Texas has itself in a bit of a pickle. Here we are with a reputation as a “free state” where everything’s bigger, the cattle graze on endless plains, and the jobs are plentiful. I still remember telling Farago about the process I went through to acquire my CHL and him replying, “I thought you lived in Texas.” Ya see pardner, it’s a big open secret that our processes and procedures for legally carrying a handgun are a bit onerous. First, there’s the training and testing. Then the money. And finally . . .
the vetting and waiting. Sure, its gotten better since I first got mine, but it still disproportionately affects the hardworking poor who often cannot take time off from work and family to attend a day-long state-mandated education and testing session. And don’t even get me started on the licensing fees. Even after all that we still don’t have lawful open carry of handguns.
If you’ve been reading TTAG lately, we’ve been staying current on the goings on at the Texas legislature as our duly elected officials look to put open carry on the books with an effective date somewhere in early 2016. While I’d much rather see firearms freedom restored sooner, it does give gun owners like me a bit of time to truly consider the implications of open carry. And the time to save up for the Texas Edition SIG 1911.
Before I get into the particular issue I’m wrestling with, a little background on what it takes to become legally licensed to carry a handgun on or about your person in the Lone Star State. First, you need to eligible.
GC §411.172. ELIGIBILITY. (a) A person is eligible for a license to carry a concealed handgun if the person:
- (1) is a legal resident of this state for the six-month period preceding the date of application under this subchapter or is otherwise eligible for a license under Section 411.173(a);
- (2) is at least 21 years of age;
- (3) has not been convicted of a felony;
- (4) is not charged with the commission of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense, or of an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or equivalent offense, or of a felony under an information or indictment;
- (5) is not a fugitive from justice for a felony or a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense;
- (6) is not a chemically dependent person;
- (7) is not incapable of exercising sound judgment with respect to the proper use and storage of a handgun;
- (8) has not, in the five years preceding the date of application, been convicted of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense or of an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or equivalent offense;
- (9) is fully qualified under applicable federal and state law to purchase a handgun;
- (10) has not been finally determined to be delinquent in making a child support payment administered or collected by the attorney general;
- (11) has not been finally determined to be delinquent in the payment of a tax or other money collected by the comptroller, the tax collector of a political subdivision of the state, or any agency or subdivision of the state;
- (12) is not currently restricted under a court protective order or subject to a restraining order affecting the spousal relationship, other than a restraining order solely affecting property interests;
- (13) has not, in the 10 years preceding the date of application, been adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct violating a penal law of the grade of felony; and
- (14) has not made any material misrepresentation, or failed to disclose any material fact, in an application submitted pursuant to Section 411.174.
Second, you need to apply
GC §411.174. APPLICATION. (a) An applicant for a license to carry a concealed handgun must submit to the director’s designee described by Section 411.176:
- (1) a completed application on a form provided by the department that requires only the information listed in Subsection (b);
- (2) one or more photographs of the applicant that meet the requirements of the department;
- (3) a certified copy of the applicant’s birth certificate or certified proof of age;
- (4) proof of residency in this state;
- (5) two complete sets of legible and classifiable fingerprints of the applicant taken by a person appropriately trained in recording fingerprints who is employed by a law enforcement agency or by a private entity designated by a law enforcement agency as an entity qualified to take fingerprints of an applicant for a license under this subchapter;
- (6) a nonrefundable application and license fee of $140 paid to the department;
- (7) evidence of handgun proficiency, in the form and manner required by the department;
- (8) an affidavit signed by the applicant stating that the applicant:
- (A) has read and understands each provision of this subchapter that creates an offense under the laws of this state and each provision of the laws of this state related to use of deadly force; and TEXAS CONCEALED HANDGUN LAWS 8 9 TEXAS CONCEALED HANDGUN LAWS
- (B) fulfills all the eligibility requirements listed under Section 411.172; and
- (9) a form executed by the applicant that authorizes the director to make an inquiry into any noncriminal history records that are necessary to determine the applicant’s eligibility for a license under Section 411.172(a).
