To apply or not to apply...

[texasjeep44]

I didn't read every single post, so if I am duplicating some posts, sorry.

If protection of your life is only valuable to you when your in your car or on your own property then don't get a CHL.

If you never intend on traveling outside the state of Texas, then don't get a CHL.

If you are worried about what friends think about you having a gun, then don't get a CHL.

However, if you would like to be able to carry everywhere legal and have the ability to protect yourself, if you ever want to travel outside the state of Texas with a loaded firearm in your auto, and if you think you would be a good steward of gun ownership and possibly bring some non gun folks over to our crowd, then by all means get the darn CHL. You have already done the hard part, keep on going.

[Mike from Texas]

Man, Jim (SeamusTX)is on a roll. He is saying exactly what I would tell this young man, so I won't repeat it.

I will however say that if your family would freak out to the point that they would no longer continue to support you and your further education then they have serious problems and you probably need to take care of it yourself anyway. I would not be held hostage on a decision that I am fully capable of making on my own as a grown, free man.

I have never told my Mom that I carry; not that she would freak out but the conversation has never come up. I'm pretty sure she knows, she's felt it when exchanging hugs and my brother knows I carry everywhere. She's never asked and I've never offered.

[seamusTX]

Thanks.

There are matters that you just don't need to talk about. Very few people talk about what brand or color of underwear they are wearing that day.

Even with police stops, from what I've read, the officer just says something like "where is it?" The jerks that feel they need to haul a CHL holder out of the vehicle and disarm him are rare.

- Jim

[gmckinl]

Even with police stops, from what I've read, the officer just says something like "where is it?"

The officer who wrote me up last month only made two statements on the subject upon my handing him my DL/CHL/POI.

"Do you have your weapon with you?" and after I responded in the affirmative, added "Good for you". Nothing more was said on the subject.

[The Annoyed Man]

I have never told my Mom that I carry; not that she would freak out but the conversation has never come up....

You're one up on me. I've never told my mother (who lives in California anyway) that I carry, because she most definitely would freak out. My brothers both know, and they both know not to tell her, precisely for that reason. She actually has forbidden any of us to talk about guns in her house. So when I'm in her house, I don't talk about guns. But that doesn't stop me from talking about them or carrying them everywhere else on the planet where it is legal to do so, and if my CHL had reciprocity in California, I would carry in her home. She just wouldn't know about it.

Adults are either primary decision makers, or they abide by the decisions made by others. The second half of that phrase implies a decision also: the decision to abide by another's decision. The former, the person who is a primary decision maker, lives a freer life than the person who abides by the decisions of others. Being a primary decision maker carries responsibility, and the responsibility is not without cost. Sometimes the cost is financial. Sometimes it is emotional. That is the price of freedom, but you can never become a fully realized adult until you are willing to pay that price. The person who abides by, or acquiesces, to the decisions of others may gain security - either financial or emotional - by deciding to subordinate their own decision making right to other adults, but they are never really fully free.

My mother is a substantially wealthy person, and she used to try and use her money to buy some control over my life, even long after I was married and our son was growing up. It caused me nothing but grief to accept any of that money. I finally told her, flat out, to her face, and word for word, that our relationship was more important to me than her money, and that I didn't want any more of it because all it did was get in the way. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Would my life have been a lot easier with that extra money? Yes, it would have. But, the decision had the benefit of setting some boundaries in our relationship, and those boundaries have served us well.

You'll know whether or not you are an adult when you are ready to set those boundaries with the people you love and care about - including boundaries about your decision whether or not to carry a gun.

[Pawpaw]

I, on the other hand, have been very lucky in that regard. My mother has been bugging me for quite a while to get my CHL.

Now that I have it, the subject rarely comes up. Her attitude about me having a gun when I take her out? "I just assume you always have it."

Two thumbs up for Momma! She's the best!

[horns434]

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...

[seamusTX]

It's tough. I'm at your back, as far as I can be.

My parents wanted us to buy a house down the street from them when my wife and I married. Then my wife's mother wanted us to buy a house a couple of blocks from her home. They were 20 miles apart. We just had to say No. They did not disown us, though, as I said, some feathers flew.

If you can't learn to drive, get a Utah, Florida, or other non-resident license. They are much cheaper and won't show up in your frequent traffic stops.

- Jim