Why did you get your CHL?

[olafpfj]

I moved here from California in 2010 and had been a fairly strong 2A advocate since High School. I posted a thread talking about a few "too close for comfort" experiences I've had over the years and while a CHL wouldn't have had any effect in any of those experiences I would've felt much better having it. I had been talking for years with my wife about how I really hated the fact that I was completely useless when it came to protecting her and our growing family when we were out. I hadn't thrown a punch since 7th grade and that one wasn't exactly stellar (I got whooped bad!!). Living in California my only options were a small knife (which is a martial art in itself) or getting some martial arts training. I rarely had the time for training and when I had the time I didn't have the money. It became apparent that the only viable means of self defense while out and about was going to be a firearm. I had to wait until I moved to Texas and getting my CHL was one of the first things on my to do list. I had looked into getting my CCW in California but I didn't live in one of the shall issue counties and while Ventura county, where I lived, would issue to civilians you had to have a pretty decent "good cause" and it would take upwards of 18 months start to finish.

I carry whenever it is practical and legal and there is always a .38 in the glove compartment. I've added pepper spray to the center console because there are situations where I can see that being more appropriate. I can also "brandish" the pepper spray and not get in trouble if I don't spray it (I think). The more I think and read about what my "line of crossing" is the further away it gets. I just hope I haven't over analyzed it and wind up getting shot with my gun still in its holster because I second guessed myself. I say this a lot and I'm sure most CHL's have the same attitude....so for any Brady bot anti's trolling out there I'll say it again...no really "I hope to NEVER find out!!!"

[urnoodle]

I was one of those people that waited for something to happen before I got on the stick. In 2009 my house was burglarized in the middle of the afternoon. No one but my dog was home at the time. I had a security system in the house but it wasn't monitored. One of my neighbors watched my house when I was not home. Based on the last time she checked it, she estimated the BG/BGs broke in about a 30min-1hr before I got home. The police told me my alarm would not have helped because it had been disabled. The BG/BGs frightened my dog so badly she still is afraid of loud noises and breaking glass. They were never caught. I realized the next time I may be home and what would I do if I was. The policeman told me to get a gun because burglaries were becoming common place. Four months later I moved but I still did not feel safe. I heard of a CHL but I thought only those in law enforcement type positions could get one I didn't know it was open to civilians too. I read the state laws and I realized I could get a CHL. I realized I could protect myself, my family and friends anywhere. So long story long, thats when I decided to get my CHL.

[WildBill]

The primary motivation was, "because I can." I had moved here from California in ...

Sometimes I joke that when I moved to Texas I thought you had to get one.

[bayouhazard]

I got mine because Texas won't let me fully exercise my constitutional rights without it.

[Mr.ViperBoa]

I have always carried a weapon for most of my adult life. I carried one throughout the 90's when I was in the Army. After returning from Operation Dessert Storm, I don't think there is a day where I didn't have one with me. I got my CHL back in 2000 and it seemed to take about 3 months to get it. I lived in an area in North East Dallas called the Vickery Meadows Improvement District. I worked there with a security company that was contracted by the city to patrol all the apartment buildings and businesses in that area. I work investigations of an average of about 1 murder every month and I had to testify 4 different times for the state in murder trials. Because I lived in that area and also worked there, all I needed to do was put on a company shirt with my name on it and I could carry on my hip. I was in a McDonald's one night getting something to munch on when a guy reached over the counter, pushed the clerk down and started taking money out of the drawer. I took him down and held him and gun point until the D.P.D. could arrive to take him into custody. After that I started thinking about what would have happen if I had been outside of the Vickery area and I hadn't had my gun? So I went ahead and got my CHL. I have carried every day since then with one in my IWB or my Maxpedition bag.

[DLBConductor]

My decision to get a CHL has been a journey over the last three years. I happily lived in the white zone for most of my 68 years. After retiring in 2008, three incidents gave me the impetus to take responsibility for my own safety.

Incident One - 3 years ago: a close relative's neighbor had a home invasion in which a couple and their dinner guests were tied up and the house completely ransacked. This was in an exclusive golf course community.

Incident Two - 2 years ago: I had all of my clothes, money, billfold, keys, etc. stolen from my locked gym locker by a young, teenage drug addict.

Incident Three - 5 months ago: Coming out of a restaurant (in a nice area) at about 2:30 in the afternoon, I was surprised and confronted by a BG who demanded that I give him my money. I had parked at the edge of a lot and was totally alone. Fortunately, I was able to jump in my car, lock the door, and drive away.  Afterwards, I realized how vulnerable I was and how badly that could have turned out.

I never wanted to feel that vulnerable again, so I bought an SA XD9mm sc, took lessons, and got my CHL. I practice regularly at the range and am scheduled to take Self Defense and Situational Awareness classes this spring.

Learning to be "AWARE" and staying in the yellow zone has given me the confidence to live my life without fear. I now take responsibility for my own safety.

[JALLEN]

Anyone who has seen the Killeen shooting story involving Dr. Hupp should be carrying.