Once you get past those requirements, the classes, and the money required for the privilege, setting about to carry is a bit of a minefield, legally speaking. As you can imagine, there are a few places where carrying a handgun is strictly verboten.
PC §46.03. PLACES WEAPONS PROHIBITED. (a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm, illegal knife, club, or prohibited weapon listed in Section 46.05(a):
- (1) on the physical premises of a school or educational institution, any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by a school or educational institution is being conducted, or a passenger transportation vehicle of a school or educational institution, whether the school or educational institution is public or private, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization of the institution;
- (2) on the premises of a polling place on the day of an election or while early voting is in progress;
- (3) on the premises of any government court or offices utilized by the court, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization of the court;
- (4) on the premises of a racetrack; or
- (5) in or into a secured area of an airport.
- (6) within 1,000 feet of premises the location of which is designated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a place of execution under Article 43.19, Code of Criminal Procedure, on a day that a sentence of death is set to be imposed on the designated premises and the person received notice that:
- (A) going within 1,000 feet of the premises with a weapon listed under this subsection was prohibited; or
- (B) possessing a weapon listed under this subsection within 1,000 feet of the premises was prohibited.
PC §46.035. UNLAWFUL CARRYING OF HANDGUN BY LICENSE HOLDER. (a) A license holder commits an offense if the license holder carries a handgun on or about the license holder’s person under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, and intentionally displays the handgun in plain view of another person in a public place. (b) A license holder commits an offense if the license holder intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries a handgun under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, regardless of whether the handgun is concealed, on or about the license holder’s person:
- (1) on the premises of a business that has a permit or license issued under Chapter 25, 28, 32, 69, or 74, Alcoholic Beverage Code, if the business derives 51 percent or more of its income from the sale or service of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, as determined by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission under Section 104.06, Alcoholic Beverage Code;
- (2) on the premises where a high school, collegiate, or professional sporting event or interscholastic event is taking place, unless the license holder is a participant in the event and a handgun is used in the event;
- (3) on the premises of a correctional facility;
- (4) on the premises of a hospital licensed under Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code, or on the premises of a nursing home licensed under Chapter 242, Health and Safety Code, unless the license holder has written authorization of the hospital or nursing home administration, as appropriate;
- (5) in an amusement park; or
- (6) on the premises of a church, synagogue, or other established place of religious worship
If that wall of text made your eyes bleed, a simple list of places you can’t carry looks like this:
- Schools
- Polling places
- In court
- Racetracks
- Secured areas of the airport
- Within 1000 feet of an execution
- Sporting events
- Correctional facilities
- Hospitals and nursing homes
- Amusement parks
- Churches and other established places of worship
- Any place that gets more than 51% or more of their income from the sale or service of alcohol
- Any place that puts up a 30.06 sign giving you effective notice that your gun (and you) are not wanted
An offense under the previously mentioned sections is a Class A misdemeanor in the state of Texas. And frankly, a Class A misdemeanor is nothing to trifle with.
Sec.12.21. CLASS A MISDEMEANOR. An individual adjudged guilty of a Class A misdemeanor shall be punished by:
- (1) a fine not to exceed $4,000;
- (2) confinement in jail for a term not to exceed one year; or
- (3) both such fine and confinement.
Now that I’ve put the hurt on you, let’s get down to brass tacks. With the anticipated advent of open carry here, there’s going to be an endless debate about how tactically sound it is to carry a handgun openly versus concealed. We’ve rehashed a lot of that before and frankly, my opinion is, “it depends.”
This is still academic since we don’t have any legislation on the books (as of this writing) making it legal. That will hopefully change soon, and if we’re real lucky, they’ll strike the licensing requirement completely, making Texas a very large constitutional carry state, but I don’t see that happening.
One undeniable drawback to openly carrying a handgun in the state of Texas, and the thing holding me back from jumping in with both feet, it’s not hard to unintentionally violate one of the requirements listed above. Sure, a lot of those places can be easily avoided (racetracks, sporting events, correctional facilities, etc.). But the two that are the absolute worst are those with posted signs.
