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LTC vs LEOSA

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  • nobleb

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    I currently have a LTC and just learned that I am LEOSA qualified. However, LEOSA requires that I range qualify to TCOLE standards (whatever, all that means). Anyway, I live in the DFW area .. does anyone know of anywhere that is familiar with LEOSA and can administer the range qualification?

    Thanks
    Target Sports
     

    Glenn B

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    How are you LEOSA eligible? With whom you need to qualify at a range - depends in part on what agency made you eligible in the first place. If your agency or department is willing to qualify you for LEOSA, you do not need to qualify by a state approved program. For instance, if you were a federal agent and are retired and your previous agency is willing to qualify you at the range for LEOSA purposes - go for it and forget qualifying by way of a TCOLE standards. Most federal agencies though will probably not qualify their retirees at the range for LEOSA. Same thing goes for state & local law enforcement but I do not know how that works in TX. I do know that TX requires you to pay the instructor and then to pay TX for the qualification card; my bet is if someone had a lawyer in the family (too expensive otherwise) he or she could fight that because the state should not be charging anything for an ID card; instead the instructor should be able to make one and give it to you upon completion of the range quals all inclusive under the range qualification fee. Heck, even in the socialist rebooblik of NY they allow that. What little knowlede I have comes from me qualiffying each year for the past 10 years for LEOSA and because I ran all aspects (except being the boss of course) of the LEOSA program for Homeland Security Investigations when LEOSA first started and from my taking a class about it given by a federal judge affgiliated with Sheepdog Academy but running the program and that class were quite awhile ago.

    Edited to add: As for qualifying under TCOLE standards, as it was explained to me by someone at TCOLE, it means that any firearms instructor who is qualified by TCOLE to give instruction for a TX LTC or to qualify LE officers can qualify you at the range. Your best bet, to see what they require and to get it right, is to contact TCOLE directly.
     
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    nobleb

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    I am a retired Army Counterintelligence Agent (19 years). They recently amended the Act to include us as federal law enforcement.
    My understanding (so far) is that the Army issues my ID, but I need to qualify yearly on the range.
     

    nobleb

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    You are asking the wrong question. The question you should be asking is why am I carrying under LTC when I could carry under LEOSA.
    Well, simple answer .. I have had my LTC since moving back to Texas a few years ago, but I learned a few days ago that I qualified for LEOSA ))
     

    Glenn B

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    You are asking the wrong question. The question you should be asking is why am I carrying under LTC when I could carry under LEOSA.
    That could be because LEOSA is not a carry permit, LEOSA is an affirmative defense. It also could be because if you are carrying by virtue of LEOSA, you cannot come within 1,000 feet of a gun free school zone (under federal law) unless you are also carrying under a license issued by the state and the state must have run criminal history checks on you to be eligible to carry within a school zone. Maybe you can walk through much of west TX without coming within 1,000 feet of a school zone but try it anywhere near a decent sized city and there would be a good chance of you getting arrested for violating federal law by some liberal officer.

    There is no remedy under LEOSA for someone who is carrying under LEOSA in a gun free school zone. See this: https://www.bluesheepdog.com/leosa-school-grounds/ (that was the first site that came up when I searched "carrying under leosa school zones")
     

    ldaniel

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    I currently have a LTC and just learned that I am LEOSA qualified. However, LEOSA requires that I range qualify to TCOLE standards (whatever, all that means). Anyway, I live in the DFW area .. does anyone know of anywhere that is familiar with LEOSA and can administer the range qualification?

    Thanks
    Google Texas leosa qualifications and you should find someone nearby.. go to tcole website and click where it Forms and Applications and then scroll down to Retired officers qualifications. Print out the .pdf form. There are 3 pages. The application for the TCOLE card, the next is Firearm qualifications and Affidavit page, the instructor fills out top part if you qualify. The you go to notary and sign the affidavit. If you an out of state LEO the 3rd page is also for you. Stick it in envelope with a 35 dollar cashiers check or money order and send it in. it takes a few weeks to get back TCOLE Card-the certificate of qualifications.
    I made a copy of the qualification certificate that the instructor filled out and stuck it in my wallet to use until I got the card. Leosa law states Retired Officer must carry a certificate of qualification issued by the state or one issued by the firearms instructor (and of course a Retired Law Enforcement credientials with photo)
    Retired LEOs with LEOSA can carry like Peace Officers in Texas. We are covered by penal code 46.15 (5).


