rifle, pistol or other firearm of any kind on educational property if:
(a) The person is not a student attending school on any educational property;
(b) The firearm is within a motor vehicle; and
(c) The person does not brandish, exhibit or display the firearm in any careless, angry or threatening manner.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood put out “An Opinion” on December 5, 2013, written to the City of Corinth, which outlines the following places where the Mississippi statutes authorize a person with an enhanced permit to carry regardless of signage posted by a state governmental entity:

1. Any polling place. – (Other than the Section 45-9-101(13) prohibiting regular permit holders from carrying in polling places, Mississippi Code Sections 23-15-895 (relating to armed candidates) and 97-13-29 (military officer keeping armed troops within one mile of an election) are the only other state law restrictions regarding firearms in polling places.)

2. Any meeting place of the governing body of any governmental entity. – (It is the opinion of this office that the phrase meeting place means the room in which a meeting transpires as opposed to the entire building. Thus, although an enhanced permit holder would be entitled to carry a concealed pistol or revolver into a meeting place, that individual would not have unfettered gun carrying access to places within the building that are not generally open to the general public. See MS AG Op. Cantrell (Oct. 1, 2013).

3. Any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof. – (Notwithstanding this language, it is the understanding of this office that the House and the Senate have each passed rules or regulations restricting the right of individuals to carry weapons at meetings of the Legislature or its committees.)

4. Any school, college or professional athletic event not related to firearms. – (This provision authorizes an enhanced permit holder to carry a stun gun, concealed pistol or revolver into non-firearm related events even if signage is posted pursuant to Section 45-9-101(13). However, if signage were posted relating to a firearm related school, college or professional event, enhanced permit holders would not be authorized to carry their weapons.)

5. Any portion of an establishment, licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, that is primarily devoted to dispensing alcoholic beverages. -- (This provision would only have applicability to governmental entities to the extent that such entities owned an establishment that was primarily devoted to consuming alcoholic beverages.)

6. Any portion of an establishment in which beer or light wine is consumed on the premises, that is primarily devoted to such purpose. -- (This provision would only have applicability to governmental entities to the extent that such entities owned an establishment that was primarily devoted to consuming beer or light wine.)

7. Any elementary or secondary school facility. – (See MS AG Op. Cantrell (Oct. 1, 2013)).

8. Any junior college, community college, college or university facility.

9. Inside the passenger terminal of any airport. – (Any person may bring a weapon into a passenger terminal if brought in for the purposes of properly lawfully checking or shipping such weapon. An enhanced permit holder could of course still be arrested under federal law for possessing a weapon in areas prohibited by federal law.)

10. Any church or other place of worship. (Practically speaking this provision would not apply to public entities who do not own or control places of worship. This provision has little practical value because private land owners can generally always allow or disallow anyone from carrying a weapon on their private property regardless of whether the state has granted a license. – See MS AG Op. Cantrell (Oct. 1, 2013)).

11. Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law. – (This provision can only be read to mean that an enhanced permit holder carrying a weapon on prohibited federal property would not be subject to prosecution for state law violations. The federal government certainly could and probably would prosecute anyone bringing a weapon into an unauthorized area regardless of the person’s possession of a state permit.).

12. In a parade or demonstration for which a permit is required.

13. In courthouses except in courtrooms during a judicial proceeding. -- (The right to carry in courthouses except in courtrooms during judicial proceedings is granted to enhanced permit holders expressly by Section 97-37-7 without reference to Section 45-9-101(13). Section 45-9-101(13) states that regular permit holders may not carry in “courthouses” or “courtrooms” with the caveat that nothing contained therein precludes a judge from determining who “will” carry a weapon “in his courtroom.” Presumably under this authority, a
judge has authority to determine who will, who can and who cannot carry a weapon in his courtroom. However, the governing authority of the jurisdiction, whether municipal or county could restrict a regular permit holder from initial entry into the courthouse, as opposed to the courtroom, by posting a sign. However, such signage could not prevent an enhanced permit holder from entry into the courthouse. Under no interpretation of the law would either a regular or enhanced permit holder be authorized to carry a firearm
into a courtroom during a judicial proceeding unless authorized by the judge. Likewise, as noted above, an individual would not have unfettered gun carrying access to places within the building that are not generally open to the general public. (See Mississippi Supreme Court Ruling on 6/7/18 that allows Enhanced Permits Holders to carry in court houses not in courtrooms.)
This opinion does not affect the rights of property owners or custodians as follows:

1. Private landowners may post signs or otherwise prevent carrying of onto weapons onto their private
property

2. State or local governmental entities may prohibit concealed carry by enhanced permit holders into areas posted with no weapons signage if the place is not one of the 13 enumerated places above.

3. Federal installations and buildings can prohibit the carrying of weapons regardless of these state statutes. The opinion likewise points out that an enhanced permit holder who carries a weapon onto property in a place not listed in the 13 places above in violation of a posted sign could be charged for criminal trespass The following list identifies places which by statute you cannot carry regardless of the type of permit you have:

1. Any place of nuisance defined in Section 95-3-1 which would include “any place . . . in or upon which lewdness, assignation or prostitution is conducted, permitted, continued or exists or any other place . . . or upon which a controlled substance as defined in section 41-29-105 . . . is unlawfully used, possessed, sold or delivered and the personal property and contents used in conducting or maintaining any such place for any such purpose. See Miss. Code Ann. Section 95-3-1 (as amended).

2. Any police, sheriff or highway patrol station.

3. Any detention facility, prison or jail

2) No public housing authority operating in this state may adopt any rule or regulation restricting a lessee or tenant of a dwelling owned and operated by such public housing authority from lawfully possessing firearms or ammunition or their components within individual dwelling units or the transportation of such firearms or ammunition or their components to and from such dwelling.

Laws, 2014, ch. 443, § 3

(1) This section and Section 45-9-51 do not affect the authority that a county or municipality may have under another law:

(4) No county or a municipality may use the written notice provisions of Section 45-9-101(13) to prohibit firearms on property under their control except:

(a) At a location listed in Section 45-9-101(13) indicating that a license issued under Section 45-9-101 does not authorize the holder to carry a firearm into that location, as long as the sign also indicates that carrying a firearm is unauthorized only for license holders without a training endorsement or that it is a location included in Section 310 97-37-7(2) where carrying a firearm is unauthorized for all license holders; and

(b) At any location under the control of the county or municipality aside from a location listed in subsection (1)(f) of this section or Section 45-9-101(13) indicating that the possession of a firearm is prohibited on the premises, as long as the sign also indicates that it does not apply to a person properly licensed under Section 45-9-101 or Section 97-37-7(2) to carry a concealed firearm or to a person lawfully carrying a firearm that is not concealed.

(f) To regulate the carrying of a firearm at: (i) a public park or at a public meeting of a county, municipality or other governmental body; (ii) a political rally, parade or official political meeting; or (iii) a nonfirearm-related school, college or professional athletic event;

(5) (a) A citizen of this state, or a person licensed to carry a concealed pistol or revolver under Section 45-9-101, or a person licensed to carry a concealed pistol or revolver with the endorsement under Section 97-37-7,who is adversely affected by an ordinance or posted written notice adopted by a county or municipality in violation of this section may file suit for declarative and injunctive relief against a county or municipality in the circuit court which shall have jurisdiction over the county or municipality where the violation of this
section occurs.

Laws, 2015, ch. 433, § 4