As some of you know, a “no guns allowed” sign does not carry the force of law in my state, a fact that I have used with great delight as I merrily carried concealed and went about my day. One of those places, Whole Foods, evidently got wise to their lack of compliance and got around to posting the necessary language, though not “to code” as our head honcho Farago pointed out back in January.
And to keep my nose clean, I’d never admit that I’ve ever carried a handgun in a place with one of those signs anyway. I’m a law abiding citizen. But I can tell you with a great deal of certainty that it is very easy to get surprised by one since there’s no legal requirement or hoops to jump through to post one. For example: IKEA.
When my wife and I finally purchased our first home, we needed some furnishings and I wanted to assemble something with the worst tools possible for the job. So naturally, we travelled north to the IKEA store in Round Rock. Like any other day of the year, I was carrying.
As you might imagine, Saturday afternoon at IKEA is a happening place, and we found ourselves having to park a great ways away to find an open spot. Gun on my hip and AmEx burning a hole in my pocket, we set off toward the great furniture showroom over the hill.
Upon completing our trek, I couldn’t help but notice the properly displayed 30.06 sign letting us know that as lawfully armed Texans, we’d be facing a $4000 fine and/or a year in the slammer for crossing the threshold. Now, I would never break the law, so of course we hiked back, secured my firearm in my truck, and hiked back once more to give an anti-gun company our money. Please leave your supportive comments regarding this decision in the section below.
We could have just as easily waltzed on in, content to wrap ourselves in the security that “concealed means concealed” and that if anybody saw my firearm, it was likely because it was being used legally. And I think we’d be silly to think that 100% of the time, 100% of the 30.06 signs keep 100% of the CHL equipped Texans from carrying. But as you can plainly seen, that’s because the guns can’t be plainly seen.
As long as the 30.06 and new 30.07 language is on the books, open carry will be a paper tiger in the Lone Star State. Law abiding citizens with lots to lose simply can’t run the risk of being arrested and prosecuted by an overzealous DA. I’ve worked far too hard for far too long to spend a year in jail for exercising the rights protected by the Constitution.
My brother-in-law called me earlier this week to ask me some questions about open carry as it’s been big news lately. We chatted about the points above, and he agreed that our licensing scheme disproportionately affects the hardworking poor. We chatted a bit more about the 51% and 30.06 signs and he agreed that it seemed like a minefield for the lawful citizen. And then he asked what we both knew was coming.
“When open carry legislation passes, will you carry openly?”
To which I answered, “It depends.” Out in the rural parts of Texas I frequent for hunting, hiking, camping, and adventuring, I’d say the odds of me carrying openly are a big fat probably. It will be nice to go into town after a morning deer hunt and not have to throw on a big jacket to cover up.
But in Austin and various other metro areas, I’ll probably still keep my piece under wraps. Austin isn’t exactly welcoming when it comes to guns, and the 30.06 signs pop up in all sorts of unexpected places. Risking a $4000 fine, the loss of my CHL, and potentially a year behind bars will dissuade me from exercising the right in all but the most controlled circumstances.
Get one of those Extar EXPs in the photo. It took me quite a while to figure out they were guns.
I wonder how one of those would look with a dip camo that matches your outfit.
And then you have us here in Virginia. We can open carry because we never passed a law making it illegal. Concealed carry is simple and relatively inexpensive. We have to take and pass a written test. Mine took me 10 minutes on the computer (on sale for $19.95). I paid $50 which includes a background check to make sure you are not a felon, mentally unstable or have domestic issues. Two weeks later, my permit was in my mailbox. Former military and law enforcement don’t have to take any course at all.
Yup I handed them my dd 214, paid them 50 bucks (good for five years) and got it in the mail a week later.
