Relocating to Texas

[Chaingun81]

I’ll be relocating from Virginia to Texas this summer and I’d like to obtain a Texas Concealed Handgun License. I currently hold a Virginia (resident) Concealed Handgun Permit which I’ve had since 2007 and I know it’s valid in Texas under a reciprocity agreement. I’d like to understand what would be the most efficient way to seamlessly transition from VA CHP to TX CHL. I’m looking for some guidance on the following questions:

1) How long can I legally carry a handgun in TX under my VA CHP? Does acquiring a permanent residency in TX and/or a TX driver’s license automatically invalidate my VA CHP? (The CHP itself doesn’t expire until 2017 so this is not an issue.)
2) At what point in my transition to TX do I become eligible for a TX CHL? Do I have to establish a permanent residency in TX and/or acquire a TX driver’s license to be eligible for the TX CHL?
3) How long does it take to obtain a TX CHL? Can I carry in the vehicle without a permit?

Thanks in advance!

[JALLEN]

I am doing this right now. I completed the CHL class last Friday.

Your VA permit is valid if it is recognized in Texas anyway. The only worry is the Federal rules around schools. The permit has to be issued by that state to get around that one. I carried all last week with permits from Utah and Florida.

You don't have to be a permanent resident of Texas but you do have to take the required course in Texas, and get fingerprinted in Texas. I took the course but will defer filing the app until I have a TDL, just so things don't get too confusing with last minute changes and re-does. When I have the TDL, they can use the same picture for the CHL so that will save some hassle.

Reports are running a couple of months, but with out of state backgrounds to check, who knows? I am not going to fret about it since I can carry as I wish in the meantime, and so can you apparently.

Texans can carry in the vehicle without a permit, while traveling but the weapon has to be concealed from view at all times and not on your person..... covered by a t-shirt, in a glove box, etc.

In September or so, whenever the Gov gets around to signing, the course requirement is supposed to drop from 10 hours to 4. I didn't mind the 10 hours so much, it takes a good bit of discussion to get your head around when use of force is proper and when you are sailing off into dangerous waters, what the laws are, because firing a gun is very serious and has ramifications. You need to be able to know when it can be done properly, appropriately, and it isn't that easy that a one hours discussion covers all the angles.

[RoyGBiv]

Nice that two "foreigners" get it right on the first try .
(Welcome home JAllen) .
Welcome to Texas.

Your VA license is welcome here until it expires, unless you have to surrender it when you leave VA.

[TexasGal]

Welcome to Texas!

Texas no longer makes you reside here for a period of time before being able to get a resident TX CHL. I would get a TX Drivers License first and then apply for the CHL as a resident. You can carry under your Virginia license but that does not exempt you from the rule to stay out of the gun free zone of schools as already mentioned. You may want to call Virginia State Police to see if your resident license needs to have the address updated to a non resident license once you have established a residence here.

You can have a gun concealed in a car you own or are in control of in Texas without any license but it is far better to use your Virginia License until you get your Texas CHL so you can carry your gun out of the car on your person and in cars you don't own or are not driving.

If you are reading up on the information on the forum, then the laws governing where you can carry are all discussed at length. Some would say argued over

[Jumping Frog]

Agree with the above.

Also want to note that although the 1000 ft "gun free school zone" issue is technically accurate, you are literally more likely to be struck by lightning. I carried here on my UT and PA licenses when I relocated here until I got my Texas CHL, and the GFSZ issue is not something I spent any energy worrying about.

First, the GFSZ is a federal crime, not state or local, so how many times do you see FBI agents making traffic stops? Second, I have been following this issue on gun forums for many years, and have yet to see any reports of an otherwise law-abiding citizen getting charged. The exceptions seem to be drug dealers already getting arrested by the DEA, and the weapons charge serves as an "add-on". The last time a previous version of this law went to court, the Supreme Court threw the law out.

Anyway, what part of Texas are you moving to?

[C-dub]

Texans can carry in the vehicle without a permit, while traveling but the weapon has to be concealed from view at all times and not on your person..... covered by a t-shirt, in a glove box, etc.

