Texas Bill Would Protect Renters Who Shoot in Self-Defense

The saga of a Fort Worth, Texas woman who was nearly left homeless after defending her home from an intruder has prompted one Lone Star lawmaker to introduce legislation that would protect others in similar situations, and she’s expressing confidence that her bill will gain enough traction to become law later this year.

You may remember the defensive gun use in question, which we reported on here at Bearing Arms back in  2023. Aleah Wallace wasn’t arrested or charged for shooting a teenager who was trying to climb through a window of her federally-subsidized apartment, but her landlord tried to evict her for having a firearm in her home, which they contended was a violation of her lease. As we reported at the time:

State Rep. Carrie Isaac has taken an interest in Wallace’s plight, asking Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office to weigh in along with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. 

“It made me very angry,” Isaac said. “No one should be denied their Second Amendment right just because they live in public housing. It’s unconstitutional.”

Well, Isaac is now following up her request with a bill that would provide some explicit protection for folks like Wallace in the future. 

State Rep. Isaac, a Republican from Central Texas, also saw the story on the news and began raising her voice to defend Wallace’s right to protect her family. 

For State Rep. Isaac, it was not just a renter’s rights issue but a Second Amendment issue as well.

“When I heard her story, I was just furious,” she said. “It was just an injustice, and I don’t know why we would treat renters any different than we would homeowners.” 

Isaac filed HB 2879, or the Aleah Wallace Act, to protect a renter’s right to defend themselves and others where they live.

It prevents condominium associations from imposing fines or adverse actions against residents who use justified force.

It also prevents landlords from evicting tenants for lawfully defending themselves or others.

The use of force is justified if the individual is not charged, indicted, or is found not guilty of any offense related to their actions.

“I had no idea we had citizens in the state of Texas that were not able to exercise their Second Amendment right. So now this just makes it more clear that your landlord does not have the right to take away your Second Amendment,” Isaac said.

I applaud Isaac for her bill, but I also have to point out that nothing in her legislation prevents landlords from prohibiting tenants from possessing guns in their rented residences. Yes, they’d be indemnified from eviction for using deadly force, but that wasn’t what Wallace’s landlord objected to when trying to force her out of her home. It was her gun ownership that was the issue, and Isaac’s bill really doesn’t address that particular problem. 

Most courts across the country have agreed that governments can’t ban gun possession in public housing, but the issue is murkier when it comes to private property owners who want their rentals to be “gun-free”. If Isaac’s bill included that provision it would likely be challenged in court by one or more landlords, but if the lawmaker really wants to ensure that tenants don’t lose their Second Amendment rights when they sign a lease (and I assume she does), then she needs to amend or revise HB 2879 to make it clear that landlords can’t demand their tenants be disarmed once they move in.