Not requiring a permit to concealed carry is ideal, but as far as concealed handgun permits go it’s a pretty painless process in VA
Interesting! I pass through VA from time to time, do they give permits to out-of-state? Will my retired ID card do, or must I search for my DD214?
■Hospitals and nursing homes
■Amusement parks
■Churches and other established places of worship
must be posted with 30.06 to prohibit conceal and carry. It was amended and that statute is a little bit farther down in the code.
Support HB308, as it will eliminate a lot of those off limit areas (51% places, sporting events, polling places, and a few more).
I fully plan on OCing in Houston, even though our PD is firmly against armed citizens. I will be asked for my license, I’m sure, but it’s a price to pay to show that people have nothing to fear from the armed citizen.
Good call on HB 308, I wasn’t aware of it. Passing the word around to those I know and writing in support!
30.06, 308 — they do that on purpose, don’t they?
I didn’t know about that either. It’s on my alert list now.
It doesn’t have a senate companion bill. I hope that’s not a bad sign; this would make life much better for us.
I never saw the logic behind not behind allowed to CC within 1000 feet of an execution. It’s there in case the condemned has friends who decide to take hostages in order to secure release, or in case the executioner is in need of a good plan B.
It’s a stupid law, but all executions are carried out in the Huntsville unit, which is hundreds of miles from me and easy for most anyone to avoid.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t polling places gun free zones anyway, under *federal* law?
I have never heard of that … and I like to think that I have a pretty good handle on various firearms laws.
I stand corrected. My confusion came from every polling place I’ve ever worked in being a school or otherwise prohibited location.
Right on. Especially as an election supervisor, I’ve always hated being disarmed in polling places. Maybe that will catch on.
It used to be that way, not sure if it still is. One place I voted was a general store that sold firearms. On election days the firearms were removed from the sales floor.
Tell ’em to F off. OC’ing is no probable cause of OC’ing without a license any more than mere driving is probable cause of driving without license, or of driving on a a suspended or revoked license.
Now, if they insist, then comply. You don’t need an interfering or resisting charge against you, after all, nor do you want to get tased or shot. Just be sure to get the little Nazi’s name and badge number and go down and file a complaint.
You aren’t going to get him fired or indicted on a civil rights charge, but maybe you can jam him up a little come promotion review time. Or maybe others will have already filed complaints before, because you know that’s not his first offense, and yours could be the last straw.
Live your life peacefully and lawfully, but don’t let these little jackbooted badge bullies push you around. They’re a stain on civilized society and an insult to every honorable professional who wears the uniform.
First and last paragraph was good.
Id then add sue the bejesus out of everyone present.
But, carry on.
It’s amazing how many people miss that little section that says hospitals, churches, and amusement parks must give notice under section 30.06 if they want to prohibit concealed carry.
It is hard to see the way it is on line with the DPS PDF format page break. I argued over and over again with folks about the fact that the church must present a sign. Our pastor does not necessarily want a bunch of us carrying in the church as much as he does not want the bad guys to come up and see a sign stating that everybody inside is unarmed, come on in and start-a-shootin’!
If the pastor didn’t want law-abiding church members to carry lawfully at church, then I would find a new church.
The pastor really didn’t mind. It was some of the older deacons and they feel that the Maintenance and Security manger by himself is sufficient.
I really do not want to see them in an amusement park where there are rides which generate high energy, flip the person, throw them about, or turn them upside down. Seriously, this is not about the right to carry. It is about know that even adults do not think about such things until their gun goes flying out of their holster while 100 feet in the air, or accidentally discharges inside Grammy’s purse because of the abnormal jostling about.
I’ve always wanted to try something. Find a door with a 30.06 sign, stand in front of the door, and knock. If and when somebody comes to see who is knocking on their door, ask them if they would be so kind as to take the sign down so you can come in. I just want to see how somebody reacts to that.
Maybe better than asking them to take the sign down would be politely handing them one of those “No Guns, No Money” cards, thank ’em for their time and be on your way.
