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Texas isn’t the wild west, free-swinging gun mecca most people think it is. The Lone Star State has a proficiency requirement for concealed handgun licenses. That’s right, you need to prove that you can operate your firearm effectively. You’d think the type of firearm you qualify with wouldn’t matter — but you’d be wrong. The state records the type of firearm you used (revolver or semi-auto) and restricts your ability to carry firearms based on that record. Qualify with a semi-auto and you’re good with any handgun, but qualify with a revolver and semi-autos are verboten. But a new law passed by the Texas legislature yesterday puts an end to that nonsense . . .

From the Associated Press:

The Texas Legislature has changed the law for concealed handgun license holders to allow them to carry any category of weapon.

Lawmakers gave the bill final passage on Sunday and the measure now goes to the governor for his signature.

Previously, people licensed to have concealed handguns could only carry the type of pistol they used during their training and qualification.

The new bill allows license holders to carry any type of handgun, regardless of what category of weapon they used to qualify.

I never understood that requirement to begin with, and no other state I’ve been licensed in has ever made that distinction. I’m sure there’s some sort of twisted logic behind the original law, perhaps something about semi-autos being more complex and requiring more skill to use. But as anyone who knows guns can tell you, with the ease of use of today’s handguns it doesn’t make any sense. It’s one law I’m glad to see stricken from the books, and I’m sure RF will appreciate it when he goes for his Texas CHL.

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144 COMMENTS

      • Yes, in Oklahoma with conceal- carry you may also carry open. On the rare occasion I carry open barely a look do I receive!

    • Open carry for sure. As soon as I’ve settled in I’m gonna begin to help that effort. As long as it takes.

      • Keeping moving a little further west, to sunny AZ and you won’t have that battle to fight! 🙂

      • Although I’d like to keep the option for the class and proficiency class on the table. I like having a card that streamlines gun buying, lets cops know that I’m law abiding, gets me a discount at liquor stores, and, god forbid the need arises, shows a jury that I took carrying very seriously.

      • They just relaxed the concealment requirements, you get in trouble for accidentally displaying a gun anymore. So I think momentum might be on our side when it comes to open carry.

        Now if we can get rid of the dumb 51% law…

        Its funny, I’m from Ohio originally, which has both open carry and restaurant carry. I would expect Texas to do better than Ohio, alas.

      • Robert,
        any word on why HB 1194 was killed? Granted it would have only allowed CHL holders to open carry, which is a shame. I can’t help thinking that it would have been a step in the right direction though.

    • The ten hour class requirement is gone.. It’s now 4-6 hours, starting I believe September 1st.

    • reduce fees. Let me qualify at the local police range and have the rangemaster certify it for 10 bucks. And then give me the damn license.

    • I’d say a four hour class would be plenty. So long as its free or dirt cheap. I personally didn’t need to take a class in NH. But I practice a ton and am sure that I’m safe about my firearms related business. That being said i wouldn’t be opposed to a mandatory class. If you have any points against that I’m all ears.

    • 10 hour class has been changed also. I believe it is now a minium of 5 hours. Will check it out.
      Also why print a story about a law that has been changed. Not news anymore.

    • 10 hour class is gone… now it’s 4-6 max. Law was passed and signed by Gov. Perry just last week. Starts Sept. 1st.

    • Tyler….as a conceal-carry licensee I really do like the 10 hour course. I took my wife, 3 daughters, a father and mother-inlaw and my daughters husbands to the carry class. All the men were well versed in weapons, but our women were not. They learned a lot and it was a nice refresher for us men too. Heck, I catch my wife reminding me on occasion about little things I’m doing wrong!

  4. Move to Georgia. no classes, no qualification. Pay the fee, fill out the paper work and get fingerprinted. Carry License shows up in the mail 2 weeks later. Open carry allowed as well.

