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I've been gone for 8 days to the NRA committee meetings, the Annual Meeting and several other things, so I've had very little time to get on the forum.

Anyone reading this thread who hasn't seen the thread on DPS delays, what's being done, the necessity of a legislative fix, etc. will be missing a lot of information.

Since no one took the bait and answered my question about DPS issuing CHL's without completing a full background check, I'll go ahead and give the reasons why we don't/shouldn't want that done. If a Texas CHL is issued before a complete background check, then most states will cancel their reciprocity agreements with Texas. Plus, we will lose our NICS exemption.

Computer checks cannot be done for delinquent state taxes and other state fees, child support, or Texas guaranteed school loans. That has to be done at the county level. This is why these requirements should be repealed; plus they violate the Texas Constitution since they are money provisions unrelated to crime prevention.

As for writing Senators and Representatives, please look at the thread on DPS delays. Chairman Joe Driver has already had a meeting with DPS and Gov. Perry sent a representative to the meeting. A reporting schedule was established and Chairman Driver will be getting weekly updates. Getting other Representatives and/or Senators involved will not help at this point. There is nothing that can be done without a legislative fix and that isn't happening until 2009.

Here is something to consider. If this is handled poorly, the legislative change might be to extend the statutory time limit to 90 to 120 days, not fix the delay problems and fix the typo that gives DPS up to 90 days on an initial application instead of 60 days. I say this because DPS is currently trying to work under the watchful eye of Chairman Driver and if they get even more pressure, the response may be "the statutory time limit is too short and it should be increased." Don't think for a second this is not a distinct possibility. That's why my proposed changes greatly decrease DPS workload, thus removing any justification for extending the processing time.

BTW, Texas cannot access the NICS database, unless it agrees to become the POC (Point of Contact) for all firearm sales in Texas and DPS isn't about to agree to that. I have something going on that as well, with the help of NRA's Office of General Counsel. (It's nice to be on the NRA Legal Affairs Committee! ) This will be part of the entire legislative package.

I am as frustrated about the DPS delays as everyone else and if you'll look at some of my posts prior to the DPS meeting, you'll see I've been openly critical of DPS processing. Let's not let this frustration result in a "fix" that legalizes what DPS is going now; i.e. taking over 100 days to process applications.

Chas.

mr.72 wrote:"swamped" doesn't cut it.

There is a purpose to the 60 day legal requirement. The purpose is so that the State cannot unduly delay these applications, with whatever excuse "swamped" or otherwise.

The reason they do not follow the 60 day law is that there is no penalty. There is in fact no validity to the law because there is nothing to hold them accountable. The law would be meaningful if it said something like "You are permitted to carry a concealed handgun upon receipt of your license, or 60 days from the date of application submittal, whichever comes first".

Both the reasons for the delays and the necessary legislative fixes have been covered in another thread. But let me ask this question; would you want the DPS to issue a CHL before the the complete background check is finished?

Chas.