My thoughts:
1: Constitutional carry will almost certainly result in loss of reciprocity by other states. That will affect you if you travel to said states for work or to visit family.
2: Constitutional carry will almost certainly kill any prospect of national reciprocity in the US Congress.
3: The change from "reasonably" to "has probable cause" in 411.207 will be a deal-breaker. As it should be. I am not a cop. And I will state that I have never had a bad experience with LEO's. My only interaction to date has been that of a complainant or witness reporting a crime. I do not feel unsafe in the presence of a uniformed law enforcement officer. Quite the contrary. Having said that, in the few instances that I have had to deal with LEO's, I have shown my CHL, informed pursuant to 411.205, and voluntarily offered to disarm. In each case, I believe that set the tone for our interaction. They were all pleasant and very professional. I think the standard of "Probably Cause" sets the bar too high for cops, considering 411.207 already orders a peace officer to return a weapon to its rightful owner before discharging him/her from the scene. I have a hunch the standard of Probable Cause will prevent the cops from de-escalating a lot of situations. I would love to hear some LEO's chime in on this. I could change my mind this depending on what their thoughts are.
4: I vehemently agree with amending 411.207 to explicitly state that the mere possession or carrying of a firearm shall not constitute PC (or RS) to disarm or detain.
5: Finally, this is going to sound harsh, and I expect to be flamed over this one, but here it goes: the cost of obtaining a CHL is minimal. It's a periodic charge that comes up every couple of years, and is less than what a lot of people pay MONTHLY to their cell-phone and internet providers. With the exception of folks that truly fall on hard times, most of the folks whose station in life denies them the expense and time to obtain a CHL in TX lack the life-skills and decision making skills to carry.
1: Constitutional carry will almost certainly result in loss of reciprocity by other states. That will affect you if you travel to said states for work or to visit family.
2: Constitutional carry will almost certainly kill any prospect of national reciprocity in the US Congress.
3: The change from "reasonably" to "has probable cause" in 411.207 will be a deal-breaker. As it should be. I am not a cop. And I will state that I have never had a bad experience with LEO's. My only interaction to date has been that of a complainant or witness reporting a crime. I do not feel unsafe in the presence of a uniformed law enforcement officer. Quite the contrary. Having said that, in the few instances that I have had to deal with LEO's, I have shown my CHL, informed pursuant to 411.205, and voluntarily offered to disarm. In each case, I believe that set the tone for our interaction. They were all pleasant and very professional. I think the standard of "Probably Cause" sets the bar too high for cops, considering 411.207 already orders a peace officer to return a weapon to its rightful owner before discharging him/her from the scene. I have a hunch the standard of Probable Cause will prevent the cops from de-escalating a lot of situations. I would love to hear some LEO's chime in on this. I could change my mind this depending on what their thoughts are.
4: I vehemently agree with amending 411.207 to explicitly state that the mere possession or carrying of a firearm shall not constitute PC (or RS) to disarm or detain.
5: Finally, this is going to sound harsh, and I expect to be flamed over this one, but here it goes: the cost of obtaining a CHL is minimal. It's a periodic charge that comes up every couple of years, and is less than what a lot of people pay MONTHLY to their cell-phone and internet providers. With the exception of folks that truly fall on hard times, most of the folks whose station in life denies them the expense and time to obtain a CHL in TX lack the life-skills and decision making skills to carry.
