Convince me that constitutional carry is a good thing

[Mel]

...the 30.06 sign postings have continued to increase ...

This stopped the small decal problem and relatively few businesses posted a 30.06 sign until we saw a short-lived surge prior to 1/1/2016 when open-carry came into effect.
Chas.

Not quite sure I agree with the "short lived surge" statement. I'm still getting notices regularly. Five so far today. Ten if you count 30.07 notices. And that's just the North Dallas area.

[s3779m]

...the 30.06 sign postings have continued to increase ...

This stopped the small decal problem and relatively few businesses posted a 30.06 sign until we saw a short-lived surge prior to 1/1/2016 when open-carry came into effect.
Chas.

Not quite sure I agree with the "short lived surge" statement. I'm still getting notices regularly. Five so far today. Ten if you count 30.07 notices. And that's just the North Dallas area.

We are seeing the same thing in the central Texas area. Before open carry passed I pretty much knew which places to avoid, now there are too many. I keep expecting the notices to slow down but no luck so far.

[s3779m]

Well, same here, I am just looking for reasons why someone who wants to carry has not got their license.

I can tell you one reason - budget. If you figure an average course is $100, and add the $140 for the license, and the fingerprint fees, you can get to $500+ for a couple. Factor in a couple of kids to raise, and it can be a large hurdle.

My oldest son and his wife are a single-income family. They made the choice to raise the kids with her at home - it's been great for the kids, but a challenge for them at times to afford things many of us take for granted - but they do it.

His wife is EXTREMELY shy, and has never spoken publicly. She's also pro-gun and wants to get a LTC, so I was able to talk her into going to Austin with me last week and speak to the committee in favor of removing/reducing the state license fees. I was proud of her doing so - she was VERY nervous about it, but handled herself VERY well.

Of course, her testimony was picked up back in San Antonio and broadcast on the local TV/radio stations, so I figure that it'll be safe for me to back back around her in a coupla months......lol

Makes sense, my son and daughter in law also have put off the license for the time being. I hope your trip will help the get the fees for the license removed.

[TexasRedneck]

Makes sense, my son and daughter in law also have put off the license for the time being. I hope your trip will help the get the fees for the license removed.

Everything I've seen/heard/read indicates that SB 16 WILL make it - with a $40 fee rather than the free of charge we were hoping for.

[Swoops1]

Protecting oneself is a God given right, the 2A just guarantees that right. I don't live in Texas any longer since the oilfield bust so I turned my love for firearms into a nice hobby. I teach basic firearms safety and NRA Basic firearms courses, Concealed Carry and volunteer with kids in 4H shooting sports. I don't advertise everything is pretty much word of mouth. I have people on a weekly basis contact me and ask will you teach me how to shoot or will you teach my wife how to shoot? A lot of times I just cover my expenses but, I have fun. I guess what I'm trying to say is, good law abiding people will seek training. Criminals don't care or they wouldn't be criminals.

[thetexan]

Let's think about what we teach in the class.

The largest portion of the class is about the laws of carrying guns, most of which will go away with constitutional carry. What will be left is all of the self-defense laws, gun safety, conflict resolution and proper storage.

Since this is a public safety issue why shouldn't there be some state requirement for some method to mitigate the problem of improper use of handguns such as the education that is mandated now. We require pilots to get a licence. The airspace belongs to us all.

To the response of "we have a 2nd amendment right to carry a gun unfettered by additional regulation". That answer is false and a idealistic leftover.

The supreme court has ruled that reasonable regulation of guns is acceptable. THAT MAKES IT THE NEWLY INTERPRETED AND REVISED 2ND AMENDMENT!

So actually the 2nd ammendment is what the constitution says (by order of the SCOTUS) the 2nd amendment is. Which is the right to carry arms but with possible reasonable regulation.

If Texas decides to have little or no regulation then that's their choice. But this issue is safety related and I don't see a problem with requiring reasonable education for anyone who wants to carry.

In fact I recommend it.

tex

[TexasRedneck]

The largest portion of the class is about the laws of carrying guns, most of which will go away with constitutional carry. What will be left is all of the self-defense laws, gun safety, conflict resolution and proper storage.

Then there are a LOT of instructors that need remedial education on gun laws. I'm partners in a gun shop, and the stuff we hear from new LTC holders is scary.

Since this is a public safety issue why shouldn't there be some state requirement for some method to mitigate the problem of improper use of handguns such as the education that is mandated now. We require pilots to get a licence. The airspace belongs to us all.

Because there's no provision in the Constitution for personal flight.

