TexasCHLforum.com

A co-worker (and student) was stopped last night. Of course, he gave the LEO his CHL. LEOs (2) were very nice/friendly. Asked if he had his gun and where. Later, LEO said next time, tell us you have a gun when you give us the license. (Not what I taught. :( ) LEO said I was wrong.

What say you?

The law only requires me to notify the officer, by giving him my CHL, when asked for identification. It doesn't require me to tell him where my weapon is - I figure if he's interested in where my weapon is, he'll ask. If he wants to grate on me because I didn't tell him right off, that's OK. He's not going to write me a ticket for that (or, if he does, it will be dismissed and he'll get some extra training).

Seems to me it is common courtesy to let the leo know where the gun is when handing over a chl. It could also meant the difference in a courtesy warning or receiving a coupon for the original traffic stop violation

I am not an instructor or LEO, but it seems to me that the law requires one to hand over a CHL with ID when ID is requested while armed, and not to hand it over when ID is requested when not armed, then the only time one would hand over the CHL is when one is armed. Therefore, if a LEO is handed a CHL with ID then the LEO can be fairly certain the person is armed and therefore they have been told the person has a gun.

Personally I do not wish to see the reaction of the LEO to the word “gun” while sitting on the side of the road. Maybe he hasn’t looked at the CHL yet, so when the driver says “I have a gun...” the LEO points his gun at the driver.

So, IMO, when handed a CHL a LEO should know that person has a gun. If the officer wants to know more about the gun (where it is, what I carry in, how often I carry, make, model, caliber, magazine capacity, how it shoots, what it cost, where I purchased it, how I managed such a sweet deal, or when I plan to go shooting again) he needs to ask.

Jaguar wrote:I am not an instructor or LEO, but it seems to me that the law requires one to hand over a CHL with ID when ID is requested while armed, and not to hand it over when ID is requested when not armed, then the only time one would hand over the CHL is when one is armed. Therefore, if a LEO is handed a CHL with ID then the LEO can be fairly certain the person is armed and therefore they have been told the person has a gun.

Personally I do not wish to see the reaction of the LEO to the word “gun” while sitting on the side of the road. Maybe he hasn’t looked at the CHL yet, so when the driver says “I have a gun...” the LEO points his gun at the driver.

So, IMO, when handed a CHL a LEO should know that person has a gun. If the officer wants to know more about the gun (where it is, what I carry in, how often I carry, make, model, caliber, magazine capacity, how it shoots, what it cost, where I purchased it, how I managed such a sweet deal, or when I plan to go shooting again) he needs to ask.

There is no "requirement" NOT to show the CHL when asked for ID when NOT armed. If you want to show it anyway, you certainly can. And it may prevent the LEO returning and asking why you didn't provide it.

sjfcontrol wrote:

Jaguar wrote:I am not an instructor or LEO, but it seems to me that the law requires one to hand over a CHL with ID when ID is requested while armed, and not to hand it over when ID is requested when not armed, then the only time one would hand over the CHL is when one is armed. Therefore, if a LEO is handed a CHL with ID then the LEO can be fairly certain the person is armed and therefore they have been told the person has a gun.

Personally I do not wish to see the reaction of the LEO to the word “gun” while sitting on the side of the road. Maybe he hasn’t looked at the CHL yet, so when the driver says “I have a gun...” the LEO points his gun at the driver.

So, IMO, when handed a CHL a LEO should know that person has a gun. If the officer wants to know more about the gun (where it is, what I carry in, how often I carry, make, model, caliber, magazine capacity, how it shoots, what it cost, where I purchased it, how I managed such a sweet deal, or when I plan to go shooting again) he needs to ask.

There is no "requirement" NOT to show the CHL when asked for ID when NOT armed. If you want to show it anyway, you certainly can. And it may prevent the LEO returning and asking why you didn't provide it.

Quite true, the last time I was stopped I was unarmed and after the initial conversation with the trooper I handed over my CHL as an afterthought and said, "I'm not armed, but you might want to see this." He handed it back and said thanks. I received a warning - but I was told right off the bat that is what I was getting so the CHL had no effect.

The last few times I've been stopped I handed over my DL and CHL.
One said "you can have this back" or words to that effect as he handed back the CHL.
One said "I don't need this" or words to that effect as he handed back the CHL.
One handed back the CHL without any comment on it whatsoever.
None of the three asked if I was carrying, where I was carrying, or what I was carrying.

I've taken this as a sign that it's becoming a non-issue with LEOs, and I'm glad to see it moving that direction.
(But I'm out here in West Texas, not in the big city.)

I will teach a student the law, which is you must present your CHL when armed. However, I will suggest they may want to present it no matter as the LEO will find their status when he/she runs their DL and may come ask you about it. I will not teach them one way or the other as to announcing that they are carrying. it is not really a requirement and the LEO in this case was wrong.

Personally, I will present my CHL carrying or not and let the officer ask the question while clearly keeping my hands visible at all times.

I plan to follow the law and am not interested in trying to guess what the leo's "preferences" are.

In our one interaction with Da Man (wife driving) she gave up TDL and CHL and I had her put the inside light on with hands on wheels. No issue other then she got flustered when she couldn't find her insurance card. Very professional and no question about the firearm other then shooter stuff "how like shooting? What caliber, wife wants one what think about blah blah blah). Made the stop considerably longer but much more jovial and no ticket.

Especially if I have other people in the car, I'm not going to start announcing that I have a gun. I'll present my CHL and let him ask questions if he wants additional information.

Starting the conversation with "I have a gun" is a bad idea IMHO. No way.
Tell me to get it or give it to you? No way. I'll comply with whatever you want politely and slowly, but I will not reach towards that gun.. Period.
Cuff me? That's fine. Pull me out of the car? That's fine... You'll never catch me on camera reaching toward it.

If he put your tag # in the computer before or at the stop, and you are driving your ca it should let him know you have a CHL,, of course some towns dont have the Inf yet

o b juan wrote:If he put your tag # in the computer before or at the stop, and you are driving your ca it should let him know you have a CHL,, of course some towns dont have the Inf yet

Not your tag. CHL is tied to your driver's license.

mojo84 wrote:

o b juan wrote:If he put your tag # in the computer before or at the stop, and you are driving your ca it should let him know you have a CHL,, of course some towns dont have the Inf yet

Not your tag. CHL is tied to your driver's license.

When the officer runs the license tag number they get "John Doe, 1234 Some Street, Wide Open Spaces, Texas 00000." Just another click or two of the mouse to get Mr. Doe's driver's license etc. They already know everything but your shirt size before approaching your vehicle.