TX 2005 Legislative Goals

[tomneal]

You have to have goals

I dug around on my old PC and found my goals for the Texas 2005 Legislative session

Here are my Goals for 2005

1) Change "Concealed Carry" to just "Carry"
2) Remove (or reduce) the testing and training requirements from renewals. (You don't retest for a drivers license.)
3) Generally make renewals (and address changes) easier.
4) Get rid of the restrictions by the Colorado River Authority
5) Universal Recognition - Several states have passed carry laws that
recognize a license from anywhere in the US.
6) Carry in your car. More than just allowing handguns in your car. I would like to see autos made an extension of your home.
7) Get rid of the wheel gun / semi-auto differences.
8) Why do instructors need to buy those $5 certificates from the DPS?


1) went nowhere
2) There was some reduction in testing but just for military and retired military
3) The price dropped on address changes and you can now write a personal check for the license. Went from a 4 year renewal to a 5 year renewal.
4) I don't know. Did we get rid of the restrictions from the Colorado River Authority? I remember reading that the CRA director
published a letter saying the restrictions did not apply to CHL holders.
5) Thank you Gov. Perry and AG Gregg Abbott. And the legislature made some corrections as well.
6) Car carry is on the Governors desk to sign
7) no change
8) no change





See you at the range
Tom Neal

[dws1117]

What are the restrictions from the Colorado River Authority?

[tomneal]

I am not sure what the restrictions from the Colorado River Authority are at this moment.

But...

When the Texas CHL law was first enacted,
No one could pack on CRA land. Normaly this wouldn't be a problem for me but, it turns out, they have a lot of land. Some of it looks like river front parks. It's a problem because I could inadvertantly break the law because I can't tell what land belongs to CRA.

There have been some changes to the laws and to the CRA rules. SB501 passed in 2003 had an exception for CRA.

See you at the range
Tom Neal

[txinvestigator]

Tom,

I agree with most of your suggestions except for the training and retesting.

As an instructor, I see people who renew who cannot even begin to tell you when they can use deadly force, where they cannot or can carry, etc.

[tomneal]

While I enjoy spending 1/2 day discussing the law with CHL holders, I really believe that I and many of the folks that read this group could pass the written test, cold, without taking the class and my USPSA B card indicates that could pass the shooting test.


As an instructor, you have more experiance with the shooting test than I have.

How many people fail the shooting test?

Was it because they had a poor quality firearm?
Or
Was it because they didn't have the physical ability to shoot. For example:
Would you trust any of the folks that failed to drive you or a loved one from one side of the city to the other?
Did you guess that they "might" fail in the first 5 minutes of class?


And just in case someone wanted to bring up a "blood in the streets" kind of argument. Think about Florida. They don't have any range time requirements and their education reqirements are trivial.



See you at the range
Tom Neal

[dolanp]

They should let you take the test w/o the class and if you can pass it then you know the law already.

[Greybeard]

Another instructor's 02 here.

Renewal students I've seen range from those not having shot at all in the last 4 years to those who shoot a 250.

As most will agree, the TX "demonstrarion of proficiency" is not very difficult. In my not-so-humble opinion, if someone can not pass that portion after THREE opportunities, they do not need to be packing around others.

And the current written test could likely be passed by your average 3'rd grader. Hell, on the first dozen or so questions, they are multiple choice, so there's a 25% chance of getting 'em right just by guessing. And the balance are True/False, which increases the odds to 50%. And on the written test too, students get THREE opportunities for 70%.

Just this past week, I requested a copy of a new course of fire developed by a small local PD Firearms Instructor. Their "target" is an 8 1/2" X 11" sheet of paper stapled COM on IDPA silhoutte. Officers are expected to put at least 80% on the sheet of paper. All timed - and 22 out of 50 rounds are at 15 yards. Now THAT is more of a "test" of marksmanship skills.

[txinvestigator]

It is absurd to assert that a grade schooler could pass the current test, so I'll write that off to sarcasm.

Its not the test I care about, it is actually knowing the material that concerns me. If renewals don't have a much better understanding of use of force laws leaving a class than when they entered, the instructor is doing a lousy job.

Tomneal, I see few who can't actually pass, but those that cannot should NOT be carrying. Usually safety issues cause more failures than actual scores.

Dolanp, I disagree that passing the test means one knows the law. The test is very broad and does not cover the law as it is taught in class.

[Greybeard]

Yep, part sarcasm, part fact.

Quote: "I disagree that passing the test means one knows the law."

In line with what I was saying about how even a 3'rd grader could likely "pass", especially after 3 opportunities ...

I commonly allocate specific time when grading the test so that everyone knows what they missed and WHY they missed it. And yea, there probably should be a test question reflecting the fact that, under certain circumstances, deadly force may be used to protect property, but typically it ain't worth it ...

[tomneal]

Comments about passing the test and knowing the law reminds me...

Grown-ups that have spent their entire adult life studing the law (Lawyers, Judges, and Police Officers) don't know all the laws.

How could you expect someone to sit through a CHL class and know "all" the laws related to firearms. The best you could do is learn some of the basics so that you can develop your on set of guidlines.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Tom:
The LCRA bill did not pass; it got out of a Senate Committee too late to make it to the floor. There was no opposition to my knowledge, it just got caught in the backlog.

Chas.

[Paladin]

Just this past week, I requested a copy of a new course of fire developed by a small local PD Firearms Instructor. Their "target" is an 8 1/2" X 11" sheet of paper stapled COM on IDPA silhoutte. Officers are expected to put at least 80% on the sheet of paper. All timed - and 22 out of 50 rounds are at 15 yards. Now THAT is more of a "test" of marksmanship skills.

It's very interesting to hear your comments and the comments of other instructors.

To me the kind of marksmanship test described sounds like a lot of fun and something that I wouldn't mind trying out, but since many(most?) encounters are within 7 yards, it seems like most of the test should be based on targets inside that range.

The range people at the League City range generally gripe about student's gun handling skills. Safety, gun-handling, and marksmanship are all important.