I never NOT carry, except perhaps in bed. I should amend that a bit.... I sometimes don't carry around the house, but even then I always have a gun near to hand. Outside of my house is a different matter. I always carry. I carried on stage at church today while I was playing.1s1k52 wrote:Does anyone find themselves NOT carrying?
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Anyways, since I can carry legal in my car loaded to and from my home I am wondering If I should rush to get my CHL as of now. I need to practice anyways my accuracy is laughable and inconsistent
SO to somewhat contradict my first question. Is there a checklist I need to "square away" for example my address on my license is my old one. I have to change that. I could have sworn on this site I have seen a list of what to have done before enrolling in a class. Do most classes take care of all you need? Fingerprinting etc? How accurate to I have to get?
Get your license squared away first. You won't be able to complete the process if you don't have a correct address on your driver's license.
As far as accuracy, get yourself to a range and get your proficiency up. The qualification isn't that hard, but if you're going to carry a gun, you have a moral responsibility to be the best shot you can be, otherwise you become a danger to innocent bystanders if you ever have to shoot for real. This stuff is not a joke, and you need to take it seriously. And once you actually have your CHL, you need to keep your proficiency up. If you aren't willing to do that, then perhaps CHL isn't for you just yet. If that is the case, then I wouldn't waste my time and money on it if I were you — but that is a decision only you can reach. There is no wrong or right answer either way, except that if your answer is to go ahead and get a CHL, take it seriously.
In your opening post, you wondered if you should get the CHL now, or just wait until it fits into your life better. Assuming that you've answered the above question in the affirmative and you intend to get one some day, then I would say go get it as soon as you can. Why wait? Having one will make having a gun in your car more convenient, for one thing. It gives you additional options you don't have if you're keeping a gun under your car under MPA. Let's say, for instance, that your employer had no specific policy barring having a gun secured in your car (if the Parking Lot bill passes, this could well become the case for you IF you have a CHL). Now, when you leave work, you can arm yourself when you get to the car, and you won't be unarmed if you stop for groceries on the way home. You'll be able to be armed when you go out for dinner with a date. You'll be able to be armed on the weekends when you're not having to worry about work or campus rules. And, when Campus Carry passes, you'll be able to carry on campus. And here's the thing, if you have the CHL, but you don't want to carry on a given day, then don't. But you'll have the option to carry if you want to.
As far as fingerprints and all that, your instructor should be able to provide all the paperwork, photos, and fingerprint cards. Then all you've got to do is make sure it is all filled out properly and send it in. Most instructors will help with that too, to make sure that you've got everything filled out properly.