By MELANIE MARKLEY
Nearly 260,000 Texans have a license to carry a concealed handgun, according to revised figures released this week by the Department of Public Safety.And who are these folks?
At the end of last year, 258,162 people had permits, up about 4 percent from the year before and more than double the number in 1996, when Texas law first allowed people to carry concealed weapons.
Senior citizens and middle-agers are among the most likely to take advantage of the concealed handgun law.It can also be said that older folks realize that they make good targets and are at an increasing risk of being the victims of violence. They make rational decisions to minimize that risk, and to be prepared in the event that are assaulted. It only makes sense that they obtain a CHL.
Although those 55 and older represent just 28 percent of the state's population over the age of 21, they carry 46 percent of the permits. And one-third of the permit holders are 60 and older.
"I just turned 60, and I'm one of those guys," said Jerry Patterson, the former legislator who authored the concealed weapons law before he became Texas land commissioner...
...Patterson said he believes older Texans are more likely to have the permits because they have more time and resources to get them.
According to last year's revised figures, 1.7 percent of Texans 21 and older had a concealed handgun permit.Only 1.7% of Texans have a CHL. This is a figure we need to work on. The more folks have a CHL, the less likely anti gun laws will come out of Austin. It is just a political fact. People who take the time to get a CHL, take the time to vote. And guess what, CHL holders will not look favorably upon any politician who puts forward anti gun legislation.
As an aside; My wife and I were at a funeral yesterday. There were two guys a couple of rows ahead of us that were very obviously carrying under their suit jackets. One guy even adjusted his pants by grabbing onto the barrel of his firearm and giving it a lift. It surprised me because most of the folks I know that carry are discrete. I got a chuckle out of it and after pointing them out to my wife, turned my attention back to the service. I later learned that these two guys are police officers. There is no real reason behind sharing this little story, other than the fact that I found it interesting.
2 comments:
Attempts have been made to describe Texas as having reached the saturation level with regards to concealed carry.I won't tell a Texan all about illegals and minorities and other criminals who'd never pass muster, but I consider it absurd to believe that Texas cannot at least treble it's percentage of carry.
The single. Biggest. Problem I've seen is the fact that most of the Texans I speak with were unaware of Texas lagging behind with regards to 2nd Amendment activities, while at the same time applauding themselves as "being a Texas..fill in the blank." Shock usually follows soon after the facts hit home. It's easy to presume that what once may have been, still is, and that's precisely how the liberal politicians and their lapdog media want it. Once upon a time it was considered fact that a private business could not over-ride the Constitution when making policy. No shoes, no service, is fine. No blacks, or minorities is NOT fine because of their Constitutional rights. No local law can interfere with the grand old document.
Except when it comes to banning CCW. A right, not a privilege. Taking ones business elsewhere USED to be what blacks were told when THEY complained.
Now its us, and we're hearing the same thing.
And abiding by it. Sorry to say, but we'll need a minority member to take such laws to the higher courts, because not enough of us are willing to emulate Rosa Parks.
Bottom line. Texas IS a modern mess, but nothing is written in stone, regardless of what the anti's think.
I noticed that in the rural county where I live, the CHL rate is only .018%.
I still need to go back and break it down by ZIP code to get a better idea of how these numbers are distributed, but I think the low percentage is because out here we have a relatively low crime rate and most people just don't believe they need to be armed at all times.
Another affliction that can cause these low numbers are that many people in rural counties such as this one grow up as hunters, and are satisfied with rifles and shotguns. I know I drove around with a rifle behind the seat of my truck for years. That won't do you much good if you're carjacked, but the likelihood of being carjacked in this county is just about zero.
The new numbers will give me something to play with for a while. Like I said, I really want to go into the ZIP code breakdowns because that will give me a better idea of distribution over the county numbers.
I agree with Fits about the anti-gun bigotry. It is no different than racial discrimination. The bigots have just been re-programmed to discriminate against pro-active non-victims rather than against racial "minorities."
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