Texas Concealed Handgun License

A group of Home School ladies in the area are planning on qualifying for their CHL. I wanted them to know what the advantages of it were so they would know if it was worth the effort and money. I thought I would repost it here in case someone else was interested. This of course only applies in Texas although the principles are true elsewhere.

Ladies, before you go out and spend $250 ish for you CHL I wanted to
make sure you knew what you are getting. In Texas you are already free
to carry a gun on premises you own or control(house, businesses, etc) or
in non public places where you have permission from the person who owns
or controls it(friends, family, neighbors, etc). If your employer has
spelled it out in the policy manual, you can carry at work. You can
carry openly or concealed in these places with or without a CHL. You
can also carry in your vehicle as long as the gun is out of plain sight
and you are not committing any crime(besides traffic offense). This
includes from your house(or other allowed place) to the vehicle.

The CHL means you can carry into public places as long as the gun is
concealed from normal observation. There are place you cannot carry,
but generally you can carry to most places you go. You can also carry
in 28 states that recognize the Texas CHL. Their laws may not give you
the ability to carry in your vehicle without the CHL. The class teaches
you mostly about Texas law, when you can legally display the firearm and
when you can legally shoot at a human person. The laws for this are the
same for CHL and non CHL, the only difference is that without the CHL
you can't legally have the gun in as many places. It is illegal for
someone without the CHL to carry a concealed firearm into a public
place; however, if it concealed properly no one will know unless you
are forced to use it. Carry at your own risk. "It is better to be
tried by 12 than carried by six."

The CHL is a great thing. But, if you are not going to regularly carry
outside of your vehicle it is probably not worth the hassle. If you are
only interested in learning to handle a gun safely and shoot well, find
a qualified person to teach you and then carry where you can legally.
The CHL training assumes you know how to safely handle and accurately
shoot a handgun, if you need real training and practice get it before
the class starts. Also, get good recommendations on what kind of gun
you want to use to qualify and to carry(they may be different). Neil
Grant and his bunch at The Outdoorsman are very good at this.

All of that being said, my wife is planning on getting her CHL, I have
had mine for almost 2 years. There are places I would not feel near as
comfortable going unarmed, especially as I travel. In my opinion, the
more honest and well trained people carry guns the better off we are.
The criminals will have them whether they are legal or not. If I can
answer any questions, let me know.

RZ

Texas State Rifle Assoc CHL page

A map showing states that
recognize the Texas CHL

Texas Concealed Handgun Association a great association that has a legal services plan that is interesting.
TCHA's list of reciprocity agreements
TCHA's chart of where you can and cannot carry in Texas.