Question for Attorneys & LEOs re: HB823

[Just_Me]

I'm in "The Waiting Room" for my CHL. In approximately 2 weeks I will be driving from the Gulf Coast to San Antonio with my 8 year old daughter and 2 dogs. (I am a small-framed female - just to paint the picture.) I have only been stopped for a traffic violation once in my life, and that was over 25 years ago. I'm a very careful driver and always obedient to posted speed limits.

To get to my point, I plan to carry my pistol while traveling to San Antonio. Since I don't have my CHL yet, what would be the proper thing to do or say to an officer, if indeed I did get stopped for some reason? Also, would it be legal to carry it concealed and loaded within easy reach?

One other point, I printed out a copy of HB823 to put in the bag with my pistol. In your opinions, are most LEOs familiar with HB823?

Thanks for your advise.

[Renegade]

I would leave it in the trunk while driving and remove any possibility of UCW. I can't see any reasonable scenario where you need it while driving, especially with a kid in the car. If you should get a flat or or break-down, you can quickly retrieve it.

I woiuld forgo copies of hb823 and get a copy of PC46.15, it is the law that matters, not bills.

[KBCraig]

To get to my point, I plan to carry my pistol while traveling to San Antonio. Since I don't have my CHL yet, what would be the proper thing to do or say to an officer, if indeed I did get stopped for some reason?

Say nothing about it unless explicitly asked if you have any weapons in the car. Then just say, "I'm traveling, and I have a handgun in my (console, glove box, door pocket, etc.)". Emphasize the "traveling" part.

Also, would it be legal to carry it concealed and loaded within easy reach?

Yes. Once you're exempt from the law against UCW, it doesn't matter how you carry.

Good luck, and be safe!

Kevin

[Greybeard]

Quote/Question: " In your opinions, are most LEOs familiar with HB823? "

Maybe 50/50.

But the vast majority of "street cops" are not going to hassle a well-mannered female with an DL address in a distant county.

One of my lady students from a few years back actually got a "sermon" (in lieu of a ticket) from an LEO when he learned that she had a CHL but did not have her gun with her.

[Venus Pax]

One of my lady students from a few years back actually got a "sermon" (in lieu of a ticket) from an LEO when he learned that she had a CHL but did not have her gun with her.

That's priceless.

[Just_Me]

Thank you all for your advice / suggestions.

Renegade, thanks for your input, but I can think of several possible scenarios that would necessitate having the handgun accessible. If I'm going to keep it locked in the trunk, I might as well leave it at home. All you have to do these days is watch the local news and be provided with scenarios that would have been unthinkable in my younger days. You have to be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best. I will look up PC 46.15 as you suggested.

Greybeard, I think you are right. The only county I'm concerned about "traveling" through is Harris. I'm not sure how the "street cops" there feel, but I do know how their D.A. feels about the traveling law and refuses to accept it.

Thanks, Kevin. Good advice that I feel comfortable with.

Just before I woke up this morning I was having a dream that I still remember all the details of. I was with my daughter in a place that I grew up (Oak Dale Park in Glen Rose, Texas), and I was showing her around reliving my childhood. Everything there was changed and modernized, but it was still the same place. As the park was closing, my daughter and I were walking out with the new owner, and I noticed a nice, friendly looking man sitting to the side. As we approached the door, he suddenly appeared in the doorway, blocking our way, with a gun pointed at us. It was a pistol but really strange looking - like something from "Lost In Space". I reached down to feel for my pistol and remembered that I had left it in the car. As the man approached, he started shooting, so I yelled for everyone to get down and rushed the man and pushed his arm up in the air. He continued firing with me holding his arm up, and I shouted to my daughter to run outside and hide. I was counting his shots, hoping he'd run out of rounds before he overpowered me. There was a girl hiding behind the front desk. She was too frightened to move, and I yelled to her to call 911. Then I woke up. I was panting and drenched in sweat.

Anyone care to interpret my dream for me? I hope it is OK for me to post the dream here. It is gun-related, right? I think I'm a bit anxious about the trip. I've been homebound for quite a while.

Thanks, again!

[KD5NRH]

I reached down to feel for my pistol and remembered that I had left it in the car.
<SNIP>
Anyone care to interpret my dream for me?

Don't go to Glen Rose without a gun.

Even before my CHL, I tended to put *something* in the car before going to Glen Rose or Mineral Wells - even if just pepper spray and a good tire billy.

