Yesterday the wife and I completed our CHL renewal class at Central Texas Gun Works. The class was very good and much more through than our original class. Shooting portion was handled very well and the instructors did an excellent job of maintaining safety and helping out when students needed it. All in all, I'd recommend them.
What I didn't like was the hard sale they put on us to join Texas Law Shield. This may be a good service and I'd be surprised if this is the first time it's been mentioned and discussed on the OB. It, like other insurance-like products have a place an ultimately it's up to the individual to determine if the service is for them. I don't buy extended warranties at Best Buy or extra coverage on tires at Discount Tire because I don't think I will get my money's worth out of those deals. Obviously, I didn't sign up for TLS yesterday.
Back to my complaint - they did a very good job of scaring all the new CHL holders into thinking that if they do use their weapon in self defense that they will be facing tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees both on the civil and criminal side. However, if you sign up for TLS, you don't have to worry about all those lawyer costs. My wife said in the car on the way home "I find it very disturbing to know that if I shoot someone that's breaking into our home, I will be arrested and then have to spend lots of money dealing with that." This infuriated me! I want her to feel confident knowing that she is completely entitled to defend herself wherever she may be, especially in our home. What the salesman said shook that confidence. They made no mention of the Castle Doctrine during this 20 minute pitch to the captive audience.
My understanding is that, in the State of Texas, the Castle Doctrine (SB 378) protects you from criminal prosecution and/or civil suits if you injure or kill someone that was a) breaking into your home, car or business while you are there and b) if you defend yourself from someone who is attempting to kidnap, murder, sexually assault or rob you - regardless of the location. The law seems pretty clearly written and I'm having a hard time finding the gap where TLS would be handy. The basic premise they were pushing was that if you use your weapon in self defense, you will be arrested and, regardless of if you were in the right, the lawyer fees will be $10-20K, minimum.
So what's the OB's take on all of this? I would have no problem with someone from TLS setting up a table at a gun show and selling their wares, but this was a little different. It was during the CHL class and the guy was an employee of Central Texas Gun Works. He muddied the water and I think had a lot of people confused as to the ramifications if you were to use a weapon in self defense. Anyway, I'll enjoy seeing where this thread goes.
What I didn't like was the hard sale they put on us to join Texas Law Shield. This may be a good service and I'd be surprised if this is the first time it's been mentioned and discussed on the OB. It, like other insurance-like products have a place an ultimately it's up to the individual to determine if the service is for them. I don't buy extended warranties at Best Buy or extra coverage on tires at Discount Tire because I don't think I will get my money's worth out of those deals. Obviously, I didn't sign up for TLS yesterday.
Back to my complaint - they did a very good job of scaring all the new CHL holders into thinking that if they do use their weapon in self defense that they will be facing tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees both on the civil and criminal side. However, if you sign up for TLS, you don't have to worry about all those lawyer costs. My wife said in the car on the way home "I find it very disturbing to know that if I shoot someone that's breaking into our home, I will be arrested and then have to spend lots of money dealing with that." This infuriated me! I want her to feel confident knowing that she is completely entitled to defend herself wherever she may be, especially in our home. What the salesman said shook that confidence. They made no mention of the Castle Doctrine during this 20 minute pitch to the captive audience.
My understanding is that, in the State of Texas, the Castle Doctrine (SB 378) protects you from criminal prosecution and/or civil suits if you injure or kill someone that was a) breaking into your home, car or business while you are there and b) if you defend yourself from someone who is attempting to kidnap, murder, sexually assault or rob you - regardless of the location. The law seems pretty clearly written and I'm having a hard time finding the gap where TLS would be handy. The basic premise they were pushing was that if you use your weapon in self defense, you will be arrested and, regardless of if you were in the right, the lawyer fees will be $10-20K, minimum.
So what's the OB's take on all of this? I would have no problem with someone from TLS setting up a table at a gun show and selling their wares, but this was a little different. It was during the CHL class and the guy was an employee of Central Texas Gun Works. He muddied the water and I think had a lot of people confused as to the ramifications if you were to use a weapon in self defense. Anyway, I'll enjoy seeing where this thread goes.