Tony, Let me see if I can clear this up a bit. CHL (concealed handgun license), CHP (concealed handgun permit),
and different states use other designations I believe. I
have a CHL for the state of Texas and it is legal for me to carry in a State Park. To the best of my knowledge there
have been no "ugly incidents" as a result of this law.
In fact after the CHL laws were inacted violent crime went
down not up. No, CHL holders aren't "packing" most of the
time and probably only carry when they feel they are in an
area that would make them vunerable to personal harm. For instance, I'm older so to a young thug I would look like an easy target so if I'm out doing some photography I will have my Kimberly 45 cal. 1911 handgun within easy reach.
I pray that I will never be forced to use it except for target practice. It might suprise you to know that many women have CHLs. The course for a CHL is given only after a thorough background check and as a previous poster said it
is usually a 2 day course and a large part of it deals with
the laws surrounding using "deadly force" and the consequences thereof. The instructors strongly emphasize that it is to be used ONLY as a last resort. The rest of
the course deals with safe gun handling and on the firing
range you must demonstrate what you've learned and show
that you are not only safe but reasonably accurate with you
weapon. I would say, in general, the people who take these courses and get their CHL are not the rootem tootum, shootem
up kind of folks. Most have used guns a good part of their
life either hunting or for target practice and want nothing
more than to protect themselves and their loved ones legaly.
As for the NP issue I believe most CHL holders simply want
to be able to take their handguns with them and not have to
disassemble and store them. The exception might be if they
want to hike and camp back in the wilderness and then they
might wish to carry in case of a bear attack but the bottom
line is that most of these people know that most handguns
won't take a bear down anyway. I would opt for pepper spray
and I bet they would too. As for shooting at a sound in
the brush I think you folks have CHL holders mixed up with
some "city slickers" who take a rifle, ammo and 3 quarts of
whisky to the mountains to go "hunting"???
I personally will not be concerned one way or the other if
they do or do not pass the law but I would, with all due
respect, say that most of the posts so far have reflectd
the mantra of the liberal gun control crowd who would dearly
like to see ALL guns made illegal.