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by CleverNickname
Mon Aug 24, 2015 7:03 pm
Forum: Other States
Topic: TX CHL no longer valid in Minnesota
Replies: 19
Views: 6818

Re: TX CHL no longer valid in Minnesota

PitBoss wrote:before changing Texas laws to conform to other states' requirements, I would rather see more focus and energy on passing the national reciprocity legislation currently filed... this 'state by state' reciprocity is more of a hassle than it needs be...
No reason we couldn't work towards both. Since one would be in Congress and the other would be in the Texas Legislature, they wouldn't be competing.
by CleverNickname
Mon Aug 24, 2015 10:59 am
Forum: Other States
Topic: TX CHL no longer valid in Minnesota
Replies: 19
Views: 6818

Re: TX CHL no longer valid in Minnesota

Charles L. Cotton wrote:I wish they had just limited reciprocity to people age 21 and over as did several other states. If you look at Ryan's reciprocity map, you'll see several states marked with "21" meaning they recognize our CHL issued to people who are 21 or older. We almost lost reciprocity with those states when Texas foolishly dropped the minimum age to 18. The only reason it didn't happen was because of the work of NRA lobbyists in those states.

Let's look at the numbers to see how many additional Texans were able to get a CHL as a result of the dropping of the minimum age. Below are listed the number of new CHLs issued to people age 18 to 20. I only listed the last three years because every 18 year old would be 21 in three years and would be eligible under the "old" law. Actually, these numbers are overstated because the new CHLs age 19 or 20 would have been eligible in only one or two more years.

2014 - 237
2013 - 185
2012 - 123
Total - 545 CHLs added over a three year period who were under age 21.

This is a great example of passing legislation that seems patriotic without factoring in the true impact on all Texans, including hundreds of thousands of veterans who are over 21 and hold a CHL. So the bottom line currently is 850,000+ Texas CHLs cannot carry self-defense handguns in MN so 545 people under age 21 can have a license.

Now that one state had deviated from the policy of recognizing Texas CHLs issued only to people age 21 and over, other states may follow MN's lead. This is especially true with states that only recently passed concealed-carry.

Chas.
It seems that the problem these other states have with Texas CHLs is that there's no difference in licenses between a license possessed by those 21 and over, and a license possessed by those under 21 years old. What do you think about changing the Texas CHL so that there's two types of permits, one for those 21 or over, and a different one for those under 21? The two types of licenses could be equivalent under Texas law with where the licensees could carry, the requirements to get a license, etc. The sole difference would be an age requirement where the licenses for younger licensees would have a big "UNDER 21" warning printed on it, and maybe have the license printed in portrait mode like under-21 driver's licenses instead of landscape mode like over-21 driver's licenses.

Some other states have differently-tiered licenses. For example, South Dakota has a "normal" permit, and also an "enhanced" permit which requires a training class. The training class means that some states recognize an enhanced South Dakota permit but not an normal South Dakota permit, so I think having two legally distinct types of Texas CHLs would allow them to recognize one license and not the other, where being under 21 matters under the other state's reciprocity laws.

I really want to find a way to increase our reciprocity for those over 21 without removing the ability for those under 21 to carry inside Texas and in states where age does not matter for reciprocity, no matter how few of those under 21 licensees there may actually be.

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