TexasCHLforum.com

Greetings and Merry Christmas! I am new to the forum but have been around firearms all my life, shotguns and rifles. Not much experience with handguns but my Mother has gotten deep into target shooting and this has lead her to buy more guns, she lives alone in a rural area and the discussion of a CHL came up. She is in Kansas, I am in Texas.

I have read through many pages on this forum to avoid re-asking the same questions and have read carefully the CHL-16.

My "history" is right at thirty years old. I have a deferred adjudication for a felony-not domestic violence or any other violence, that has been successfully served-nearing the thirty year mark. There is also an old burglary of a motor vehicle, a felony in 1983 but I understand the same offense is now a misdemeanor-once again approaching the thirty year mark. (I am NOT a thief, but was a clumsy drunken kid) And to top it all off a DWI from the same time and 2 PI's (that year after high school was a doozy).
As I read the CHL-16 the deferred is over 10 years old and should be fine, the burg is now considered a misdemeanor-if I have read that correctly and should also be fine, the DWI is old enough as well. So I guess my question is: Should I;
A.-Give up the whole idea
B-pay a huge amount of money for an order of non disclosure on the deferred and to Set aside the Burg. or
C-take the class and send in the app with full disclosure of course and hope for the best.

The information I have regarding the non disclosure order and set aside come from an online "eligibility test" for a lawyer advertising this service so some skepticism is warranted.

An old friend from high school is now an LEO and teaches a CHL class, I will probably go into more detail with him after the holiday than I will on a web forum.

As a side note I currently hold a state issued counseling license, a Private Pilot's license and pass annual background checks for my license and job working with TDCJ offenders.

Thank you for your attention and some great holiday reading!

you have been convicted of 2 felony crimes, just give it up. you are not allowed by federal law to be in possession of a fire arm outside of your home, nor in possession of a handgun at all. defered adjudication means nothing you were convicted the burglary was a felony at the time it occured and is still recorded as such on your record as a convition of a state jail felony.
dont believe that then go to the county where you were convicted and get a certified copy of your record from the clerk, also you were convicted 3 times of alcohol related offenses this also makes you ineligible due to being high risk and addicted to alcohol and unable to exercise good judgement as the state defines it.

sorry just save yourself the money, time and aggravation of going thru the process and being denied and out a couple hundred bucks

Hi Av8rtx,

After reading your post, I'm glad that you seemed to have turned your life around. I imagine you are a good role model with the TDCJ offenders you work with. I'm sorry I don't have the answers you are looking for, but I'm sure someone will come along and be able to cite the law and let you know based on their interpretation of it. Since it is Christmas, many of the forum members are offline today and you might have to wait a little bit until someone does come along with an answer. You can also contact the Texas Department of Public Safety and ask them. They will be the final authority as to whether or not you are eligible for a CHL.

Thank you for your kindness Thomas and candor JP171, this is not the only forum I belong to so I am certain more replies will come. I have worked enough with various government entities to know they don't always get it right and I recognize the importance of reading a statute carefully-missing a punctuation mark can change the whole meaning! Having 2 other licenses issued to me that involve trust and judgement are gratifying and validating for sure. The decision to pursue a non disclosure or set aside, or even a pardon (unlikely) is based on more than just a CHL, it would be emotionally satisfying but of very little real consequence since my past is old enough to not prohibit employment to housing, or anything else other than, perhaps, the CHL

Av8rtx -

A deferred adjudication for a non-violent felony is a disqualifier for 10 years. A violent felony, burglary of a habitation, or violation of a protective order is still a forever disqualifier. I don't blame you for not disclosing the details here, but the charge you were convicted of would make the difference.

A felony conviction for an offense that is now classified as a misdemeanor is not a disqualifier.

A DWI disqualifies you for 5 years.

A PI is a Class C misdemeamor, and is not a problem.

Welcome to the forum, and Merry Christmas to you!

Crossfire wrote:Av8rtx -

A deferred adjudication for a non-violent felony is a disqualifier for 10 years. A violent felony, burglary of a habitation, or violation of a protective order is still a forever disqualifier. I don't blame you for not disclosing the details here, but the charge you were convicted of would make the difference.

A felony conviction for an offense that is now classified as a misdemeanor is not a disqualifier.

A DWI disqualifies you for 5 years.

A PI is a Class C misdemeamor, and is not a problem.

Welcome to the forum, and Merry Christmas to you!

Thank you, I'm going to roll the dice and apply. The DPS web site records check only shows one thing but I suppose they do a more thorough check when the time comes-merry Christmas

Av8rtx, I hope you have good luck with your quest for a CHL. The way I read the law, I think you are qualified under Texas law.

I do want to warn you to check with a good attorney before you purchase any firearms. I know our law states that you are not disqualified if the offense is now a misdemeanor. I am not sure if the federal law would work the same way. I strongly suggest you check into that or if they consider the conviction a felony conviction if it was a felony at the time. I would hate to see you invest the time and money to get a CHL and then get arrested by some federal agent for buying the weapon. Many of our laws are much more enlightened about people making mistakes than the federal laws are.

So did you get you CHL after all or were you disqualified?

Class completed 1/19 Fingerprints scheduled, app and fee paid!
Also bought a gun and passed the NCIS. check with no problems.

Be sure to keep us updated. Hope it all works out.

jmra wrote:Be sure to keep us updated. Hope it all works out.

Will do, thanks!

I went through the same issues as a 17 yr teen, was charged with burg habitation - 10yrs deferred prob. Completed probation on may 2006 and was granted an irder of non disclosure of criminal records on march 2012. I took my class 1/19 in san antonio at wetmore shooting sports and submitted my prints and all docs on 1/22 will keep u posted on the outcome

Ok- just went into background check completed this morning.
Class-1/19
Alldocs recvd - 1/25
BG under investigation- 2/13
BG complete-3/10
Pending manufacturing- 3/10

And those of you with a Felony BG, get them sealed in court it pays off...you dont need a lawyer to do it I can show you how its simple!

CHL Class and online application 1/19
Paper work mailed 1/24
Finger prints 1/31
Status changed to Back Ground Under Review on 2/14
Background check completed, manufacturing pending on 3/10

Mailed 3/13/13