  5. Rick Perry isn’t going to sign that into law since it also contains provisions to allow Texas government officials to carry in places prohibited to the rest of the citizenry. So don’t hold your breath. I didn’t own a semiautomatic pistol when I got my CHL and yet I understood the limitation and borrowed a semi for the class. The action type restriction is not a problem either way.

    • The legislators seeking to elevate themselves above the voters got shot down (so to speak). The offensive provisions have been removed.

      • Sorry I crossed my wires. HB508 is where the special carry resides at this time.

        • And the real improvement in Texas CHL law this year is SB299.

          Language goes from “fails to conceal” to “displays the handgun in plain view of another person in a public place”

        • The change is more significant. It’s not only gone from “fail to conceal” to “displays it”, but it’s about displaying it “in a manner calculated to cause alarm” that wouldn’t have been in response to a justified use of force. So basically, not only won’t you go to jail if someone accidentally catches a glimpse of it, but the only way to break the law is basically to threaten someone by brandishing it. That’s a huge win for CHL holders.

      • @Texan2013 I agree. Wheel gun or no the wind blowing your shirt up isn’t a felony after September 1 2013. Although they took out the language about manner calculated to alarm. It actually reads as I wrote in the signed legislation.

  6. You hit the nail on the head, it had to do with the semis being “more” complicated; at least that’s what my instructor said in 2005.

  8. In NH you fill out a one page form, flash your drivers license and hand over 10 bucks. No more than 14 days later you can pick up your CCL, which is little more than a receipt.

    Oh, and we don’t hate on queers or spooky Mexicans, either.

    Boom.

    • You don’t even have any Mexicans, or didn’t until recently. TX will soon be a majority minority state. Houston is now the most ethnically diverse big city in the nation, and the mayor of Houston (the US’s fourth largest city) is gay. How many big NH cities have gay mayors?

      NH is a lovely state, but a tiny completely white state like NH really should not be lecturing a huge very diverse state about “spooky Mexicans”.

      The ones here who think Mexicans are scary are the Yankees who are moving here in droves for jobs. The Yankees can’t speak Spanish or eat spicy food like we do in Texas. At the same time though, it really is alarming to have drug smugglers constantly crossing your land. Border Patrol has caught millions of dollars worth of drugs being transported across our ranch over the years. I don’t care what ethnicity they are, having criminal activity as a constant presence on one’s own property IS scary, and a darn good reason to have firearms around. You don’t have the same issues on the Canadian border.

      • Well said! I’ve lived in the South most of my adult life, but grew up in the Midwest. It’s been my experience that, in spite of media representations to the contrary, racism is a lot more virulent and nasty where I grew up than it is down here. Are there racists in the South? Of course. But it’s not nearly as institutionalized as it is up north. Chicago is the most racially segregated city I’ve ever been to.

      • I wasn’t lecturing anyone, and my comment about “queers and spooky Mexicans” was (clearly?) in tasteless humor. That said, it’s sweet that you guys are diverse and have a gay mayor it what’s supposed to be a better area than DFW (the only place in Texas I’ve ever been), my comment was a reference to the laws. Texas went out of it’s way to ban gay marriage, gay unions, gay adoptions, and if they had their way, gay sex. I guess things are a little better for anyone that looks Hispanic in Texas than they are in Arizona, but it ain’t much better. Lastly, the border issue only helps my point – the issue is largely one of government policy (Texas has pretty arcane drug laws, and drug laws do nothing but put otherwise law abiding people in jail and make cartels rich).

        Oh, and I can eat spicy food just fine. What happens 3 or 4 hours later is another story.

        • Tex-Mex really isn’t spicy. It’s only Poblanos and Anaheim peppers. Just eat the hot sauce at Taco Bell a few times and you will be able to handle Tex-Mex.

          If you want real chile you have to come to New Mexico. You cannot find a restaurant that doesn’t serve chile including fast food chains. We also eat chile for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.

          We have always been a minority majority here as well.