When I grew up in the hill country, it seemed like every pick up truck in the HS parking lot had a rifle on the rifle rack in the rear window, and most of them had pistols in the glove box. Nobody thought about it or worried about it. When Charles Whitson opened up from the UT Tower, dozens of rifles came out, I'm told. The Tower is almost impregnable a perch but those guys kept him occupied while the police snuck up the elevator and took care of it.

I have been an attorney and foreclosure trustee here in California for nearly 40 years now. Starting about 10 years ago, every once in awhile we would get a death threat, over a foreclosure. A fellow in the South American agricultural products import business called one day to say: "If you don't do something about that foreclosure, we have big problems, Senor!" The best one was, "If you don't stop that foreclosure, I'm going to come down there and cut off your [deleted] and stick it up your [deleted]." The FBI interpreted that as a death threat. The perp was a big time real estate con man, now in prison. So, being an old Boy Scout, I figured I ought to be prepared in case one of these goons turned out to be more than a bag of wind.

I'm one of the few (~2000 maybe) in the county to have a CCW, we call 'em here. It took a long time, letters of recommendation, a special class, only three pistols by make, model and serial number allowed, a number of interviews at the Sheriff's Office, background check, shooting qualification with all three pistols, and a good bit of money as well. Being a lawyer and business owner was the key to having "good cause" which is whatever the Sheriff says it is. The CCW carries a list of restrictions so onerous as to make it almost worthless. It is only for business purposes, so if a BG tries to kill me, I have to ask whether it is business or personal, I guess.

I'm looking forward to retiring back home soon. I've already applied for the Texas CHL, waiting only on the class and fingerprints to be done.

[rgoz45]

It is as simple as knowing I could finally legally carry to protect myself and my family outside of our home. Sadly trouble sometimes finds you even when you think it wont.

[tommyg]

I ride a motorcycle. I want something for protection in case
I break down in a desolate area or a bad part of town
Difficult or impossible to MPA carry on a bike.

Harley Davidson XL 1200 S + .38 Taurus a good pair

Go to Deepconceal.com they have shoulder Holsters that are good for Motorcycle carry

[Jumping Frog]

"Because I can't fit a cop in my holster."

If someone asks me why I carry, that is usually the quip I'll use if I don't really want to get into a protracted discussion. The truth is a little more complicated.

I first started carrying in the 70's when I moved to a new city in Kentucky for my first job out of college. I realized I was a 5 hour drive from anyone I knew, and if I got into a bad situation I had no-one to rely upon but myself. I carried for a few years in all sorts of places, including places where I could have had serious trouble like New York and Massachusetts. I was completely clueless and had no idea of the risks I was taking. I just figured I was an American and being armed was my God-given right. Thankfully, I never had any legal troubles.

Eventually I learned that I wasn't allowed to be carrying, so I stopped sometime in the early 80's.

A turning point for me was reading the John Ross book, "Unintended Consequences" in the mid-90's. It basically radicalized how I viewed my 2nd Amendment rights. I decided then and there to get a carry license for as much as a political statement as for self defense.

Unfortunately, I was working in DC and living in Maryland at the time. My quest for a carry license soon ran into a nasty reality and further cemented my views.

In 2003, I moved to Ohio for a new job, partially to escape the rampant oppressive liberalism in Maryland. I became one of the many people who were actively pushing our state legislature to pass Concealed Carry. In 2004, Ohio passed their new CHL law, I got licensed, and I've carried daily ever since. When I got as new job in Texas, I carried here on a non-resident reciprocity basis and got my Texas non-resident license after about 4-5 months. When I bought a house and moved my family here, my change of address converted my Texas non-resident to a Texas resident CHL.

I still can't fit a cop in my holster.

[ajwakeboarder]

I got mine shortly after my 21st birthday. When I graduated high school, i didn't really feel i needed it. I just wanted it. Since then i spent 2 years in a utility position. I have worked in a couple different places in the state and extensively in the DFW metroplex. I had to deal with all sorts of people. It was eye opening to me things that happen every day if you pay attention. I saw drug deals, prostitution, all sorts of thievery, and once had someone stick a gun in my face. These places are within 15 miles of my home. I decided to go ahead and be safer than sorry.

[03Lightningrocks]

I got my CHL because I was tired of carrying illegally. Seriously.

Same here... One reason I waited so long was the fear of being on the radar. In retrospect, it was kind of dumb. I could have gotten into a mess in the wrong circumstances.

[Dan20703]

Had it in two other states I lived in and got one when I moved here. I didn't want to give up that option of self protection.

[Iunnrais]

Got mine after spending a weekend talking guns with my uncle who is retired Dallas/Mesquite PD. I'd just gotten my Colt for my 40th birthday and he was explaining to me exactly why I needed to be carrying it with plenty of examples from his 30+ years on the two forces. He was _very_ convincing. To the point where my wife (who really didn't like guns and was the primary reason why there wasn't one in the house for the first 20 years of our marriage) now has a 9mm and a range membership.

[Oldgringo]

It might come in handy if I have to shoot somebody.