TexasCHLforum.com

This is an extremely sensitive subject for me.

On February 15, 2016 I took my CHL Class (they took everybody's drivers license) and the whole time I was sitting there I was thinking somebody is going to come and ask me to leave (they didn't).

I have lived with the same kind of scrutiny that I have read in some of the post here. When I was 18 years old (1988) I was caught up in a bad situation, arrested and scared for the rest of my life with the dreaded F word hanging over my head. There was no violence involved, no victims, nothing was stolen, nobody was hurt, the only people that were effected was me and my family. It was a the beginning of the war on drugs and I was one of the victims. I honestly thought I was doing somebody a favor (delivery of a controlled substance, the substance is now legal in a lot of states).

From that point forward it has been an uphill battle every day, including today just thinking about posting this reply. If you haven't been there it is hard for you to understand (even writing this reply now brings up bad feelings).

I have worked extremely hard in my life to get where I am today despite the negatives associated with my background. I was denied entry into the military, denied housing, there was a point when I was denied student loans (until the law was changed), and I have been denied employment. There are people out there that once they are charged with a crime they feel that there is no hope of ever getting out from under that dark cloud.

I decide that my life and my future was mine and I was going to make the best of it.

Despite the challenges - I have earned a bachelors degree in Environmental Studies, I am a branch manager of a multi-million dollar environmental consulting firm. I have several employees and their families that depend on me everyday. I was upfront with my employer about my history and he gave me a chance. I can promise you he doesn't regret it either.

It took me 27 years to get the scares of my past removed, every thing was sealed in 2014 and I received an unconditional pardon including the right to bear arms in December of 2015. I did it the right way, to this day I have never purchased a firearm (do not want the embarrassment of being denied). I plan on going on a shopping spree at Cabela's in the near future.

On February 16, 2016 I uploaded all of documents to the RSD and received my confirmation that they received it. Because of my due diligence and always thinking something is going to go wrong I discovered that a law enforcement agency was still reporting my record to the FBI even though they were issued a court order to seal the records. I then had to upload all of the court documents including my pardon to the RSD (which I shouldn't of had to do by law). I then contacted the agency reporting the sealed record and had them seal the record and send me a letter that they complied with the court order and uploaded that to the RSD. To my surprise it only took them 5 days to get me the letter.

I have contacted the RSD three times since the 16th of February. Every time it is a different story and most of the time they have an attitude. If my business increased by 139% I would have an attitude to, a very cheerful and positive attitude (difference between government and private).

I expect to get my denial letter any day now, I will then request a hearing and hopefully have my last and final day in court. My wait time as of today has been 86 days. LTC for me means a Lawful and Trustworthy Citizen. That's the group of people I want to be associated with, being able to carry is a bonus.

“The only man who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything.” – Theodore Roosevelt.