        • You guys had a damn fine Governor there a while back. Too bad we weren’t ready to elect him president.

        • I should’ve recognized the humor. No excuse, but I’ve been battling too many people on anti-gun sites who have some murderous hatred for TX and the South, and they’re completely serious.

          I actually agree with you on the drug laws and the gay stuff. I really like our governor, except for one thing, the anti-gay comments he comes out with sometimes.

          • You’ll find none of that hatred here. Plenty for cops it seems and tons for gun-grabbers. Otherwise we tend to be accepting. Oh that reminds me we have a few people who like to let it be known they disapprove of gays and god. But mostly we love anyone who loves guns and values their rights as humans.

        • My Mexican brother in-law makes true Mexican chile and it has no beans, more like a sauce, and yes I need to tell him easy on the peppers!!!

        • You’re darn tootin’ Texas does not condone gay lifestyle and thank goodness for that! Morality hasn’t been completely wiped out which has been the agenda of big government for years. They are free to do what they will but do not try to cram it down my throat and make me like it! Ain’t happening!

      • To Juliesa:

        Re: ‘Houston is now the most ethnically diverse big city in the nation…’

        I suppose it depends on the definition of big, but Honolulu is far more diverse than any other city in the nation, including Houston.

        • I’m not sure of the specific definition, but Honolulu is around 350k to Houston’s 2.1 million.

        • Also, it appears that Houston ranks 4th among large metros… the other three are San Jose, New York and Oakland. I’m pretty sure Nashua is actually in there somewhere too and they just forgot to include it.

        • Houston is the most diverse by this measure: it’s the most evenly divided between the four major American ethnic groups: Black, Hispanic, Asian, and non-Hispanic white. It’s close to 25% of each.

          I should have provided that info, but my comment was running long.

      • But what does “most racially diverse” MEAN? How many Kirghiz live there? How many Eskimos? How many Micronesians? I already know about the Tibetans: check on that.

        • Actually Houston is 4th in population, Chicago is 3rd, LA 2nd and NY 1st. Houston is 5th by metro area rankings and DFW is 4th. In the last ten years there has been a large influx of people moving into the DFW area from other states as well as moving into Houston, Austin and San Antonio. Thus the reason why 2 of TX’s major metro areas are ranked in the top 5 of US Metros. Houston is a very diverse city, I was born and raised there.

      • Merrimack…. I do occasionally but only when I’m feeling like something fully automatic. Otherwise I’m about a week away from joining a tiny club in Nashua as my efforts to join the Merrimack club failed.

        • I’m thinking about joing the one in litchfield. I hear its a PITA to join the one in Nashua, though that’d be much better for me. And I’ve yet to shoot an automatic… Some day when I’ve got money to piss away.

        • It’s actually in Hollis; it’s called Lone Pine Hunters Club. They’ve had issues in the past with neighbors, but I believe they’re all sorted out now. Regardless, very easy to join, very laid back. I hate cultish ranges.

          Right now I just head down a logging road near my house… there’s a clearing where lots of folks go to shoot.

          • I grew up right down the street from that club. I’m jealous about that place in the woods… Those are my favorite places to shoot

        • Email me at billy.mumphry at mail.com and I’ll send you directions. You need a truck to get there.

    • Wake me when you’ve gotten rid of your Masshole infestation and can attract enough new jobs to support property tax on a decent homestead.

      • Absolutely right about the masshole infestation. Smug bastards. And the bummer about the property taxes where I’m from is the high percentage of familiarized living in apartments not paying into it. As far as jobs go if your in the southern portion of the state there’s plenty around(albeit some if those are in MA or ME)

      • The job market here is actually quite good, and believe it or not Massholes aren’t all that bad (I’m one!) and the ones moving here are largely looking for a more pro-freedom environment. In fact, the largely native North Country is far bluer than Southern NH.

