TexasCHLforum.com

Howdy, y'all,

I don't have any skin in this game for 3 1/2 more years, but I applied very shortly after Hurricane Ike, and I remember it seemed like my day would never come. Since nobody's posted in the Harris County Applicants folder for a while, I thought I'd ask those of you who are waiting an inordinate period (60+ days) to sound off and tell us how it's going for you.

God bless Texas,
KoD

I thought this might be a good indicator of how things are going for us Harris County folk:

An acquaintance of mine who took the class with me and mailed her packet the same day received her plastic today. She made no phone calls to Austin, wrote no letters to representatives at any level. 110 days from door to door. That's 3-4 weeks longer than mine took, and I bothered everyone who would sit still.

How many Harris Co. applicants from pre-November '08 are still waiting? If licenses are being mailed to people who applied ~5 November and never tried the squeaky-wheel route, it may be time for you to make a few phone calls if you feel up to it.

Best of luck, y'all. Hang in there.
KoD

HGWC wrote:

KingOfDirk wrote:Happy to report a phone call from the DPS licensing division; my bg is done, all systems go. I suppose some time next week I'll see some plastic. Today is the 85th day.

Boy, that was a nice call to get on a Friday...I guess it's time to start surfing holster sites!

Have a good weekend, y'all,
-KoD

That's great KoD. It's almost as if they gave you good service with a smile at only 85 days. Yet like I've said before, while your representative had the DPS folks scurrying around digging out your one application for special treatment, my brother in law, my friend, and countless others who filed their application long before I did in August are still waiting, indefinitely.

Let's all give the DPS a nice round of applause!

Thanks, HGWC. I know you're happy for me, despite the odd feeling I get that somehow I've done something to tick you off.

If my application had gotten special treatment, I'd have had my CHL in hand in November. Instead I waited quietly for the period allowed by statute to expire, and then made it my mission to get one of my employees to find out why DPS hadn't done their job. The employees I contacted included a) my State Rep, b) my State Senator, c) my Governor, d) the State Rep near Dallas who chairs the Law Enforcement committee (thus DPS oversight) and e) the Colonel in charge of the DPS. I had a success rate of 20%; ONE of them followed up. 80% of them let me down. How much time have your brother in law and friend spent hounding folks for results? You know I agree that they shouldn't have to, but the reality is they do. If they haven't, maybe it just doesn't mean as much to them as it does to me. In the meantime, I absolutely refuse to apologize for demanding service for my $140. It's a lot of money to me.

I'm happy to email you the letters I wrote if your family/friends can use them. Cut my reps out, paste theirs in and click send. That way they can get some special treatment, too, and they won't even have to try real hard.

Happy to report a phone call from the DPS licensing division; my bg is done, all systems go. I suppose some time next week I'll see some plastic. Today is the 85th day.

Boy, that was a nice call to get on a Friday...I guess it's time to start surfing holster sites!

Have a good weekend, y'all,
-KoD

Nope. Just same ol' bull. Let's take a look.

Sorry, HGWC, by "here's the latest" I meant "here's what's most recently been said/done to me/for me." I apologize if you misunderstood me.

The only reason she's calling you at all is because the DPS is getting hassled by your representatives.

Incorrect. The only reason she's calling me is because I'm hassling my representatives.

If it were just you...

It is just me. I'm a pretty unimportant guy. I've come to terms with it.

Come on man. Don't make excuses for these folks.

I wasn't. By "long and short of it" I meant "here's the long and the short of what she told me." I apologize if you misunderstood me. This way you get the benefit of hearing the excuses I was given without having to speak with "my friend" Marion yourself.

They've been saying they're adding more people all year long.

Willing to believe you. I've only been speaking with them for about seven days now, so I'm ignorant of what's been said over the last year.

Why don't you ask your friend Marion how many felons the DPS is preventing from carrying a firearm in public?

Be my guest. Sounds like a good question. It wasn't something I really wanted to know while I had her on the phone, but I'd bet it's a pretty small number as per your point.

I note your disdain for law enforcement folks. That's your right; we can agree to disagree. I wonder what you thought of my point about your elected "representatives." I completely agree that DPS is in violation of the statutes, and I take your point about the director's designee's discretion with regard to bg checks. Are you of the opinion that the department should make decisions about who/how many to check based on the height of the stack on their desk? By your logic they should throw up their hands and print plastic when they get busy. I feel they should have more people so the stack doesn't get as high. I think you and I, ultimately, agree on what the end result should be - you and I (and everyone else here) get to avail ourselves of our unalienable rights. I'm not too dense to see the irony in that last statement. That DPS (or any department or legislative body) is in the position to deny rights I'd call "unalienable" makes them a little more alienable in reality. That's a different argument, though, and I have not been placed in a position where I'd have to decide what to do if that right was abrogated, as opposed to the current situation in which it's just a little harder to enjoy. I shouldn't have to send them $140, but that's the reality for now. If you and I (and a whole bunch more folks like us) complained less and voted more, perhaps we wouldn't have to. Blame DPS if you like, but it's the legislators to whom they answer who deserve your contempt.

