TexasCHLforum.com

5thGenTexan wrote:Wayne nice letter but a tad long for most "Letters to the Editor". I would find a way to slim it down before the Editor does a slash and burn job that will leave it unrecognizable to you.

To the original post good luck, I also work for a company that bans employee "unauthorized" carry of a weapon. Can't find out who or how you can get authorized so it goes in the trunk when I arrive and back in the IWB when I leave or before if I am the only one there after hours. I've already given my notice to these guys not because of that but other issues in the realm of archaic systems in place.

My wife works for a company that does allow for concealed carry and one of their guys dusted a dude that couldn't understand stop I have a gun while removing tools from their company trucks and continued over a fence toward him. My soon to be former employer has 5000+ employees hers has 150 my gut is to get back to a smaller locally based employer.

Thanks...I had already considered asking the editor if I can do a 2 parter, this cinches it for me. One of their reporters (when I asked them if they had considered doing a piece on CHL told me in clear language that she was not sympathetic, was against guns cuz her daddy was a deputy shot by an illegal because her daddy had left his gun home and was off duty. I reminded her THAT is what her kind wants to do to all of us. She said there is a whole book about her daddy http://www.booksurge.com/The-Gun-That-W ... 628178.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; That is very sad, but it illustrates the fact the illegals are going to get them even when otherwise doesn't.

Here is a letter I am sending to the editor of the local newspaper who has agreed to print what I will write on it. I am still in draft mode on this as well, but thought you might find something in it usable for your effort as well.
Best wishes
Wayne

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The US Bill of Rights, second amendment, says I may own a firearm. The Heller case decided before the US Supreme Court in 2008 upheld that amendment as an individual right. The state of Texas in passing the "Castle Doctrine" law in 2007 says I may defend my home with one. Another law passed in 2007 (HB 823) the state of Texas said one may legally carry a firearm in their vehicle for self defense (though must be out of plain sight) without having a concealed carry permit. Another law that is set to take effect February of 2010 will make it legal for concealed carry holders to carry in National Parks

In Texas (along with other states) with the proper training, the passing of a background check and receiving of a Concealed Carry License, the state of Texas says I may carry a firearm in a concealed manner on my person, except in certain types of events and buildings (i.e., bars, schools, school events, Federal Buildings, restricted areas of an airport, and businesses which display proper signage forbidding such). Wisconsin, Illinois and DC are the only areas not permitting concealed carry. Wisconsin does not have concealed carry laws, because like 31 other states, they allow for open carry (but not concealed like the other 30). The question of allowing for open as well as campus carry remains a debate in Texas and will likely come up for a vote in the next year.

In the US alone, Americans protect themselves some three million times a year. Reading newspapers from Abilene, San Antonio and the DFW area regularly tell of homeowners who thwarted a home invasion or saved a life through the lawful ownership of a firearm.

In Texas, as in most other states, there is required training involved in becoming a concealed carry holder. It is with good reason that a Concealed Handun License (CHL) is sometimes called a "Good Guy Card." Citizens who do not care about the law simply are not interested in going through such a program.

1. A CHL holder has no felony convictions on his/her record.
2. A CHL holder has not had a class A or B misdemeanor within five years of the original issuance of the license.
3. A CHL holder is not mentally incapable.
4. A CHL holder is not permitted to be chemically dependent.
5. A CHL holder has received training in the law of self-defense.
6. A CHL holder has passed a handgun qualification exercise.
7. All CHL holders are 21-years-old or older.
8. CHL holders do not have outstanding child support payments and are not in default on student loans.

Statistically, one in every hundred persons in Texas is a concealed carry holder, with 220,000 such permits being granted since the beginning of the program and an estimated 500 in Brownwood alone.

Sounds like people that would be model citizens and law abiding customers that everyone would welcome into their stores. After, as Robert Heinlein said, "An armed society is a polite society." It is no wonder that a bank in San Antonio has a sign which says "CHL holders are welcomed and appreciated."

With all of this in favor of law abiding citizens legally carrying a hidden self defense weapon (which is ONLY to be drawn when there is imminent fear for one's life) when authorized by the state to do so, it has to be wondered why one can legally carry a concealed weapon into the Texas State Capitol building (except in the galleries or meeting room during a meeting), but so many of our local businesses in Brownwood do not permit such? From banks to quick marts, signs are displayed which range from "no guns, legal or illegal" or the infamous "gun buster" sign. We have to wonder, just who are such signs for? Is a criminal going to say "I can't rob this store, they have a sign!" This simply disarms the law abiding, and the criminals now know they have a "target rich environment" since the well-meaning sign disarmed the law-abiding and the criminal knows that. It is understandable that we want to be able to have laws to prosecute the criminal element, and this can be achieved with the "No unlicensed firearm" sign just as easily. It is already illegal for anyone to carry an unlicensed firearm publicly on their person in Texas, so that is a given, according to Sec. 46.02 of the Texas Penal Code.

Some signs on our local businesses claim it to be a crime to carry a licensed firearm when it is not. I appreciated that one local business, when I pointed this fact out to them, changed their sign to reflect "no UNLICENSED firearms." I also appreciate such businesses as Wal-Mart that has the "No Unlicensed firearms" sign. While it is required for any business selling alcohol to display a "no unlicensed firearm" sign, only bars or an establishment that derives 51% or more of its revenue from the sale of alcohol are required to display a sign to ban both unlicensed AND licensed.

CHL holders are not seeking to be vigilantes in any way. We fully respect and appreciate our law enforcement of all types, but it surely we can agree that when seconds count, help is minutes away, even when trying their hardest.

For me, I refuse to be where I cannot protect my family. While a store may (or may not) be safe inside.... can my safety be assured while walking through the parking lot to and from my vehicle? The news is filled with stories of abductions, robberies and rapes occurring in lit public parking lots. Obviously I cannot walk to and from the store without also having it IN said business (unless they wish to provide lockers in which to check weapons at door).


Most CHL holders are by nature very law abiding citizens, so that we would be more likely to honor your "no LICENSED handgun" sign by NOT entering your establishment. Therefore, for me and my family, "no gun" = "no money."