TexasCHLforum.com

I used my CHL to good effect a few days ago back in California (currently posting from Flagstaff), both because I thought it was funny, and because it opened an avenue for educating someone.

I was at a U-Haul dealership in Pasadena, and I needed to rent a trailer just for the day. Because I had an out-of-state ID, they required a 2nd photo ID. I grinned and pulled out my CHL. The woman's eyes got real big. I reassured her that I was not currently carrying at pistol, as that would be illegal in California, and these permits only get issued to law-abiding people. At first, she was hesitant to accept it as ID, but I assured her that it is a state-issued photo ID, recognized by the state of Texas as valid ID. I then used the opportunity to educate her about what is required of applicants to get one, and about the crime statistics for CHLs that have accumulated over the last 16 years. The capper was when I used my thumb over my right shoulder to indicate my wife sitting out in the car and said "She carries too. Lot's of women in Texas carry a firearm. It empowers them, and it is the one thing that makes them the physical equal of a 230 lb. musclebound rapist."

By the time I was finished, she was genuinely curious and interested, and not a little bit miffed that her own state doesn't permit a woman to be fully emancipated that way. I told her, "if you don't like it, blame the Democrats in your legislature and vote Republican from now on," and I left. That political dynamic may not be universally true in Texas, but it is almost certainly true in California, where every single effort to trample the 2nd Amendment originates in the Democrat party.

I opened a new business checking account with Bank of the West in Grapevine a couple of weeks ago, and the manager asked both my wife and me (she's a signatory to the account) for TWO picture IDs. We each have only two picture IDs, so we each tentatively offered both our TDLs and our CHLs. I grinned sheepishly at the manager, a very elegant woman, and said "I hope that's not too freaky for you." She said, "No, y'all are doing exactly the right thing."

It's a good bank.