        Oh, and in regards to property taxes, the perception is that they’re high, but they’re actually comparable with those in MA and RI and lower than most in CT. Since we don’t have income or property tax, we rank 7th lowest for overall tax burden (and we used to be even lower… we’re working on fixing that now). Also, keep in mind property tax is a local tax, leaving those being taxed with much more control.

  9. I have said this before. Texas gun culture is a myth. Texas is like a border state during the Civil War. It respects the Second Amendment enough to keep it from being a slave state but it is well behind the rest of the free states in securing gun owners’ rights.

    • Texas is slow to change in part because of the way there government works and that is a good thing overall but not so good when it comes to restoring our gun rights. Although I suspect they will eventually get there.

      Thanks
      Robert

  10. Sorry, boys. Can’t hear you over my freedom. Us Utahns can already carry whatever gun we feel like.

    Still, though. Welcome to the club. 😀

      • Hey now. We’ve got decent local brews. We just can’t import anything that’s good.

        • Haha, actually that’s a good point. I wasn’t a fan of Silver Whiskey at all until I met High West spirits.

          Well played.

      • That’s only for open carry. And while I don’t agree, I suppose I can understand the “why” of it.

    • A minimum but not sufficient requirement for a free state is to not levy an intrusive, privacy-violating income tax. Any state with one is by definition not free.

  11. Ha depending on where your class is held, it can range from a nice facility with professional qualities, or almost resemble a defensive driving class. I went to get a chl with my dad in Dec. and during our quals, I stood next to a lady shooting a high point who I swear had NEVER fired a handgun before because of how bad her target was and she passed. The TX qual is designed so that even a horrible shooter can pass from the 3 yd and 7 yd distances before ever going to the 15 yd line.

    • Yes, I think the only way you can fail is if you freak out and commit a really horrible safety crime.

  12. In Pa just go to the sheriff and fill out your forms 4 weeks later permit showes up. Carry what you want. Make fun of jersey tools about how long it takes to unlock all their sh*t at the range and how long it takes to get a pistol purchase permit..ha ha

  13. New Mexico:
    1. Only one concealed weapon.
    2. Separate qualifications for revolver, semi-automatic, and derringer
    3. Details of range qualification requirements are not specified.
    4. May only carry the caliber (or less) that one qualifies with (in each category).

    The last one has some odd effects: qualifying with a .38 means one can carry a .357 magnum, but not /vice versa/.

  14. As a Texan I feel that it is nit picking to harp on the revolver vs semi auto provision. It is your choice to go revolver only, you can bring a semi to qualify, and never ever carry one. I qualified with a Kimber 45 and carry a S&W 38 airweight. The instructors let you know up front that testing with a revolver limits your choices, and every CHL class I have taken the instructor has semi autos available. It is kind of like a motorcycle provision vs car, it is you choice. That being said I don’t weep that it is gone.

    • Exactly Right! The class I went to actually provided fairly new Springfield XD’s (with ammo to BUY) for people who brought a revolver. It just seems like one of those old arbitrary laws that people have just gone around for many years by not bringing a revolver.

  15. There was a minimum caliber requirement for the range qualification too, 9mm or .38. I assume from the article that requirement is gone too?

    • Minimum acceptable caliber for qualifying is .32 ACP. I don’t know if that still applies or not.

  16. We may be chipping away slowly, but at least we’re chipping in the right direction.

  17. It sort of makes sense, as it’s possible for somene used to revolvers to be surprised by an automatic and let fly an extra round or two, as was comically illustrated in the John Wayne film Big Jake.

    Shouldn’t be a requirement, but I can see the original logic.

    Knowing ones weapon of choice is certainly an implied requirement, at least if one intends it to be of use when something bad is going down.

  18. I dont know if its a state thing or just the place I took my class but they reccomend that you take the shooting part of the test for each gun you want to carry. Its not required and you dont have to take the whole class but they suggest it and say it will, “look better in court” if you were formaly qualified on the gun you used in a DGU. I dont know if other places teach that or not, it could be just a way to make more money for them.