Mr. Allen, I know you are very careful when it comes to things of this nature, but I'm not familiar with the part about not being able to carry the gun "on your person" part. Without a license, it might not be a great idea in case you would forget and just get out of the vehicle and committing a crime, but I don't think it is prohibited.

[3dfxMM]

Nor do you have to be "traveling".

[Keith B]

Texans can carry in the vehicle without a permit, while traveling but the weapon has to be concealed from view at all times and not on your person..... covered by a t-shirt, in a glove box, etc.

Mr. Allen, I know you are very careful when it comes to things of this nature, but I'm not familiar with the part about not being able to carry the gun "on your person" part. Without a license, it might not be a great idea in case you would forget and just get out of the vehicle and committing a crime, but I don't think it is prohibited.

Per the MPA you can have a gun in your vehicle that is under your control without a license. No need to be traveling; you can be sitting still or driving around the block for fun.

And, yes, you can have it on your person. A good example would be if you were taking your wife to work and dropping her off then returning home and would not be out of the car. You can legally have it on you at home, get in the car, driver her to the office, then come back home and exit your vehicle on your property wearing the gun and no license needed. HOWEVER, as stated, it is not a very wise move due to the fact that if you have to exit the vehicle in an emergency or get stopped by the police and have to exit, then you now have to either disarm before exiting or you are in violation of the law once outside of the vehicle.

[JALLEN]

Hmmm. I had gotten that impression, about "traveling" and not on your person, reading this Forum, over the year plus that I have been peeking in. Something about the way the statute is worded, IIRC.

Take their word for it, not mine. I'm a stranger in these parts.

[Chaingun81]

I am doing this right now. I completed the CHL class last Friday.

Your VA permit is valid if it is recognized in Texas anyway. The only worry is the Federal rules around schools. The permit has to be issued by that state to get around that one. I carried all last week with permits from Utah and Florida.

You don't have to be a permanent resident of Texas but you do have to take the required course in Texas, and get fingerprinted in Texas. I took the course but will defer filing the app until I have a TDL, just so things don't get too confusing with last minute changes and re-does. When I have the TDL, they can use the same picture for the CHL so that will save some hassle.

Reports are running a couple of months, but with out of state backgrounds to check, who knows? I am not going to fret about it since I can carry as I wish in the meantime, and so can you apparently.

Texans can carry in the vehicle without a permit, while traveling but the weapon has to be concealed from view at all times and not on your person..... covered by a t-shirt, in a glove box, etc.

In September or so, whenever the Gov gets around to signing, the course requirement is supposed to drop from 10 hours to 4. I didn't mind the 10 hours so much, it takes a good bit of discussion to get your head around when use of force is proper and when you are sailing off into dangerous waters, what the laws are, because firing a gun is very serious and has ramifications. You need to be able to know when it can be done properly, appropriately, and it isn't that easy that a one hours discussion covers all the angles.

Thanks, this helps! I'm not terribly happy about spending a whole day on a class after having VA permit for 6 years. I was expecting this to be a simple paperwork exchage similar to a DL change but this is a bit more involved. I do agree that a lengthy discussion over legal issues is helpful. We didn't have this in VA so I had to do my own legal research to make sure I don't accidently break some random victimless law.

[Chaingun81]

Nice that two "foreigners" get it right on the first try .
(Welcome home JAllen) .
Welcome to Texas.

Your VA license is welcome here until it expires, unless you have to surrender it when you leave VA.

Thanks! So there is no issue with having a resident permit from another state while I become a TX resident?

I don't think I have to surrender my permit so this shouldn't be an issue.

[Chaingun81]

Welcome to Texas!

Texas no longer makes you reside here for a period of time before being able to get a resident TX CHL. I would get a TX Drivers License first and then apply for the CHL as a resident. You can carry under your Virginia license but that does not exempt you from the rule to stay out of the gun free zone of schools as already mentioned. You may want to call Virginia State Police to see if your resident license needs to have the address updated to a non resident license once you have established a residence here.

You can have a gun concealed in a car you own or are in control of in Texas without any license but it is far better to use your Virginia License until you get your Texas CHL so you can carry your gun out of the car on your person and in cars you don't own or are not driving.