[stevie_d_64]

To get to my point, I plan to carry my pistol while traveling to San Antonio. Since I don't have my CHL yet, what would be the proper thing to do or say to an officer, if indeed I did get stopped for some reason?

Say nothing about it unless explicitly asked if you have any weapons in the car. Then just say, "I'm traveling, and I have a handgun in my (console, glove box, door pocket, etc.)". Emphasize the "traveling" part.

Also, would it be legal to carry it concealed and loaded within easy reach?

Yes. Once you're exempt from the law against UCW, it doesn't matter how you carry.

Good luck, and be safe!

Kevin

Just be cool about it, keep it concealed and as inaccessable from the child (8 yr old) as possible...

That last part is something I was concerned with over anything else...

Hopefully this will be a good trip for you...

Be safe...

[stevie_d_64]

Thank you all for your advice / suggestions.

Renegade, thanks for your input, but I can think of several possible scenarios that would necessitate having the handgun accessible. If I'm going to keep it locked in the trunk, I might as well leave it at home. All you have to do these days is watch the local news and be provided with scenarios that would have been unthinkable in my younger days. You have to be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best. I will look up PC 46.15 as you suggested.

Greybeard, I think you are right. The only county I'm concerned about "traveling" through is Harris. I'm not sure how the "street cops" there feel, but I do know how their D.A. feels about the traveling law and refuses to accept it.

Thanks, Kevin. Good advice that I feel comfortable with.

Just before I woke up this morning I was having a dream that I still remember all the details of. I was with my daughter in a place that I grew up (Oak Dale Park in Glen Rose, Texas), and I was showing her around reliving my childhood. Everything there was changed and modernized, but it was still the same place. As the park was closing, my daughter and I were walking out with the new owner, and I noticed a nice, friendly looking man sitting to the side. As we approached the door, he suddenly appeared in the doorway, blocking our way, with a gun pointed at us. It was a pistol but really strange looking - like something from "Lost In Space". I reached down to feel for my pistol and remembered that I had left it in the car. As the man approached, he started shooting, so I yelled for everyone to get down and rushed the man and pushed his arm up in the air. He continued firing with me holding his arm up, and I shouted to my daughter to run outside and hide. I was counting his shots, hoping he'd run out of rounds before he overpowered me. There was a girl hiding behind the front desk. She was too frightened to move, and I yelled to her to call 911. Then I woke up. I was panting and drenched in sweat.

Anyone care to interpret my dream for me? I hope it is OK for me to post the dream here. It is gun-related, right? I think I'm a bit anxious about the trip. I've been homebound for quite a while.

Thanks, again!

I think you have the right mindset here...Your overall concerns for taking the responsibility for your personal safety and that of your daughter is commendable...I know a lot of folks here would agree...

I believe you are right on the money when it comes to how, where and why you desire to carry for this purpose...I wish more folks thought like you, present company excluded (we are all pretty much there anyway) .

If I'm going to keep it locked in the trunk, I might as well leave it at home.

Thats hitting the nail on the head!!! But this won't matter because you've already made the decision to pony up and take the responsibility...

You'll be fine...Just play it cool, and eventually the whole idea of protecting yourself becomes second nature...

BTW, have fun on that trip...

[Venus Pax]

You're really anxious over the trip. You're wanting to be safe (ie, keep the loaded gun handy), yet you're also wanting to obey the law. Both make you a respectable citizen.

I'm guessing that your child will be riding in the backseat of the car. If so, just keep the loaded gun in either your glove box or console. Keep your proof of insurance in the opposite location. This way, if you have to show your proof of insurance at a traffic stop, the smoke wagon doesn't tumble out.

I don't think you'll have trouble, even in Harris Co. LEOs are familiar with people traveling with handguns. I've never run across one that had an issue with it, although I hear antis do exist in the ranks. Being a female with a young child, I think the chances of you getting any trouble from this are slim.

The final concern is for your child. Children are all different. Decide whether or not it is appropriate to tell her/talk to her about it. Keep her at a good distance from the gun. (ie, gun in glove box-- kid in back seat). Also, keep the safety on (if the gun has one) and keep it in a holster. (A $10 holster that simply covers the barrel entrance and trigger is sufficient for glove box carry.)

Finally, the dogs--
I don't think you'll have trouble with them. As a group, they're uninterested in firearms. A girl on another forum was having trouble with her little dog licking her guns, but he never got near the trigger.