  19. Arkansas has identical requirements regarding qualification and the type of handgun you can carry based on what you qualify with. To my knowledge no state legislator has proposed any bills that would change that.

  20. @CBI Um, they do realize that a .38 is .357″ in diameter, right? That’s why you reload both with the same projectiles, and can fire them out of the same gun, provided enough chamber length.

    Caliber is the size of the projectile, so a .357 mag and a .38 or .38 special are all the same caliber, regardless of silly American designations.

    • Yup. To be completely pedantic about it, .38 refers to the case diameter, while .357 refers to projectile diameter.

    • Most 38’s are not recommended to shoot 38specials or 357’s as the construction may not be heavy enough for the extra powder charge although a 38 normally may be shot in the larger 2 caoilbers!

  21. In Missouri we had to qualify with both to get or concealed license. Although we can carry in gun or knife we can legally own so in theory if I want to wear a long coat I could carry a shotgun.

    • Oklahoma has a 16″ max to qualify as a hand gun, otherwise as a short rifle and a max of a 45 cal. to conceal-carry.

  22. A little late in the comments here, but a lot of European countries (most notably Germany, apparently) do something similar for driver’s licenses. If you take your test with an automatic transmission car, you are only licensed to drive automatics. If you take your test on a manual transmission car, you can drive either.

    • Most countries where manual transmissions are prevalent do this. It’s not really much of an issue in US just because most everyone drives automatic here.

      • Also here in Germany it´s so that the most new cars are sold with an automatic transmission, but the most older cars have a manuel transmission. You are really restricted if you only have a automatic driver license. So for young drivers it would be difficult to find a cheap automatic car. But that isn´t the issue here.
        Maybe in a few years when we have to drive electric cars we don´t have this “problem” anymore.

        • Test drive a Tesla Model S Performance and you will see that some day is here now, at least for some of us and soon for all of us. The ICE is history.

        • Tesla makes some neat cars, and I’d love to test drive one some day too, but ICE’s are far from history. Even when battery powered electrics catch up to the range, refueling time, cost, performance* and reliability of passenger cars they’ll still be a long way off from long haulers, locomotive applications and boat power.

          Sadly I can’t say the same for the glorious three pedal setup. I assume it will be all but gone in twenty or so years; maybe sooner. That’s a shame, because at the moment it’s almost a deal breaker for me.

          *I know the Model S goes like hell; ibid for the Tesla Roadster, but nothing electric can presently approach the all around performance of top end ICE powered autos.

          • All I have to say is drive one and say that. With a range of 300 miles and refueling station in every house in the US the range issue is exaggerated except on the longest of drives.

            No, the ICE isn’t history. I should have said soon history for passenger cars and I really believe that. Really, it costs nothing to test drive the vehicle and then you will have an idea what the future holds. It is quicker than my friend’s Porsche Boxster! It is a seven passenger sedan! It is not only quicker, it is the way it accelerates that makes you feel like you’re on a roller coaster.

            It will also change the whole automobile business. Goodbye Jeffy Lube. Same with Midas Mufflers. Really most repair garages. The Tesla has few moving parts. The motor is expected to last a million miles! Even the brake pads will last an expected 100,000 miles due to the regenerative braking system.

            Drive one. It’s free to do.

            Yeah, I know, way off topic. But if you’re interested in game changing evolutionary products watch these:

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXP4Do1xPGk

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUgDcA1pZAM

        • There’s no question I’d love it, and maybe if a friend is ever actually considering one I’ll take it for a spin too. I’d have to have 4 or 5 toys to consider one honestly. That says nothing of the technical achievement, the quality or livability of the car, it’s just my preference.

          In regards to reliability, I totally agree, but it’s the batteries I’d be concerned about. Electric motors are incredibly reliable, and when they do break they’re easy and relatively cheap to rebuild. I can’t say the same about massive lithium ion battery arrays.