If Texas decides to have little or no regulation then that's their choice. But this issue is safety related and I don't see a problem with requiring reasonable education for anyone who wants to carry.
In fact I recommend it.

Interesting....define "reasonable education". Russia used to use reeducation programs, as did many other countries. They called theirs "Gulags".

We don't require Voter Education.......

[ScottDLS]

...the 30.06 sign postings have continued to increase ...

This stopped the small decal problem and relatively few businesses posted a 30.06 sign until we saw a short-lived surge prior to 1/1/2016 when open-carry came into effect.
Chas.

Not quite sure I agree with the "short lived surge" statement. I'm still getting notices regularly. Five so far today. Ten if you count 30.07 notices. And that's just the North Dallas area.

Are you sure the notices are for new signs? I get 4-5 notices on the app per day in DFW, but they are for places that I know are already posted. I may be mistaken, but if you go to the 30.06 site they show the new postings and there are ~5/daily for all of Texas and many of these seem to be reports of places that were already posted.

[thetexan]

The largest portion of the class is about the laws of carrying guns, most of which will go away with constitutional carry. What will be left is all of the self-defense laws, gun safety, conflict resolution and proper storage.

Then there are a LOT of instructors that need remedial education on gun laws. I'm partners in a gun shop, and the stuff we hear from new LTC holders is scary.

Since this is a public safety issue why shouldn't there be some state requirement for some method to mitigate the problem of improper use of handguns such as the education that is mandated now. We require pilots to get a licence. The airspace belongs to us all.

Because there's no provision in the Constitution for personal flight.

If Texas decides to have little or no regulation then that's their choice. But this issue is safety related and I don't see a problem with requiring reasonable education for anyone who wants to carry.
In fact I recommend it.

Interesting....define "reasonable education". Russia used to use reeducation programs, as did many other countries. They called theirs "Gulags".

We don't require Voter Education.......

We will, just as soon as SCOTUS says that education is a reasonable requirement in answer to some case brought before it. At that point your constitutional right will be modified. That's the only point I'm making.

tex

[Lambda Force]

I say teach it in school along with driver ed, sex ed, and phys ed. Maybe throw in a semester of civics while we're at it.

Problem solved.

[MechAg94]

I say teach it in school along with driver ed, sex ed, and phys ed. Maybe throw in a semester of civics while we're at it.

Problem solved.

Good point.

We go to great lengths to educate people about all sorts of things. Yet when it comes to self defense or use of force laws, we just say "get training" or "ignorance of the law is no excuse". Public service commercials and such wouldn't be a bad idea. We just need to be careful that we the information differentiates between the law and stuff people teach for liability reasons.

[MechAg94]

I couldn't wade through 16 pages of this.

My main reason for supporting Constitutional Carry is that no amount of laws or regulations are going to stop criminals from carrying or using guns for crime. They only make it more difficult for law abiding people to use and carry a gun. So why not level the playing field and let law abiding people carry guns for lawful purposes without hindrance or cost? The laws against using guns in crime or against possession by felons will still be there.

What you will find if this passes is lawful people will use guns lawfully for the most part and criminals will use guns to commit crimes for the most part. Same as before, but now more lawful people will be armed.

[MechAg94]

I would add that gun control laws and regulations are largely "feel good" stuff. They make people FEEL like all the crazy and violent people out there will be controlled and regulated. However, those laws don't do anything of the kind.

[Soccerdad1995]

I say teach it in school along with driver ed, sex ed, and phys ed. Maybe throw in a semester of civics while we're at it.

Problem solved.

Every adult has the inherent right to vote, carry a gun, speak out on political and other matters, etc. So given that these are rights we all have, if the state believes that education is needed to exercise them in a safe and responsible manner, then the state should include those education requirements in our standard curriculums.

I would love to see a requirement for all children to get education on safe gun handling, carry, responsible use of force, de-escalation techniques, and marksmanship. Start at grade 3 or so and go through grade 12. The current system makes no sense because we only require training if you want to carry a gun in specific places. I carry my gun whenever I can, and 90%+ of that carry would currently be entirely legal with no LTC and no training, whatsoever.

[Griffen]

I say teach it in school along with driver ed, sex ed, and phys ed. Maybe throw in a semester of civics while we're at it.

Problem solved.

Seems to me if a HS can sponsor a skeet shooting club, it only makes sense to offer a firearms safety course for the entire school population. Oh, some parents would always cry kitty litter at the topic as you would expect, but if schools are intended to truly open our kids' minds, foster independent thinking, create new experiences, and explore latent interest levels, then this course would be a perfect dovetail.