And with that, kind sir, I'll bid you happy trails. When/if my plastic shows up I'll post so folks can see the timeframe, and in the meantime I'll keep my opinions to myself so as not to offend.

Allrighty, y'all, here's the latest.

Last week, a nice lady named Marion called my house. Mrs. KingOfDirk answered (as I was fervently checking DPS site...err..I mean, "working" at the time) and was told the folks in Austin had received a request from my State Rep (Garnet Coleman) to move things along for us. Marion told my wife they'd be pleased to ask the Harris County background folks to try to expedite things. She left an email and phone number. I was impressed.

Today, I got a call from my State Senator's office (Rodney Ellis). A person there told me I'd have to call the licensing division in Austin myself, but was at least kind enough to give me the number. I thanked her, hung up, and shook my head. How dumb do they (politicians, and their minions) think we are? I didn't point out to her that Rep. Coleman's staff managed to get DPS to call us, and therefore I know she either a) didn't really try very hard or b) isn't interested in helping, so is passing the buck.

Today's call from the Senator's office got me thinking about Marion's call last week, so I rang her up. What a charming, helpful lady. I said, "Hi, my name is (KingOfDirk) and I think you called my house last week." She said, "yes, I spoke with your wife." That, folks, is a heck of a memory.

The long and the short of it is this; Harris has an awful lot of people living in it, consequently has a lot of applications, got pimp-slapped (a technical term) by Ike, is part of a country now ruled...err.. I mean, governed by the new guy at 1600 Pennsylvania - and therefore had a spike in applications/renewals, justified or not - all at the same time. Marion told me the background check folks have gotten some more help here and in Galveston/Brazoria etc, and they are working overtime to try to clear the backlog. They know they're behind, aren't making excuses (anymore), and seem eager to get us processed. She even recited my cell phone back to me, and told me she'd call when she hears back from the field personnel.

There's a lesson here. As much as we may lose patience with this process, please remember there are humans, Texans , on the other end of that phone. Marion is an example of what's right with DPS. Don't blame them for their lack of funding or lack of resources - that's your State Rep/Senator's fault. I can read the statutes as well as the rest of the folks here on this board, and I know "sixty days" means sixty days, but the only way they can do the job the legislature commands them to do is if the legislature then gives them the tools they need to do it. They are in session now; take the opportunity to write/call/fax/annoy the men and women who represent you and ask them to, well, represent you. That's the only way the service we get from DPS will improve. All politics is local, as Tip O'Neill once said.

Now I remember why I voted for Kinky Friedman. Gov. Perry's office does nothing except mail us form letters dropping Colonel So-and-so's name and try to sell our state to foreign multinational corporations (read up on the Trans-Texas Corridor). Support Kay Bailey Hutchison for Governor in the primary. She's not perfect, but perhaps she won't take us for granted.

Hang in there, y'all,
KoD

Just had a very pleasant conversation with a lady in my State Senator's office. She felt the Senator would want to help with the delay, and asked for a written request via fax or post. I am very pleased with her response and her assistance - she went so far as to encourage me to "hurry" since the new session starts tomorrow, and promised that the Senator would read any correspondence personally.

I'd already sent an email, but her reminder that the session begins tomorrow may be worth noting for some of us; if you've not spoken with a person, you may wish to do so now. I'd imagine many offices were unstaffed/understaffed during the break, and they may be swamped with correspondence (both paper and virtual).

I'll keep y'all posted on the feedback (if any). Hang in there, everyone.

-KoD

Wackjum,
Thanks for the advice on the Gov's office. I was pretty sure skipping the federal level folks was correct - I appreciate your input.

By the way, congrats on the newly issued license!!

FAAPOD, I sent my application materials in via certified mail, return receipt requested. I used the USPS tracking number and the green return receipt to determine when the manilla envelope was delivered (and subsequently signed for) in Austin. That's how (I think) I know when they got it. On the other hand, I'm tempted to start the 60-day clock on the day it showed up on the website as "processing application".

I've got a question for you guys, too: I plan to email/call my State Senator (Rodney Ellis) and State Rep (Garnet Coleman) at day 61, would you recommend any others (i.e. Governor's office, US House Rep, Cornyn/Kay Bailey in the Senate)?

I thought this was going to be a test of my patience. For once I was right.

-J

Good for you, Project, that rocks!!!

Glad to see some movement on the Harris County apps. I'm nearing 60 calendar days, but I don't know if they count holidays/weekends in the 60-day clock. Anyone have an opinion?

I don't want to bug my state rep 'til DPS has had the allotted time. He's sort of an anti 2nd Amend. guy anyway, but hey, I got outvoted.

Happy New Year, everyone.
-J