          I do welcome the change, and if I was going to buy a large luxury sedan (and I probably never will) I’d choose this in a heartbeat over a Mercedes with a silent, boring turbo-charged 6 banger with a fifteen speed slushbox.

          That said, if it’s all the same I think I’d take something with a shrieking V8,10 or 12 and a synchro-less 6 speed crashbox. In fact, I’ll just take a McLaren F1 LM please. In black.

          • Please test drive one! This car is a game changer. Do you remember when Glock came out with his pistol? A new company going against all these established companies. He won really. It wasn’t just due to the gun but also the marketing. Same with Tesla. But Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has no intention of dominating the car market. His goal is to change the way we drive by making other manufacturers change. It is a crusade to the guy. He is already a billionaire, it is not about money but rather leaving his mark. They sell drive trains to Daimler and Toyota and will sell them to anyone. Musk wants to the world to drive electric cars whether they’re his or some other manufacturer. Go to a Tesla display room and look at the drive train. You will be shocked at how few parts there are. It looks like the slot car you had as a kid.

            When Glocks came out I bought one and to tell you the truth I hated it. I sold it and I still do not like Glocks. Now one of my favorite guns is a S&W M&P. I doubt the M&P would exist if it were not for Glock. Glock did not invent the plastic gun but they made it popular.

            Musk’s hope is that the old car companies will get out of their 19th century mindset and start making really new vehicles. That is difficult for them. Musk set up a Silicon Valley company that attracted the best tech people in the world. He gave them a clean slate and told them what he wanted. Palo Alto is a magnate for techies from around the world. Try to get them to go to Stuttgart, Tokyo or Detroit. Fat chance. Yeah, the gun control laws suck in CA but they are better than in Germany!

            Batteries? I am not worried. They have an 8 year warranty with unlimited miles. One guy, and I will admit I don’t know if he is correct, estimated that the batteries will last 52 years if driven 12,000 miles a year. The batteries are not a problem even if they have to be replaced every 8 years. Hell, most engines and transmissions have to be replace after that much time.

            Yeah, I know, off topic. BTW, as a disclosure I own Tesla stock which has shot up dramatically in the last month. As a further disclosure I think it has shot up too much and have a stop loss set.

  23. For those of you who argue the nomenclature of the firearm you are qualified with doesn’t matter, you need to quit carrying guns. You are talking about concealed carry- which is usually for self defense. You are not talking about plinking off rounds at the range for sport or fun. Carrying a weapon for self defense means a lot more than casually shooting. The old adage is you train how you fight and fight how you train. If a self-defense situation you depend a lot on how you were trained because a lot of stress is in play. If you train with a revolver than you want to be proficient enough to know when and how to reload quickly while under stress or fire. same with an auto. They are not the same for those purposes.

    • If that’s the case, then qualification should include combat reloads, clearing a semis chamber, etc.

  24. The law in “gun friendly” Nevada once required qualification with the semi-automatic handgun that you wished to carry, while qualification with one revolver was qualification with all (derringers were revolvers for purpose of qualifying). The rule was changed a couple of years ago so that qualification with any semi was qualification with all semis. So now anyone who wants to carry both revolvers and semis needs to qualify with both. The endorsement appears on the license.

    There’s a proposal in the legislature to remove the distinction between revolvers and semis altogether. If passed, the law will be “qualify with anything, carry everything.”

    Open carry requires no license.

  25. My take on the auto and revolver quals is this. Our noob, who is noob in all respects of gun handling, takes a course with a S&W model 10. That’s as noob friendly a handgun as there is. He gets his permit which does not discriminate between revolver and auto and off he goes.

    Still being a noob and with just his class as experience he gets talked into buying a 1911 by his ego and his drinking buddies. He’s still a noob, but now he’s mexican carrying a 1911 and thinks he knows all he needs to know about self defense.

