Ok, the Texas Government Code requires that you display your CHL along with you Texas DL or OD card if a Peace Officer or magistrate demands that you ID yourself and you are carrying under the authority of your CHL.Big_Hitter wrote:yes and yestxinvestigator wrote:Depends. Do you have a CHL? Is the "firearm" a handgun?Big_Hitter wrote:Do I need to let the LEO know that I have a firearm in the vehicle?
Any bad consequences?
Thanks
It is not an arrestable offense to fail to display unless you have previously had your CHL suspended for Failing to display.
That said, without your CHL you COULD be arrested for UCW.
Texas Penal Code 46.15 Non-applicability;
(b) Section 46.02 does not apply to a person who:
(6) is carrying a concealed handgun and a valid license ..........;
If you are not carrying the license but are armed you could be charged under UCW, as the non-applicability would not apply to you..
However, if you are not carrying your CHL, then you are not carrying under the authority of the CHL laws, and could be carrying under the authority of the Traveling Presumption. If that is the case you are under no obligation to inform the officer that you are armed.
BUT, if he runs your DL and discovers you have a CHL and are armed but failed to inform him, he might push the UCW issue. Remember, as CHLers, most of us are intimately familiar with CHL laws. Cops have the entire penal code, CCP, traffic laws, search and seizure laws, etc., to know. Unless an officer specializes in a topic, he is likely to have only general knowledge of the CHL law.
Of course, if you tell him up front that you are carrying and left your CHL at home, he could check via your DL, but what of that system is down, and he cannot verify?
Lesson? Carry your CHL. If you forget, don't act a fool and you likely will not attract the attention of those pesky police.
