TexasCHLforum.com

Hello all,
I have recently found this forum and am interested in getting a CHL but have never pursued it. The reason for this is I was discharged from the military with a bad conduct discharge. I was young and stupid at the time and was looking for a way out when a fire happened in the barracks while I was the only one there. Long story short I denied the charges and then later under some extreme pressure I plead guilty to lesser charge amounting to simple arson. This was a bad conduct special discharge with a sentence not to exceed 1 year. The way I read the rules for the CHL is a felony is any crime designated as such or a crime that is punishable by more than 1 year imprisonment. I plead guilty about 12 years ago and I am wondering am I ok now to apply for a CHL? I am allowed to own a handgun just unsure about the CHL. I have had several friends in law enforcement try to find any record of the incident all to no avail. I dont have any of the court records and honestly would not know how to get them. Do I need to disclose it if it does show up in NCIC or local police systems? Thanks in advance for the help and sorry for the long post just trying to give as much info as possible

Welcome to the forum, gunny.

Short answer: if you may legally own a firearm, then a misdemeanor-level offense 12 years ago does not disqualify you from getting a CHL.

UCMJ offenses are not generally entered into NCIC.

The ATF Form 4473 asks whether or not you've been discharged under "dishonorable" conditions. A BCD is "other than honorable", but is not "dishonorable".

Since your offense was not felony level ("punishable by more than one year in prison"), and was not domestic violence, and happened 12 years ago, I believe you're clear.

Just be sure to list all the details on your CHL application, and be prepared to wait patiently.

Kevin

From one newbie to another welcome..Not sure if its the same thing,but I had a misdimeanor on my record as a result of being young and stupid once.I dont recall exactly if mine was a class A or B.?.?. It was for posession of a butterfly knife when I was 17..Anyway,to make a long story short,all I did was get a copy of the disposition and submit it along with my packet..With the exception of having to drive downtown and spend a couple of hours getting the copy,it didnt pose a problem or result in a denial..Hope this helps

Thanks for the info I am going to go ahead and get this started and we shall see how long it all takes. Any recommendations for ranges in the galveston county area that also has chl training?

Call Tom Estep at 409 945 6636.

- Jim

gunny wrote:Thanks for the info I am going to go ahead and get this started and we shall see how long it all takes. Any recommendations for ranges in the galveston county area that also has chl training?

The Texas City Municiple Gun range is pretty nice.

+1 on Tom he is top notch.

+1 best you are going to get. Sit back and listen to someone that really knows how to shoot and makes concealed carry a real part of his everyday life.

Tom will treat you right.
Jason