TexasCHLforum.com

sjfcontrol wrote:Be aware that the "class B misdemeanor" that is charged could be for something as innocent as flipping off a driver, or swearing in public. These are Disorderly conduct charges, and can take YEARS to resolve thru the court system. They are also OFTEN used by people to "punish" someone else who hasn't actually committed ANY crime. Don't like your neighbor? Accuse him of "mooning" you. In the meantime, no CHL for you. In fact, if you move around a lot, you can even have your CHL revoked by forgetting to inform DPS of you new address within 30 days, three times.

And besides, why NOT issue the license in the meantime? You haven't been convicted of anything.

If you are flipping off drivers or swearing in public, you're probably not fit to be a concealed weapon carrier anyway. The fact that it takes years to resolve them should be a strong incentive to behave yourself in public. I understand the desire to carry a weapon legally (obviously), but it comes with a certain level of responsibility. When you obtain a license to carry a loaded weapon in public, you represent an entire class of people whose right to carry is affected by your behavior. If you cannot accept that responsibility, then you should not be carrying a weapon. That responsibility includes notifying DPS when you move. If someone can't follow simple instructions like those, why should they be trusted with a loaded weapon?

As far as retaliatory accusations, those should be sorted out by the police fairly quickly. (And yes, I know it doesn't always happen that way.) But the possibility that a charge could be false should not negate the fact that someone who is charged with a crime should have that resolved before getting a license.

Why NOT issue the license in the meantime? Because there is a cloud over your head that needs to be cleared up. Considering that there are almost 500,000 other people carrying, shouldn't a new applicant be well vetted before receiving a license? It's not hard to stay out of trouble with the law. In most cases, people who get in trouble with the law could easily have avoided it by behaving differently or refusing to frequent those places where trouble is likely to occur. I think it's much likely for someone to be aggressively prosecuted than it is for someone to be charged with a crime for no reason whatsoever.

Heartland Patriot wrote:Well, I guess that Texas code needs to be "fixed" so that a person who hasn't been found guilty of a crime isn't treated as such...I understand that there are a lot of varying situations out there, but a lot of them put a generally law-abiding person in a bind over some possibly minor issues...I will certainly "stay tuned" to this station for further information...

I'm not picking on you. Your post was just easy to use as a starting point.

I don't understand what people are saying about being arrested. Texas Government Code 411.172 (4) reads "(4) is not charged with the commission of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or of a felony under an information or indictment;" Is that what is being referred to? Because this doesn't refer to being arrested. It refers to being charged with the commission of a crime. So is the complaint that you should still be able to obtain a CHL even if you are charged with a crime but the charge has not yet been adjudicated?

If that's the case, I would have to respectfully disagree. If someone has been charged with a crime, the verdict of guilty which would preclude receiving a CHL, then I think the charges should be cleared first, before the person becomes eligible to obtain a TX CHL. If the state issued the CHL and then the person was later found guilty, they would have to give up the CHL anyway. It makes no sense, then, to issue the CHL before the issue is resolved, in my opinion.