WOODWAY, Texas (KXXV) — The Lone Star Academy at the Republic Gun Club in Woodway held a license to carry class Saturday, teaching the fundamentals of accurate and safe shooting.
- In Texas, you have to be 21 to purchase or rent a pistol and ammo, but you can still get a license to carry if you’re over 18
- Woodway Police Chief says the city has not had a home break-in in the last five years
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"All the places you can't conceal carry. I was definitely one of the guys that was very constitutionally thinking about firearms, so it's good to learn that you can't absolutely carry and there's no fighting it," License To Carry student Cory Kreder said.
That's what Cory Kreder tells me is the biggest lesson he learned during his License to Carry class, also known as LTC, on Saturday.
However Kreder is no stranger to firearms.
"I started shooting in high school, started hunting with friends with shotguns mainly and bird hunting, that was about it. I went into the navy when I was 18 and shot a lot working green side," he said.
He decided to get his LTC to learn more about the laws surrounding concealed carry.
While the LTC class tests students accuracy on the range, a huge portion of the course is focused on safety and education.
"We also talk about things that are important to know if you are armed in public, things like deescalation techniques, situational awareness and knowing what they should and shouldn't do when interacting with law enforcement," Firearm Instructor Shane Phillips said.
Texas is a permitless carry state, meaning it is not required to have a LTC in order to carry a handgun in most public places, but there are restrictions.
"This is not really a learn to shoot class, it's a learn the laws, what you can and can't do within parameters to keep yourself safe, but also plan for those places that you can't carry," Phillips said.
Firearm laws vary from state to state and legislation is constantly being updated. Instructors told the class a helpful resource for firearm owners is the USCCA app that has a live reciprocity map to show gun laws in other states.
