TexasCHLforum.com

To respond to a few of the newer comments:

It's not so much friends I'm worried about hearing about my weapon from an officer; rather it's immediate family members, all of whom aggressively oppose gun ownership of any kind and do not know of my personal interest in firearms.

A few have suggested that I need to separate myself from their control, but at this point that is simply not possible given my financial status (student without a paying job) and the fact that they pay for both school tuition and fraternity dues, so simply accepting their likely removal of this support may not be feasible.

This is the dilemma I face. I would like the ABILITY to carry a firearm with me, giving myself vital protection that my small stature cannot provide. However, doing so STRONGLY risks placing myself in a situation I do NOT want to find myself in.

One thing I haven't shared yet is that I do not plan to remain in Texas for more than 2 years, as I'll be moving to New York an a couple years to work. And since there's no reciprocity, I'm again wondering if it's worth the possible hassle/money for something that will only last a small length of time.

I've considered creating a possible story regarding requesting an internship at the Capital, thus giving me the excuse of "I dont want to wait in line", but this would be a pretty difficult story to sell.

Thanks again to everyone who has responded. It really has helped me out, but I'm afraid my mind just keeps swinging one way or another. Decisions Decisions...

The Annoyed Man wrote:Hand him one of two pre-written notes along with your ID, depending on your situation at the time.

1) "Hello officer. You'll see when you run my TDL that I have a CHL. I did not present it to you today because I am not carrying a weapon. I would prefer that my passengers are not informed that I hold a CHL. Thank you for your assistance in this regard."

2) "Hello officer. I have presented you with both my TDL and CHL. I am currently armed. The pistol is located on my right hip, under my shirt, in an IWB holster. My passengers are not aware of my holding a CHL, and I would very much prefer it to stay that way. Thank you for your assistance in this regard."

I'm wondering if anyone has actually tried this and what the results were, and/or what any LEOs here would think about it.

seamusTX wrote:My life has only gotten better since I stopped caring what people who don't sign my paycheck think

Sign the paycheck? No. Pay the rent/tuition? YES.

As for people not knowing what a CHL is, they may be anti-gun doctors, but they know all about CHLs and what they're for.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

To respond to a few comments, I completely agree the statement about liability is ridiculous and made no sense to me when I heard it, but since I'm not a law student I figured I better ask anyways. Granted, I can see how some over-aggressive DA or lawyer could try to use that as an attack against me.

As for tickets, it's not so much that I get pulled over a lot, just that I got pulled over recently, two weeks ago, for speeding with people in the car I REALLY would not want to know about my gun ownership (anti-gun family members who would have none of that...), so this situation is fresh in my imagination. And considering I'm not exactly what you'd call a "slow driver"...

Hello Everyone,

Glad I found this website, its full of so much information I've been needing!

So here's my deal: I took the CHL class yesterday, passed with flying colors (100% written, 246 score shooting), however I'm now having second thoughts on whether to actually turn in the application or not...

My worries center around three issues.
1) I'm not entirely certain its worth getting the license anymore. With the new laws in place that allow for unlicensed concealment in a car, which would be the primary place I'd have my gun, I don't know if it's really something I need. I'm a student, so I wouldn't have it on me during the day, and would really only need it on the drive to and from campus. I took the class primarily to get an in-depth lesson on all the new laws and regulations regarding use of force, and really enjoyed the class. The DPS fee price is not necessarily an issue but I'd obviously rather not spend the $140 if there's no real need.

2) I've heard (from someone who really doesn't have much authority on the issue) that there could be instances where being a CHL holder could put me at greater liability when it comes to legal issues. According to the person's retired police uncle, "if anything were to go down, and you had a CHL, you'd be in bigger trouble cause you're supposed to know better." From what I could get from the person, they were under the impression that the punishment for a serious gun-related crime could be worse if I had a CHL compared to if I didn't... Obviously this makes no logical sense to me, but I was wondering if anyone had anything to say about it?

3) I'm somewhat disturbed that it is linked to our Driver's License. I often have people in my car who I would prefer did not know about my gun ownership (I'm only 21 and very small so it generally comes as a huge shock to those who I tell about my guns).
Consider this hypothetical situation: I choose not to carry, for whatever reason, and get pulled over for speeding with friends in the car who do not know about my guns or CHL. Since I'm not carrying and don't want them to know about it, I decide not to hand the officer my CHL when he asks for ID. He goes back to his car, sees that I'm a CHL holder, and comes back and openly says something along the lines of "I see you have a CHL". This officer has essentially just disclosed to the people in my car that I have a CHL, which should have remained private information.

Is this a situation that could actually occur, or is there a way to avoid the officer asking the question without giving away the information anyways? The way I look at it, even if I DO show the CHL from the start, he'll ask if I'm carrying, so there's no way to avoid it.


Thanks for reading, anybody have thoughts?