If I hand them a card and walk off, it seems rude. Alternatively my method allows me to ask them “Why not?” when they tell me they can’t remove the sign. Basically, I want somebody to defend the position the store has taken on not allowing personal defense in their store.
Sounds kind of like you want to yell at some poor, underpaid shmuck for what the owner chose to do.
Peasant, fetch me your owner! Believe me, I don’t want to talk to somebody with no power over this. If they tell me they can’t because it’s the manager’s/owner’s decision, I will demand to see the manager.
Damn it, I want to pay extra for meat that’s been labeled organic! That’s why I go to Whole Foods! Otherwise, I’d just go shop at HEB like everybody else! /sarc
Ah, Texas. So much hat, so few cattle.
I can’t believe it has taken this much time and effort to take such an obvious step.
(Says a Virginian who has been able to either carry, open or concealed, for many, many years now.)
P.S. Ken beat me to it by a couple of minutes.
Several states that seem very pro-gun are not, Texas among them. Nevada is another. Obtaining my Nevada license required an eight-hour class (the same class that I teach as a Massachusetts and NRA certified instructor) and a written test (easy), a shooting practical with two guns (a semi-auto and a revolver; this requirement has changed and now we can qualify with one gun), and the usual fingerprint and photograph rigamarole.
Fortunately, the training and shooting exam were FREE, thanks to Bob Irwin, the 2A champion who owns The Gun Store. Those who train elsewhere pay for the privilege.
In hoplophobic MA, I took a four hour class for $60 ($40 for women) and got my license. Fingerprints were free and the license costs $100 for six years.
Tyler you forgot to mention two of what i would consider the biggest pluses of carry laws in Texas. Those being the 2008 redefinition of Castle Doctrine allowing the unlicensed carry of a loaded firearm in their vehicle so long as it is not openly displayed and they are not a prohibited person and extending the same legal protections afforded to someone in their home ie. no duty to retreat etc. Also the more recent law that makes it illegal for your employer to ban you from having a gun in your vehicle parked on company property even if the company owns the parking facility.
Those certainly alleviate a vast majority of the barriers to armed self defense in a city like Austin where the 30.06 are spreading faster than the 2011 wildfires.
This.
Title 2, Chapter 9 on the use of force/deadly force is very well written and very pro self defense, including 9.04 allowing for defensive display of firearm/deadly weapon and that is NOT considered a use of deadly force.
No open carry yet in Florida. I keep hoping though. We will likely be getting campus carry soon; Rick Scott isn’t known for being a gun guy, but I think he’ll sign. This is his second term, and I think it’s all he gets anyway.
.
I carry pretty much everywhere. I have walked into a liquor store with it before, but I’m not quite sure that counts. I think the law requires that they sell with intent to be drunk on the premises, and liquor stores don’t want you drinking inside.
The biggest advantage of open carry is it makes concealed carry safer. That provision about “intentionally displays the handgun in plain view of another person in a public place” is dangerous. You go into town, reach into your trunk to grab something, and your shirt rides up. When it comes down, it settles behind your gun. Congratulations, now you’re open carrying around the hip new neighborhood everybody’s been talking about. Currently a crime in Texas, hopefully soon, not.
That was fixed last session. accidental display isn’t a crime. But, you may have to fight it.
Yup, reaching down and getting a can of corn off the bottom shelf is no longer a crime.
Does a 30.06 sign apply to open carry?
I believe the newly proposed law provides for a .30-07 sign to ban open carry.
Thus, if I understand correctly, a location that wants to ban concealed and open carry would have to display both a .30-06 and a .30-07 signs.
The proposed licensed open carry law will require a new 30.07 sign similar to the 30.06. To deny both open and concealed carry, both signs would need to be posted. Having two signs allows business to allow one and not the other.
Interesting. So if you had a CC holster and an open carry holster, you could just move from one to the other if a business only had 1 sign.
To bad, we’ve had all that for a long time here in Arizona…. Always had open carry, and nobody but the tourists say anything, had CCW for almost as long as Texas, and for the past few years we have Constitutional carry with no new problems. So why would any one go to Texas when we’re here??? According to g & a the second most gun friendly state in the Union!!!!!
