carrying handgun in my vehicle

imported post

No, there is no age limit for carrying in your car. If you're legal to own, you're legal to carry in your car.

I do want to say this about "car carry": the odds that you will need a gun while driving are miniscule. If a situation justifies deadly force while you're behind the wheel, you already have control of a vastly superior weapon: the car itself. If nothing else, it can get you out of danger through mobility, far more effectively than firing shots can.

The danger of traveling to unknown places, is that you might find yourself in the wrong part of town, and not know it until you're on foot (where the gun in your car is of no use to you).

You're much more likely to be a victim of crime (mugging or carjacking) as you approach your car unarmed, than you are while inside your car with access to your handgun.

Car break-ins are a problem in many areas, especially the low-rent neighborhoods around universities. Since you can't carry your gun when you arrive at your destination, how are you going to secure it to avoid arming a petty thief?

The solution, of course, is to carry on your person. In Texas, to be legal, this means getting a CHL. You said you're about to turn 21; you can take the course now, and mail off your application and check when you turn 21.

imported post

I've already enrolled for a Concealed Carry Permit course that happens to start the very next day after my 21st birthday, which is in a little over a month. I'm very excited about that. I often times stay at work late at night, and a concealed permit will put my mind at ease. Back in the 80s, my father was working late one evening (same line of work), and two Hispanic gentlemen came into his machine shop and stuck a 1911 in his face and demanded his money. Impatiently, the gunman pulled the trigger. Either the weapon didn't have rounds in it, or it misfired. He instead knocked out my father (requiring stitches, and leaving a very large scar), took his cash, and fled. Needless to say, almost everyone in my family has a CCL now. I certainly don't plan to be an exception.

One reason that I'd like to have a firearm in my vehicle, is in case I should get a flat tire or something along those lines. The particular highway I'll be traveling has stretches that are almost completely deserted. My vehicle has no spare tire (C6 Corvette), so I would hypothetically be waiting for some help for a potentially long time. Granted, I know that getting a flat tire is a fairly rare event, but in that situation, my safety is the last thing I'd like to worry about. I'll be traveling in the early AMs as well.

Crime on this particular campus is virtually non-existent. From what I understand, there has been a bit of vandalism, but it's a rare event. The campus also has a police officer *not a rent a cop* patrolling the parking lot 24/7. The campus is primarily female, and a very expensive university.

I will probably make no more than two trips between now and the time I get my CCL.

imported post

Sounds like you've got a good plan, then.

imported post

In short, you're 'good to go' given the circumstances that you have described.

I will offer a word of advise (from personal experience)

Place the gun and your insurance/registration in SEPARATE compartments! I have placed my gun in my glove box several times and once I got stopped (speeding +5ish) and when I went to get my ins/reg I remembered that my gun was in there also... I simply informed the officer of the situation, offered a solution (I would roll down the pass window and allow him to retrieve the envelope) and he decided to allow me to go ahead and get it myself (under close supervision)...

Not wanting a repeat of that with an less friendly officer, I now make sure that I can get to my ins/reg without going through my gun!

You might also want to get a small safe and bolt it into your trunk if you are planning on leaving your gun in your car unattended. AND don't tell anybody that you have it (prevent your car from being singled out) which means keep it concealed while putting it in/taking it out of your car!

Welcome to the world of carrying!

imported post

I have yet to see a definition of "in plain view".

I drive a Crown Victoria with dark-tinted windows, and a center console. When I finally get my CHL, I plan on installing a holster on the driver's side of the console in such a way as to postion my gun (a 1911) between my right knee and the transmission tunnel. (I see no point in carrying in your car if it takes more than a a second or two to get into a position to defend yourself.) I will take steps to make sure the gun is not visible by way of casual observation from any normal vantage point outside the car (which is *my* definition of "in plain view").

Even if you "conceal" in a glove box, in the event of an accident, the glove box could pop open, and the gun is now "in plain view". Are you then breaking the law?

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My own personal experience is that LEOs have a historically bad habit of "convenient interpretation" of the law, and seem more willing to hassle law-abiding citizens just to make a point.