leVieux
TSRA/NRA Life Member
>
For a century plus, it was "technically illegal" for citizens in Texas to carry handguns, and specially to "concealed carry" outside of private property and/or very few codified exclusions. The Law of the time even prohibited most "car carry".
IANAL ! My comments are from decades of living in Texas, especially South & Southern Texas, and from numerous conversations with Attorneys, LEO's, & others involved.
BUT, what actually went-on during those many years?
Since my earliest visits to Texas over 65 years ago, handguns were "everywhere". Indeed, Texas gun shops did business in handguns. Handguns were in daily use by many Texans and visitors, both urban and rural.
When I first lived in the Lone Star State, I was a young Physician working in an urban Emergency Service of the local County Hospital and saw numerous gunshot injuries, almost all from handguns. Later, in the big hospitals of Harris County & the Texas Medical Center, I saw many more. The dangers of our drug addict infested 1970's & '80's Houston pretty much demanded that we be armed, Law or not.
I knew Senior Physicians and "Old Texan" Attorneys who routinely carried concealed, long before the Law changed and CHL's / CWP's, etc. became real.
Being young and naïve, I decided to "be legal" and leave my guns at home.
BIG, BIG mistake, almost got me killed. As I have described the late 1980 incident on earlier posts here, I won't repeat.
Immediately afterwards, when the criminal record of my attacker became available, I faced the reality of "what might have happened". This was soon linked to the tragic kidnapping of my Friend, Wm :"Pat" Fitzpatrick, MD, and the brutal execution-style murder of Pat and two other Houstonians.
As I was frequently on all-night, late-night, or weekend in-hospital duty, I knew a few very senior HPD career Qfficers, who served as our internal Med Center Security force.
I had several confidential "man-to-man" conversations with those Officers, during which I learned that, at least in Harris County, they all just completely ignored the then-illegal practice of concealed carry by Physicians, Nurses, and any other non-criminal citizens. This came as a great surprise to me, but certainly explained lots of things I had seen over the previous decade.
I recall hearing that the then-Harris D A, John Holmes, would have just laughed at them had they brought requests to charge a regular citizen for "concealed carry", absent other evidence of criminality.
I then discussed this with close friends, and was again surprised to learn that many of them also routinely carried, despite the "Law".
While this arrangement had been necessitated by extremely "Bad Law", it set an arbitrary non-system of county-by-county legal practice, which was confusing and fraught with danger for the average citizen.
Yet, the question of "When was the last time you ever heard of an otherwise Law-abiding Texan being charged or convicted with "illegal handgun carry" anywhere in Texas?" certainly was eye-opening for me. I couldn't cite a single incident of that.
Today, when I see the technical nit-picking regarding our Laws in these discussions, my thought is this "What would be the likely practical result of sny minor technical infraction?"
My experience tells me that the worst likely outcome wuld be an Attorney's bill.
Go out, protect yourself & loved-ones, be courteous, avoid the near occasion of criminal activity, and quit worrying so much. Repeat the old saw "Would I rather see a 12 member Jury or the Undertaker?" and act acccordingly.
Remember that in ALL of Life's major decisions, one must consider RELATIVE risk, as no reasonable course of action offers "zero risk" !
Bon Jour,
leVieux
For a century plus, it was "technically illegal" for citizens in Texas to carry handguns, and specially to "concealed carry" outside of private property and/or very few codified exclusions. The Law of the time even prohibited most "car carry".
IANAL ! My comments are from decades of living in Texas, especially South & Southern Texas, and from numerous conversations with Attorneys, LEO's, & others involved.
BUT, what actually went-on during those many years?
Since my earliest visits to Texas over 65 years ago, handguns were "everywhere". Indeed, Texas gun shops did business in handguns. Handguns were in daily use by many Texans and visitors, both urban and rural.
When I first lived in the Lone Star State, I was a young Physician working in an urban Emergency Service of the local County Hospital and saw numerous gunshot injuries, almost all from handguns. Later, in the big hospitals of Harris County & the Texas Medical Center, I saw many more. The dangers of our drug addict infested 1970's & '80's Houston pretty much demanded that we be armed, Law or not.
I knew Senior Physicians and "Old Texan" Attorneys who routinely carried concealed, long before the Law changed and CHL's / CWP's, etc. became real.
Being young and naïve, I decided to "be legal" and leave my guns at home.
BIG, BIG mistake, almost got me killed. As I have described the late 1980 incident on earlier posts here, I won't repeat.
Immediately afterwards, when the criminal record of my attacker became available, I faced the reality of "what might have happened". This was soon linked to the tragic kidnapping of my Friend, Wm :"Pat" Fitzpatrick, MD, and the brutal execution-style murder of Pat and two other Houstonians.
As I was frequently on all-night, late-night, or weekend in-hospital duty, I knew a few very senior HPD career Qfficers, who served as our internal Med Center Security force.
I had several confidential "man-to-man" conversations with those Officers, during which I learned that, at least in Harris County, they all just completely ignored the then-illegal practice of concealed carry by Physicians, Nurses, and any other non-criminal citizens. This came as a great surprise to me, but certainly explained lots of things I had seen over the previous decade.
I recall hearing that the then-Harris D A, John Holmes, would have just laughed at them had they brought requests to charge a regular citizen for "concealed carry", absent other evidence of criminality.
I then discussed this with close friends, and was again surprised to learn that many of them also routinely carried, despite the "Law".
While this arrangement had been necessitated by extremely "Bad Law", it set an arbitrary non-system of county-by-county legal practice, which was confusing and fraught with danger for the average citizen.
Yet, the question of "When was the last time you ever heard of an otherwise Law-abiding Texan being charged or convicted with "illegal handgun carry" anywhere in Texas?" certainly was eye-opening for me. I couldn't cite a single incident of that.
Today, when I see the technical nit-picking regarding our Laws in these discussions, my thought is this "What would be the likely practical result of sny minor technical infraction?"
My experience tells me that the worst likely outcome wuld be an Attorney's bill.
Go out, protect yourself & loved-ones, be courteous, avoid the near occasion of criminal activity, and quit worrying so much. Repeat the old saw "Would I rather see a 12 member Jury or the Undertaker?" and act acccordingly.
Remember that in ALL of Life's major decisions, one must consider RELATIVE risk, as no reasonable course of action offers "zero risk" !
Bon Jour,
leVieux
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