txmatt wrote:Folks, the law is clear on this.
Very clear in fact. So if this isn't "working out" for Law Enforcement then perhaps measures should be taken to change it. I'm pretty sure this is still the best way to do things.
If you are not carrying there is no need to show the CHL. If a cop sees that I have a CHL and then gets angry at me for following the law, I will be making a complaint to his/her supervisor.
And I will be right behind you (maybe in front). This is the only way to stop someone from "getting hinky" about it.
It makes no sense once seeing that someone has a CHL to then assume that the person has suddenly chosen to start violating the law rather than the much more plausible explanation that that person is not carrying at the moment.
Exactly.
Also, given unlicensed car carry these days in Texas, if an officer wants to know whether there is a weapon in the vehicle he should be asking... a non-chl will not be informing an officer if carrying unless asked.
Another good point. Additionally, the officer must make contact with the person stopped in either case (CHL or not), that is point where he/she is vulnerable. This is unavoidable....and part of the job.
Rugrash-
Around here when I am carrying and inform a LEO of this after presenting my CHL then I get the response "good," not the other way around
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Same thing here (at least to date). So apparently LEO are not so inclined to get "hinky" everywhere we encounter them.
As concerns "Officer Safety": I agree with the other person who posted that much emphasis is put on Officer Safety these days. That is good and proper
to a point. I personally know of no one that doesn't want our LEO personnel to go home alive and unscathed at the end of the day. This is the object, the goal and the "ideal" of the training.
However, if police training/tactics/procedures/policies become such that in "application" they violate my rights (or the law), then something is terribly wrong!
I am not in favor of encouraging a "military" type police force.
So... if Officer Safety becomes the only thing important (at all costs and by any means) then we have a very serious problem.
I DO NOT put small value on the lives of LEO. I am more than "aware" that the job they do subjects them to the possibility of physical harm and death. I recognize too, that a certain number of officers are killed in the line of duty each year. This is regrettable, saddening, and unfortunate.
So, we are left with this quandary: At what point does Officer Safety training...begin to overshadow the rights of the citizenship or abrogate written law?
On the one hand, an Officer may lose his/her life. No one wants that.
On the other hand, countless thousands of men have died and shed their blood for the freedoms, liberties, and "rights" we enjoy as Americans. Not to mention...we are nation of "laws".
In this case, I don't know the answer. I will continue to extend every "courtesy" I can to LEO. I will be respectful to them and accommodating in every way it makes sense to do so. I expect the same from them.
Then, if at some point....the officer decides that his position of authority gives him the right to become angry,upset or hinky....that will be dealt with latter. And that's a promise.