Because there is more to life than the 2A, and the desert. How is the fishing, and hunting in AZ? Can I catch a marlin, or shoot a nice buck in AZ? How nice are your beaches? Convince me to move to AZ. I’ll let you in on a little secret though………… It is going to take a lot more than open, and constitutional carry, to make me leave TX. Especially considering I’m not a 60+ year old retired golf nut.
We don’t have any beaches ….yet only a matter of time till kali gives way and we have some sandy beaches! Hunting?…. Coues deer in the south Whitetail, Mulies most everywhere, Elk in the north along with excellent winter skiing and Ponderosa pine forests, not to mention desert bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope across the plains from Presscot to the ….. Oh yeah the GRAND CANYON. Good trout fishing. And Apple and Intel are starting new chip plants along with Mayo Hospital which is expanding out their Cancer center. Not to mention Barrow neurology department is getting bigger all the time. So while Texas is nice Arizona is still pretty cool ……. Just not in the summer.
Ask the guys in Washington how it went when companies like Apple and Intel moved in. In fact, Silicon Prairie in Austin is the heart of gun control activists in Texas. As far as that goes, I am not against mandatory training. There are plenty of folks that are not safe with a gun. My position is that the training should be mandatory for all residents, free and part of the eighth grade curriculum. If the folks bemoaning the accidental death of children really wanted to address those accidents and not disarm poor people, they would get on board with that. If they can tell fundamentalists to shove it and force sex education and birth control on children in Junior high, then conservatives should be able to force gun education on theirs. Maybe we can get a Charter school for shooting sports next to the math an science one, or the Arts charter school.
Charles
Yes, Charles, and more education is always good, right? Isn’t that what we heard when the liberal agenda was being shoved into schools? Boy, I bet a firearms expert as a teacher would be extra welcome in our public schools, huh?
I’m from AZ. Live in DFW area now with the Texan wife and our half Texan kids. I’d go back in a heartbeat if she agreed (she went to ASU). One of the things I loved about AZ (other than the awesome gun laws) was hunting on state and federal land. Get your license, draw your tag (if applicable) and go hunting. None of this lease crap that goes on in Texas. It’s why I haven’t hunted here yet. That’ll change next year. But it was quite a surprise when I found out about it.
Arizona has a terrific fishing port…San Diego. Since folks from Tucson like to spend August in SD anyway, might as well do some fishing.
I can remember being called over to settle an argument approx. 44 years ago between two soldiers at Ft. Bragg. The guy from Alaska wanted me to to explain to his squad mate from Ft.Worth that Alaska was actually larger than Texas. I tried to speak decisively, informing the Texan that Alaska was more than twice the size of Texas. The Texas kid didn’t believe it. But of course he didn’t.
Austin? It made the NYT today, appearing at #3 in a list of the U.S.’s 10 most LGBT cities by percentage of population. I’d like to think its because “lots of L’s.” But, nah, probably G’s and T’s. Good for the restaurant culture? Undoubtedly.
I’ve spent most of my life in PA and VA. They’re both more gun friendly than TX. I guess I thought that with all those cowboy boots and ten-gallon hats there must have been some holstered six-shooters out there. Guess not.
Undefined? ropingdown….
Re: your Alaska vs. Texas story…
Apparently, it is an article of faith in Texas that Colorado used to be a part of Texas back in the Texas Republic days. Mostly not true; only a part of Colorado (and not the part where most of the people live) was ever part of Texas. Colorado Springs, Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins are all former Louisiana Purchase.
I was solemnly informed of this “fact” when on a trip there. We went out to dinner and–by golly–the restaurant actually had a historical map up and I could show them they were wrong.
Map was a lie. The entire US used to be Texas, but we had to throw them out for failure to live up to Texas code. Some tried to outlaw guns, some thought BBQ could be faked with pig meat, it just went on and on.