    Just my take on requiring different standards for revolvers and autos.

      • Egad, an unsafe method of carry for a pistol that really should be in the hands of a very experienced shooter. Satisfy you?

        • But with all due respect, a check next to a box and a government rule isn’t going to fix your friend’s case of the stupids.

        • No BP, I’m just wargaming on why the need for seperate quals for semi autos and revolvers. Since I live in Alameda county California I doubt I’ll have the right to go thru any ccw classes in the near future. West Virginia was not shall issue when I lived there and neither was Texas. I’m cursed with bad timing.

  26. Next step for Texas: in Idaho, a “concealed weapons license” is just that: any weapon you want to carry concealed is legal. Guns, knives, brass knucks, nunchucks, sword cane, belt buckle knife, collapsing baton, rocks, whatever (probably not a hand grenade, given federal laws). We figure if you are licensed to carry a concealed weapon, the choice of weapon is yours, not the gummints.

  27. Constitutional carry is the way to go. But if you have to get a permit, Iowa’s is pretty easy. Took a half hour on line course from the Maryland Police Association to qualify. The Des Moines Register wrote up a column complaining that people were getting their “training” for free or something. Kind of counter productive for an anti-gunner if you ask me, but they saved me $50 – thanks, DMR. None of the “training” courses teach anything about the most important aspect of concealed carry – what laws do I need to be aware of. The law is posted on the Iowa Department of Public Safety website for those who insist on following the law.

    You have to wait up to a month, mine took about 10 days. $50 for 5 years, $25 to renew (I think I have to take another “training” course to renew though). I can carry whatever I want except NFA and Class 3 weapons are not allowed in Iowa. Businesses that post no firearms allowed are SOL because there is no law saying I have to observe that. I can go armed anywhere but a public park (state parks are allowed), school or federal building. BTW having a pocket knife with a blade longer than 2 1/2 inches at the post office could get you a year in federal prison. If you have a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or higher your CCW is not valid (apparently making you guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor) but there are no other restrictions, so if you want to carry at the local pub, have at it, just know your limit. There is no duty to inform a LEO that you are armed. There is no disclosure of what firearms you own. No fingerprints although you may request to be fingerprinted if there’s a question about your identity to speed up the process.

    My biggest complaint is that for $50 you should at least get a brochure detailing the applicable laws at the sheriff’s office.

    • Yup. NH is $10 for 4 years. For ten bucks a year you should get something telling you the laws. They do it for cars…

    • Oh, and Iowa recognizes permits from any other state. They do not, however enter into reciprocity agreements so I’m only legal to carry in 28 other states.

  28. Be thankful for what you have. In California you can qualify with two guns and those are the ONLY guns you can carry. In order to change you must qualify with the new gun and wait several weeks for the paperwork to be changed

  29. That is what cracks me up about Texans. They are always bragging about how gun friendly their state is when they didn’t even have legal concealed carry until I believe it was 1994! Now you have to do some class and qualify with a specific type of gun and there is no open carry! Wow! How gun friendly! I wonder if Texans realize that there are states where you can carry concealed or open and the only qualification is that you can legally own the gun. Texas is NOT a gun friendly state no matter how often Texans say it is.

    Oh, by the way, it is the largest state either but that doesn’t stop them from saying so.

    • The law moves slowly here in Texas due to the legislature only meeting for a short time every 2 years. It wasn’t very long ago that the Democrats controlled everything. The speed at which the other states have been able to pass new pro-gun laws can also be a bad thing when the anti-gun folks (Democrats in most cases) are back in control and want to roll things back the other direction. That being said, our gun laws are lagging, especially with regards to open carry of pistols. Open carry of everything other than rifles has been legal for as long as i know (Even including class iii guns such as machine guns and SBR’s.)

