TexasCHLforum.com

Howdy!
If I'm NOT carrying a handgun and I get pull over by a police officer,should I show him my CHL? Is it mandatory to have the CHL with me at all times,even if I don't have a handgun on me?
Thanks! God Bless!

If you are carrying yes, If not no, but it would be good to get in the habit of carrying your license and then your firearm.

My CHL states with my DL so its always on me. I would show it either way, when they go run your DL they will se you have aCHL and then might want to know why you didnt tell them.

michael e wrote:My CHL states with my DL so its always on me. I would show it either way, when they go run your DL they will se you have aCHL and then might want to know why you didnt tell them.

...and welcome to the forum, WoodrowCall.

Always show your CHL and DL to law enforcement when stopped, whether you are carrying or not.

Always show your CHL even if not carrying (needs to be a good excuse if you are not as its not oding you much good). Letting the LEO know in advance that you have a permit will make him less jittery when he calls you in and will make for a smoother and up front stop. Will not get you out of a ticket but will save you from his being suspicious as to why you did not inform him. We do not have anything to hide.

WoodrowCall wrote:Howdy!
If I'm NOT carrying a handgun and I get pull over by a police officer,should I show him my CHL? Is it mandatory to have the CHL with me at all times,even if I don't have a handgun on me?
Thanks! God Bless!

It will take you an extra couple of seconds to pull out your chl w dl. I would hand over both just to avoid any issues.

I'd hand my DL and CHL to the officer even if I wasn't CCW.

A LEO sitting in on my CHL class didn't know that the law had been updated to only require showing the CHL if carrying. He admitted writing tickets to non-carrying CHL holders he would have otherwise given warnings to just because he found out about the CHL from dispatch instead of the holder. Now that he's aware that the law only requires showing if carrying, he still recommends showing so the LEO isn't surprised to find out about the CHL when he runs your license.

I showed my CHL last time I got pulled over and wasn't carrying and just informed him that I was NOT carrying at the time. He thanked me and handed it back and took my DL to run it.

I would punch the gas and get away.

...kidding.
I agree with everyone else. After all, you spent time and money to get it. Don't you want to show it off?

From what I have read here the chances of you getting off with just a warning are much better when you show your DL & CHL to the LEO even if not carrying. If I get stopped I will be showing both.

Kind of a moot question for me as I am always carrying and have been every time I was stopped for the last 15 or so years.

Really doesn't matter. If you aren't carrying, you don't need to show it. In my experience, if you're not carrying and you show it anyway, they will ask where the gun is or if you are carrying. When you reply that you're not carrying, they'll hand you back the card and tell you they don't need it.

If you don't hand the card, they'll go back to their car to run the license, the CHL flag will pop up on the screen, they will ask you if you're carrying, and you say you're not.

Warning tickets are like bigfoot, aliens, and ghosts. I've met plenty of people who have seen them, but I've never experienced one despite my sunny disposition, good looks, and CHL. For some reason, I always get the [abbreviated profanity deleted.] cop that gets a kick out of being a jerk that pulls me over. On the up side, the ticket's are usually dismissed because they've been jerks to enough other people they're fired by the time it comes to court.

The law states that if you are carrying you have to show the LEO you're CHL, the law then goes on to state that there is no penalty for not showing the LEO your CHL