I adore AZ, but I’ll never move from my home here in TX, where all my friends and family live. If you really want to know why 500-1000 people net per day have been moving to TX, it’s for jobs and cost of living, and amenities like world class medical centers. Just be glad that 27 million Americans are probably about to gain more freedom. That’s a good thing for this country.
Because it’s so bloody hot ?
And that’s how we get the tourists to go home every year!!!!!!!!!!!
Cold weather is how we get the Texans to go home. Apparently the place isn’t so wonderful that they stay there during tourist season. 😀
Well, I sure wish SOME of you would come to TX and explain all that to our Legislature. They’re still all gunfights and blood in the streets every time a rational gun law comes up.
This one always gets me….got to pay all your taxes or we take your rights away…I thought the poll tax was done away with ?
(11) has not been finally determined to be delinquent in the payment of a tax or other money collected by the comptroller, the tax collector of a political subdivision of the state, or any agency or subdivision of the state;
I was actually unpleasantly surprised when moving one state over to “The Great State of Texas” with all of its conservative values and freedoms, that my home state of Louisiana had a easier/more simple CCW licensing process. The training requirements were very similar, but the Louisiana application process doesn’t ask nearly as many questions, and I was allowed to go to local law enforcement for my fingerprints. To keep this from becoming a novel, I’ll give you the short version. Basically I was unable for a year because becoming a Texas resident made my Louisiana permit invalid, then the Texas permitting process took forever. My fingerprints from the “professionals” that they require you to make an appointment with did a poor job on my fingerprints. The fingerprints were smudged and I had to do them over again. With my hectic work schedule and their overbooked facilities, it took forever to get an appointment. I had to burn a vacation day to get fingerprinted, but when I got there I was told that they had to cancel all of their appointments that day and someone was supposed to call me the day before. But the people at Texas DPS were very helpful when I explained the situation and helped to make sure that once I got my fingerprints in they were able to push my application through so I could get my license.
Sure people have rights. Well, used to anyway.
Nowadays rights would be whatever people who are actual citizens are still allowed to do that no one in government’s thought of yet or figured out how to regulate and tax under law. With all the laws on the books nowadays, a fella wouldn’t be too far off to say what few rights are still left aren’t really much more than what the lawyer types call legal loopholes. That would be just about the same amount of rights a turtle still has after being set up on a fencepost.
The reasons for all those laws comes as a result of what people do who couldn’t give a damn less about other people, rights, laws or even just plain decency. People who really aren’t Texans, and anyone who knows real Texans knows exactly what that means.
I don’t know about you, but I took my TX CHL course on a Sunday, finished my application with materials provided online two weeks later (I had to schedule and do my prints), received notice by mail that I didn’t provide sufficient materials two weeks later by postal mail, sent the requested materials one week later, and the day before my birthday, I receive my TX CHL in the mail.
I took my Sunday course in a major city in TX, including the practical.
Overall, the whole process took a little over a month and a half, but the kicker is that I’m a NYS resident.
I did this instead of UT because I have family property in TX and there are possible reciprocity uncertainties with UT’s permit and some states that I want to be able to CC in. I also happened to be in TX at the time, and UT courses are hard to come by in TX. I don’t mind paying a little more, and I think the practical part is an important part of getting a CHL and should be considered in reciprocity. NYS requires the NRA course, which has no live ammo, and the “practical” is shooting a laser pistol at a target across the room. There is so much more necessary in the actual handling of the gun at the range that is missing from not having a true practical.
NY forces people to treat handguns like toxic waste, which is an insult to the expression of genius in science and engineering that they truly are.
Some in the course claimed that the turnaround time was as little as 9 days if done totally online (which is possible). TX may have some more rigorous documentation requirements, but I found the efficiency of the DPS and its contractors to be exceptional, especially compared to what I am facing with NYS and CT. 8 months turnaround, starting with a home and range only permit, keeping that for 6 months, going in front of the judge for the perfunctory elevation to full CC is the suburban NY process if you’re lucky (actually stated up-front). CT Non-resident app seems easier, as counties in CT can apparently preempt and add on their own crazy requirements for application. That one takes somewhere around 2-6 months if the office in Middletown doesn’t lose parts of your documentation (alleged by others). The pains of “May Issue” states. TX has it easy in comparison, and OC would be a great improvement.
