TexasCHLforum.com

ATDM wrote:

Keith B wrote:
Actually, your CHL does not show up on a plate run. They have to run your drivers license or name through the system. However, I have known officers to run the plate, then run the name of the registered owner before they approach, so they MAY suspicion you are the driver and know you have a CHL if it is you.

I didn't even know about that aspect of police work, however, my goal is to follow the law FULLY. Someone here said that "we all break the law every day", and I have to disagree. To the best of my knowledge, I don't break the law. A couple of times I learned later that I UNKNOWINGLY failed to follow the law in a nuance aspect, but it happened literally only a couple of times, and I immediately course correct to avoid it in the future.

This is the main reason I am a member of this forum: to learn nuances and share experiences. If I was OK with breaking the law every day, I wouldn't have bothered to join.

And I am not doing it simply to avoid getting punished. I am doing it, because it's the right thing to do, and I want to teach my kids the importance of doing the right thing even in small aspects and tiny nuances, when it may seem that it doesn't matter. Because it always matters... At least, in someone's eyes.

I think your sentiments are shared by many here. The problem that we have collectively is that the laws seem to be written in ways where it is difficult - and at some times near impossible - to go through our lives without breaking some of them.

With the exception of some areas like speeding, I think most people don't have any intention of breaking laws on a daily basis. I suspect the comment from the other poster was based on the expectation that we'll never know.

For me, a great case in point is the thread about the rifle open carry in San Antonio and those involved being charged with disorderly conduct. They broke the law, according to the arresting officer. Whether they will ultimately pay for their "mistake" is a different matter. My point is that if someone wanted to charge me with something and they looked hard enough, they would find it. While I consider myself to be very legally conscious and perhaps more knowledgeable than many who don't read forums like this one, there is no way that I can remember all of them. The sheer volume of laws has been used a a reason that LEOs don't know them all either.

I'm an RVer. The patchwork of laws in the 50 States that cover towed vehicles is so bizarre that I doubt anyone can understand and comply with them. Even DPS offices do not all understand the classes of driver's license that apply to RVs of various weights. As many as half of Texas RVers with some of those special vehicles probably don't have the proper license. I find myself in a similar situation with the laws that cover concealed handguns in just the States which have reciprocity with Texas. Even trying as hard as I do to understand and comply with them as we move around the country, I'm sure that I've had several cases where I broke laws, even ones that I had carefully studied, because I forgot about one of the nuances that was peculiar to a given State. I can tell you that it pains be greatly to go through all of the steps to secure my handgun according the the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA) before we drive the roughly 12 miles through Maryland on I-81 between West Virginia and Pennsylvania. It would be very easy to overlook those preparations some day if some sort of travel issues developed and suddenly we were in MD before we realized it. We usually plan a fuel stop before we leave Virgina to give me time to unload and lock up but traffic and weather easily can alter those plans.

My goal is like yours. I don't set out to deliberately break the law. I could probably resume camping in COE campgrounds on trips and never be challenged about my firearm onboard but I'm not going to do it. It is a shame and I miss them. But the law is the law.

nightmare69 wrote:If you dig through all the federal laws then Im sure you could find out you are committing a felony everyday. I personally do not worry about it, just keep it in my car locked up and go about my business. Im not driving back home just to disarm just to go to the post office, not worth the time or gas.

For me, it is much easier to avoid the USPS bricks and mortar all together and do all of my transactions at my local dry cleaner who has a post office counter. I get much better and more cheerful service, can drop items off for cleaning at the same time and the dry cleaner is often on my way to do other errands. I have a nice big smile on my face each time I walk through the door with my EDC on my hip.

I decided if the Federal government wants to play silly games, I can, too.