If you are reading up on the information on the forum, then the laws governing where you can carry are all discussed at length. Some would say argued over

Good call - I'll inquire VSP whether I need to do anything. I can see plenty of info on how to get both resident and non-resident CHPs but nothing about what happens when I'm a resident becoming a non-resident.

I suspect that this change in VA may be more involed than simply updating an address. All resident CHPs are issued by a circuit court of your county while non-resident are issued by VSP in Richmond. Format is entirely different too - non-resident permit have pictures and look almost like real IDs, while resident ones are printed on a simple piece of paper and look like you just ran it on your laser jet. http://www.handgunlaw.us/states/virginia.pdf

I sent a similar inquiry to the TX DPS but haven't gotten any response in 2 weeks.

[Chaingun81]

Agree with the above.

Also want to note that although the 1000 ft "gun free school zone" issue is technically accurate, you are literally more likely to be struck by lightning. I carried here on my UT and PA licenses when I relocated here until I got my Texas CHL, and the GFSZ issue is not something I spent any energy worrying about.

First, the GFSZ is a federal crime, not state or local, so how many times do you see FBI agents making traffic stops? Second, I have been following this issue on gun forums for many years, and have yet to see any reports of an otherwise law-abiding citizen getting charged. The exceptions seem to be drug dealers already getting arrested by the DEA, and the weapons charge serves as an "add-on". The last time a previous version of this law went to court, the Supreme Court threw the law out.

Anyway, what part of Texas are you moving to?

Don't even get me started on GFSZ. I have a huge issue with ALL places off limits to carry with exception of the areas that are properly secured (sterile areas of the airport, courthouse, etc). Any "no gun" zone where carry prohibition is enforced by a useless sign (rather than armed security with a metal detector) is nothing but "defenseless victim zone".

Plus I have a huge issue with any carry prohibition that makes me a criminal for commiting no actual crime. I don't see how being in an establishment that derives 52% of it's revenue from alcohol makes me any more dangerous than in one that does only 50%. Such nonsense.

Up until 2010 in VA any restaurant that "has a license for on-premises alcohol consumption" was off limits for concealed carry. I used to have VA ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control) licensee search page permanently bookmarked on my iPhone. Went to Middle Eastern restaurants and fast food a lot at that time .

Then in 2010 they threw the whole thing out - now you can carry in pub and sit at the bar as long as you don't consume any alcohol. Sucks that I have to deal with this again in TX. Although I must say that 51% sign should be a lot easier to spot than doing an ABC license search online...

[Chaingun81]

Agree with the above.

Also want to note that although the 1000 ft "gun free school zone" issue is technically accurate, you are literally more likely to be struck by lightning. I carried here on my UT and PA licenses when I relocated here until I got my Texas CHL, and the GFSZ issue is not something I spent any energy worrying about.

First, the GFSZ is a federal crime, not state or local, so how many times do you see FBI agents making traffic stops? Second, I have been following this issue on gun forums for many years, and have yet to see any reports of an otherwise law-abiding citizen getting charged. The exceptions seem to be drug dealers already getting arrested by the DEA, and the weapons charge serves as an "add-on". The last time a previous version of this law went to court, the Supreme Court threw the law out.

Anyway, what part of Texas are you moving to?

Moving to Houston area.

[TexasGal]

Texas has reciprocity with Virginia and vice versa. Texas does not currently require you to have a resident CHL here before you can use a non resident CHl from another state we recognize. You can carry under your Virginia CHL until you get your Texas CHL as long as Virginia does not have a reason on their end to invalidate your resident license with your move here. If they need to change it over to a non resident CHl on their end, then make sure there will be no gap in it being legal in the switch. If there is, then you would need to only carry in your car here under the Motorist Protection Act (MPA) during that inactive period. Your carry license must be in force at all times you are carrying and you need to present it with your drivers license to an officer if he/she asks for ID (and you have one or more guns on you or in the car at the time). If it does not have a picture or looks as you describe, I don't know if an officer would be bothered by that. That is probably why the non resident license Virginia issues has a picture.
When you get your Texas CHL, it will look almost exactly like your Texas driver's license and will use the same picture unless you specify otherwise.