  30. Arkansas used to have the same requirement. I don’t agree with it but I do see the point. When I got my CCW they were short of instructors. Out on the firing line we had a lot of elderly people who just bought their semi-autos and had never fired them. They were waving them around, jacking on the slide and being stupid. I wrote the instructors and the gun store and suggested that in the future they steer their newbys toward revolvers before someone gets killed.

  31. Texas has a great law that I wish Oklahoma would pass. It has to do with the “No Weapons” signs at business establishments. Texas has the law that the signs have to be at least a certain size that is visible and conspicuous. In Oklahoma, some of the signs are what I would call “micro-signs”. You can hardly see them unless you really look hard. In Texas if their signs are not within spec, they can be ignored. So if they don’t post signs that are not large enough the patrons can just pretend the signs are even there. I like that. If an establishment owner doesn’t like their patrons to defend themselves, then the owner should have to post big-ass ugly, tacky signs to demonstrate their extremism.

    • In Iowa you can legally walk right passed the sign and go about your business armed.

    • Great…..one more thing the government can force you to do with regards to your private property.

      • In this case the “government” is telling you what you can do with your own property by refusing to pass a law granting criminal penalties toward those who ignore your little sign. You still have every right to ask a person to leave, but as far as the state is concerned that is between you and your now former customer.

  32. Sounds like it’s easier to carry a firearm in Oregon than in Texas, of all places. Don’t mess with Texas herp derp!

  33. The revolver/semiauto clause, like just about everything in the Texas CHL program, was based on law enforcement training standards in Texas at the time the program was developed. That’s why the program gives people 3 chances to pass the written and shooting tests (same rules that apply to cops taking TCLEOSE courses), and why there is the revolver/semiauto separation.

    17 years ago when the CHL program started, most police departments issued revolvers, and officers wanting to switch had to qualify with the semiauto and get that ‘special’ certification. Even in the first year of the program, we had less than 1% of students qualify with a revolver – but a small percentage had to rent a semiauto from us for the test, and be shown how to operate it.

  34. Yall can open cary if you want. But I will never. I defeats the purpose. If im robbing a place im going to look for who is printing. As well as anybody with a gun on their hip not Concealed and im going to control the situation. Zero point in open carry but to get more looks and draw attention. No evidence that is prevents more crime.

  35. If we can get the law changed to allow CHL holders to carry open, I can see a lot of AR and AK pistols being carried openly.

  36. That never did make any sense. Hitting a target with a revolver is much harder than with a self-loader.

  37. I disagree with your last statement regarding type of firearm. I’ve taught classes where some (men and women) have come to class and could not operate a semi auto. For many reasons.

  38. I do not know how much nonsense it is as not too long ago I ran across someone at the range testing out his new ccw pistol, a Sig P239. He came over to me and asked me to take a look at it as it was not working. Long story short, he had qualified with a revolver and had no idea that you had to rack a round into the chamber to fire the first shot. In fact, he had very little idea about how a semi auto worked, how it could jam and so on. I also know a few gun owners who were lifelong revolver users who only recently bought a semi auto and really do not understand how it works. I handed my last 1911 to a shooter who has been shooting revolvers since the 60s and he asked me what the manual safety lever was for and did not know how to use the slide lock. So I do not know it is really is a bad idea to limit revolver shooters to revolves. I think a good compromise is to let them carry anything regardless of what they qualify with but cover the basics of a semi auto in the ccw class. That way, everyone is safe and happy.

  39. It has been my experience ( having issued CCW’s in California) that a large number of people only take their guns out when they qualify. I couldn’t tell you the number of times people come out to qualify with a gun they have never even handled.

    What makes it worse, is that in CA you can only carry the 2 guns you qualified with and are listed on your permit.

  40. IN has had shall issue LTCH since the 1930’s for 18+ year olds, no training required, O.C. allowed & very few ‘gun free zones”. We also have universal reciprocity, as well. A few years ago we started issuing lifetime licenses, too. We’ve had no problems due to any of these factors. The rest of the country should follow our lead!!

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