You're right in that the law does not specifically exclude paddle holsters, but the opinion concerning them is not mine alone. Believe me....I WANT paddle holsters to be legal under the law, as I have one I'd like to use on occasion (which happens to include a retention device). But it also seems to be the consensus opinion among a lot of instructors on this board that paddle holsters do not conform to the law because they do not hang on/attach to the belt. They hang on the waistband....which may or may not include a belt. But no OWB belt holster I am aware of is going to stay attached to your pants without a belt. I actually find the distinction curious, because my paddle holster is almost impossible to remove.....it's never going to get swiped off of my person.Glockster wrote:Regarding #5, to clarify, that is your opinion only as there is nothing in the law to indicate that a paddle holster which attaches to a belt is any less a belt holster than any other type of belt holster. There is within the new law nothing to define or further clarify the definition of a belt holster. This has been discussed, I believe, almost endlessly during the legislative season.The Annoyed Man wrote:5) I know Open Carry specifies a belt or shoulder holster, is there a retention requirement? No. The belt or shoulder holster counts as "retention" by itself. No additional level of retention is required. Until further clarified, paddle holsters on the belt do not qualify, with or without a retention device.
I asked the question about whether or not DPS had issued any clarifying guidelines regarding paddles in this thread posted by someone who just took the instructor's course: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=79562#p1011387. The answer is that this was not covered in the August instructors class.