I have my CCW in the state of California and we have way less restrictions on where we can carry. The only place I can think that we can’t carry is in secured places of the airport and .gov buildings. We are exempt from gun free zones at schools even.
Better to be a CCW holder in California than Texas 🙂
Good to see CA has something better involving gun rights, than another state. 🙂
Can you carry a Gen 4 Glock with 15 rounds?
Ah, whammy!
CA is so unrestricted because the idiots who would normally try to ban things don’t think there’s any such thing as a permit holder. After all, they’re from counties where it’s basically true.
There’s no point in writing laws and restrictions that apply to unicorns.
I live in Austin, and I would.
It’s the specific reason why I got a 1911 dolled up with adorable cartoon princesses on the grips (being an Asian male myself), so I can provoke a brief episode of cognitive dissonance as anti-guns try to reconcile “I think guns are bad. Anyone who would carry a gun must be bad. I am a good person because I am not like those gun-carrying bad people” with “wait, my kids like that cartoon, and I also like that cartoon.”
Hopefully the end result is “maybe we’re not so different after all.” But a mental breakdown upon the discovery that a bad gun carrying person and a good anti gun person have similarity in some respects is fine too.
That, on top of open carry being easier to draw and having a bigger and better gun that is easier to aim. I think the aforementioned cartoon princesses would be a deterrent to any enterprising thief wanting to steal it, along with what would be at least several other people also carrying at any given moment.
Ok I’m a Texan as well. So, for the Ikea thing you deserve it. For the Texas sig…I can let alot slide.
Here’s the kicker, I’m a FFL and can’t carry in Texas they won’t allow me for child support. Well not without the 10,000$ bribe. I know I know but those are your children. …..I pay 1200$ a month I needed her to present herself for summons. …didn’t work she fled the state. But any who until I’m caught up. My life isn’t very important.
Despite the recent Republican/conservative reformation, Texas continues to suffer from the effects of decades of liberal Democratic rule. Even worse, Texas politicians continue to be very influenced by entrenched special interests (as opposed to newly emergent special interests like open carry and constitutional carry activists). In this case, the CHL instructors scream bloody murder if anyone even mentions constitutional carry. They’re even against CHL reciprocity with other states. A pox on their houses.
open carry and concealed carry in Texas makes no sense with the 30.06 signs still being active.
I understand shops having the right to choose but at the same time when every tom dick and harry can slap up a sign and restrict the right its not really a right anymore.
I don’t have a CCW here in Texas because:
1.I can carry in my car with not licence.
2.At one job I cannot carry because it is one of the places listed on the NO NO list.
3. my other job lets me open carry so while on there prem don’t need a licence.
4. the hassle, time, and money are not worth it without it being more useful. if my CCW would let me carry EVERYWHERE including the NO NO places, the 30.06 places then it would be worth it.
I bet they are loaded with Green Tip……………
I’ve never been one for engraved guns, but wow, I think I may finally have found a barbecue gun. Thanks, T.K.
Hot dog! I am so better than I thought! I have NEVER carried in a church, or in a correctional facility! I impress me. All the others, not so much. Concealed is concealed.
Tyler, I still don’t get it. TX law says that with that sign at IKEA, if they see you are carrying they can order you to leave, on pain of a trespassing charge if you refuse. I carry in places with those signs regularly, and have for 15 years, without ever even being asked to leave. I’m not seeing why you worked so hard, when, if discovered, THEN you could have made the trek back to your truck and returned defenseless.
If you have never been outside during an execution or in the room, the emotions run VERY HIGH. Some victims might want to take out their frustrations or get revenge on the law enforcement, on the perpetrators family members…, even on those protesting outside.
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