    I currently have a LTC and just learned that I am LEOSA qualified. However, LEOSA requires that I range qualify to TCOLE standards (whatever, all that means). Anyway, I live in the DFW area .. does anyone know of anywhere that is familiar with LEOSA and can administer the range qualification?

    Thanks
     
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    Axxe55

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    Google Texas leosa qualifications and you should find someone nearby.. go to tcole website and click where it Forms and Applications and then scroll down to Retired officers qualifications. Print out the .pdf form. There are 3 pages. The application for the TCOLE card, the next is Firearm qualifications and Affidavit page, the instructor fills out top part if you qualify. The you go to notary and sign the affidavit. If you an out of state LEO the 3 page is also for you. Stick it in envelope with a 35 dollar cashiers check or money order and send it in. it takes a few weeks to get back TCOLE Card-the certificate of qualifications.
    I made a copy of the qualification certificate that the instructor filled out and stuck it in my wallet to use until I get the card. Leosa law states Retired Officer must carry a certificate of qualification issued by the state or one issued by the firearms instructor (and of course a Retired Law Enforcement credientials with photo)
    Retired LEOs with LEOSA can carry like Peace Officers in Texas. We are covered by penal code 46.15 (5). Peace Officers are 46.15 (1).
    Welcome to TGT.

    Please stop over in the Intro Section and say hello to everyone.
     

    Sasquatch

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    Sasquatch,

    Sounds good - is that the extent of it do you know?

    Its the biggest benefit. I'm not LE, but I had good friends who are and were. After LEOSA passed that was their biggest focus - they could carry in any state without that state's permit BUT they had to follow the laws of that state, meaning obey any "no guns" sign that had force of law behind it, obey capacity / caliber restrictions, etc. One friend had to scrounge up 10 round mags for his Sig 229 Legion because his wife / daughter wanted to go to Disneyland. He couldn't carry the 12 rounders it normally used, nor could he carry his issued Glock 21 with its 13 rounders.
     

    toddnjoyce

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    Its the biggest benefit. I'm not LE, but I had good friends who are and were. After LEOSA passed that was their biggest focus - they could carry in any state without that state's permit BUT they had to follow the laws of that state, meaning obey any "no guns" sign that had force of law behind it, obey capacity / caliber restrictions, etc. One friend had to scrounge up 10 round mags for his Sig 229 Legion because his wife / daughter wanted to go to Disneyland. He couldn't carry the 12 rounders it normally used, nor could he carry his issued Glock 21 with its 13 rounders.

    Most states recognize a Texas LTC on the condition we follow those state laws as well. The biggest benefit to LEOSA is being able to carry in those shithole states that don’t recognize a Texas LTC.

    Nothing prevents a qualified person from having both a Texas LTC and using LEOSA; they aren’t mutually exclusive.
     

    Sasquatch

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    Most states recognize a Texas LTC on the condition we follow those state laws as well. The biggest benefit to LEOSA is being able to carry in those shithole states that don’t recognize a Texas LTC.

    Nothing prevents a qualified person from having both a Texas LTC and using LEOSA; they aren’t mutually exclusive.

    Yup. These folks I mentioned though weren't from Texas. They were friends back in lefty-land. Oregon has zero mutual reciprocity for their permits. Some states go one-way, accepting an Oregon permit regardless.

    Cali, IIRC is like Oregon, they don't accept any other state's permit. My Disney-bound LEO friend had no other option but to carry under LEOSA. He also maintained his Oregon CHL, despite being a cop at the time. Oregon, while not as cool as Texas in that your CHL / LTC bypassed the NICS nonsense altogether, would at least put CHL holders to the front of the line for background checks. That was real nice when Rona Panic set in and the state police were inundated with 10,000 checks per day. It was not uncommon to wait 8, 10, or even 24 hours for your BGC to clear. Dealers were telling people "Go home, we'll call you when the background comes back". As a CHL holder, the few transactions I made during that time usually cleared within 30-45 mintues, a few I managed to float to the top of the list and it was almost instant.

    They had to be retarded and have the state police be a middle man for the BGC - you got hit with a $10 fee every time you transferred or bought a gun (and five or six years ago, they put stupid UBC into place killing private deals) that went to the state police just so an administrative minion could run the exact same NICS check as FFLs in freer states could, for free.

    Said friend also didn't want to carry his badge or agency ID with him everywhere he went, so the CHL was necessary to conceal a pistol anywhere, or open carry in certain cities if he went badgeless.
     