[rspeir]

HB 823 is law, it was effective 9/1/05. It has been codified as PC§46.15(i).

[Renegade]

Thank you all for your advice / suggestions.

Renegade, thanks for your input, but I can think of several possible scenarios that would necessitate having the handgun accessible. If I'm going to keep it locked in the trunk, I might as well leave it at home. All you have to do these days is watch the local news and be provided with scenarios that would have been unthinkable in my younger days. You have to be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best. I will look up PC 46.15 as you suggested.

Well, I think having a handgun when you break down, have a flat, run out of gas, or at your destination is better than leaving it at home. YMMV. I also watch the news, and have yet to see a CHL engage bad guys in a running shootout while driving. Statistically, most people who need a gun do not need it while actually driving. Instead of preparing for the worst, you may want to make sure you are prepared for the most likely instead. Everybody has their own strategy to deal with bad guys while driving, and mine is to use my driving skills to get away from the problem, not to pull out a gun and escalate the problem and draw fire towards my car that I have my child in.

Not looking for an argument, just want to help you have a safe trip. You seem very focused on a gun, I hope you take as much time to make sure your car is in working order, your spare tire is ready, your cell phone is charged and you have a 12v charger, etc.

[pbandjelly]

check the tire pressure!!

my tire light came on the other day, and had to fill'er up yesterday!
you bump a curb and whoa! stinkin' curbs just jump on out thurr!!

[tallmike]

Thank you all for your advice / suggestions.

Renegade, thanks for your input, but I can think of several possible scenarios that would necessitate having the handgun accessible. If I'm going to keep it locked in the trunk, I might as well leave it at home. All you have to do these days is watch the local news and be provided with scenarios that would have been unthinkable in my younger days. You have to be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best. I will look up PC 46.15 as you suggested.

Well, I think having a handgun when you break down, have a flat, run out of gas, or at your destination is better than leaving it at home. YMMV. I also watch the news, and have yet to see a CHL engage bad guys in a running shootout while driving. Statistically, most people who need a gun do not need it while actually driving. Instead of preparing for the worst, you may want to make sure you are prepared for the most likely instead. Everybody has their own strategy to deal with bad guys while driving, and mine is to use my driving skills to get away from the problem, not to pull out a gun and escalate the problem and draw fire towards my car that I have my child in.

Not looking for an argument, just want to help you have a safe trip. You seem very focused on a gun, I hope you take as much time to make sure your car is in working order, your spare tire is ready, your cell phone is charged and you have a 12v charger, etc.

Well said. An incredibly reasonable post. =)

[Just_Me]

Everybody has their own strategy to deal with bad guys while driving, and mine is to use my driving skills to get away from the problem, not to pull out a gun and escalate the problem and draw fire towards my car that I have my child in.

Renegade, I'm not looking for an argument, either, so let's be friends and agree to disagree. I don't see myself driving down the road shooting out the window at a car in the next lane. However, my driving skills probably don't match yours. I take it slow and easy. I wouldn't know how to evade someone who was trying to run me off the road to carjack me or kidnap my daughter. However, after I pulled over, I would certainly have a surprise for them, and I'm confident their plans would be foiled. If my gun happened to be in the trunk, I suppose I could politely excuse myself and ask the attacker to wait a minute while I retrieved my gun from the locked trunk? Or to follow your scenario, how safe would my daughter be if I were driving madly at escalated speeds, running from a bad guy? And what if he was shooting at me while I was trying to get away? Would she be any safer in that scenario? I know you must think I've been watching too much CSI to have all these ideas, but I think you have to go over every possible scenario in your head in preparation, then choose what you think you are actually capable of implementing.

You seem very focused on a gun

Isn't that what this forum is all about??????????


For the rest of you, thank you so much for your concerns and advice. To put your mind at ease, my daughter always knows where I keep my gun. She does not have any curiousity or desire to handle it. I always tell her where it is and whether or not it is loaded. It has a safety button, as well as a key lock. I think that educating her about it is much safer than trying to hide it. Education demystifies and thwarts unsupervised curiousity.

Regarding the dogs, Toby is a 90 pound yellow lab and is not a licker. Happy, on the other hand, is a 10 pound rat terrier, and her favorite thing to lick is your toes! But rest assured that the gun will not be accessible to Happy's tongue, just in case she gets a "hankerin'" to taste it.