    Hoji

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    How are you LEOSA eligible? With whom you need to qualify at a range - depends in part on what agency made you eligible in the first place. If your agency or department is willing to qualify you for LEOSA, you do not need to qualify by a state approved program. For instance, if you were a federal agent and are retired and your previous agency is willing to qualify you at the range for LEOSA purposes - go for it and forget qualifying by way of a TCOLE standards. Most federal agencies though will probably not qualify their retirees at the range for LEOSA. Same thing goes for state & local law enforcement but I do not know how that works in TX. I do know that TX requires you to pay the instructor and then to pay TX for the qualification card; my bet is if someone had a lawyer in the family (too expensive otherwise) he or she could fight that because the state should not be charging anything for an ID card; instead the instructor should be able to make one and give it to you upon completion of the range quals all inclusive under the range qualification fee. Heck, even in the socialist rebooblik of NY they allow that. What little knowlede I have comes from me qualiffying each year for the past 10 years for LEOSA and because I ran all aspects (except being the boss of course) of the LEOSA program for Homeland Security Investigations when LEOSA first started and from my taking a class about it given by a federal judge affgiliated with Sheepdog Academy but running the program and that class were quite awhile ago.

    Edited to add: As for qualifying under TCOLE standards, as it was explained to me by someone at TCOLE, it means that any firearms instructor who is qualified by TCOLE to give instruction for a TX LTC or to qualify LE officers can qualify you at the range. Your best bet, to see what they require and to get it right, is to contact TCOLE directly.
    I have, over the years, offered to do the qual for retired officers qualifying under LEOSA for free. ( you included).
    If you retired from a local jurisdiction your department should do the qual for you.
    If fed.gov ( including MP) then they are less likely which is why Texas will accept a LTC instructor for the range quals. “Texas” does not require you to pay the instructor.

    Most of the instructors I know will do LEOSA quals for no fee.
     

    Glenn B

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    I have, over the years, offered to do the qual for retired officers qualifying under LEOSA for free. ( you included).
    If you retired from a local jurisdiction your department should do the qual for you.
    If fed.gov ( including MP) then they are less likely which is why Texas will accept a LTC instructor for the range quals. “Texas” does not require you to pay the instructor.

    Most of the instructors I know will do LEOSA quals for no fee.
    Poorly phrased by me so allow me to explain what I meant more clearly: Texas makes it so there usually are two fees - one for the LTC (if they charge one and traveling to you to be qualified for free would cost more than the fee for many) and one for the qualification card which for some reason is issued by the state of Texas (which technically you do not need if you have other proof you qualified, such as the sheet signed by the instructor).. To the best of my knowledge, after speaking to someone at TCOLE and to a few LTC instructors, Texas does not allow an LTC Instructor to issue qualification cards and thus TX in essence is making most folks (who can not glet qualified for free) pay two fees. As for me, I have not been able to find an LTC who does it for free in the Texarkana area.

    Very nice of you to offer free quals.
     

    Renegade

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    It’s whiskey Wednesday, so I may f* this up. @Renegade, can you help with somebody needing LEOSA in DFW? Or know somebody that can?

    For whatever reason did not get notification on this, but I have nothing to offer wrt to getting LEOSA qualed.


    Unless qualifying under LEOSA is especially appealing to you for unstated reasons, why bother if you have a Texas LTC?

    Does LEOSA have benefits exceeding a Texas LTC?

    If not, it sounds like an annual PITA...
    In Texas it helps a lot. You can ignore all signs for starters. Plus the blue line might respect LEOSA more than LTC.


    But because of school zones, NICS ,etc. best is to get both if not terribly inconvenient.
     

    Hoji

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    Poorly phrased by me so allow me to explain what I meant more clearly: Texas makes it so there usually are two fees - one for the LTC (if they charge one and traveling to you to be qualified for free would cost more than the fee for many) and one for the qualification card which for some reason is issued by the state of Texas (which technically you do not need if you have other proof you qualified, such as the sheet signed by the instructor).. To the best of my knowledge, after speaking to someone at TCOLE and to a few LTC instructors, Texas does not allow an LTC Instructor to issue qualification cards and thus TX in essence is making most folks (who can not glet qualified for free) pay two fees. As for me, I have not been able to find an LTC who does it for free in the Texarkana area.

    Very nice of you to offer free quals.
    I did offer to stop by on my way to my hunting club in AR ;) I make the trip a few times a year, lol.
    You are correct in the fed.gov makes it a pain for their retirees to get LEOSA.

    Wonder why federal agencies are so against their retired employees being armed?
     
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