Texax guns made easy

Carrying a concealed handgun in Texas just got easier, thanks to new laws

Gun-friendly Texas is getting even friendlier in 2014 with new revisions to the state's concealed handgun application process — including a reduction of mandatory training hours and an elimination of social security number requirements.

Texas lawmakers earned high praise from the National Rifle Association this summer after passing a record number of pro-gun bills aimed at everything from lowering license prices to prohibiting colleges and universities from restricting students wishing to carry firearms in their vehicles.

At the forefront of the Second Amendment push has been a loosening of mandates for 584,000 Texans who hold active concealed handgun licenses (CHLs) in addition to an ever-rising number of new applicants.

Roughly one in every 45 Texans holds an active concealed handgun license.

Since September, annual CHL renewal courses have been eliminated and fees have been lowered for law enforcers and corrections officers as well as veterans and current members of the armed forces.

With the new year, applications will no longer ask for social security numbers and required training courses have been reduced from 10 to 15 hours down to four to six hours.

And for CHL holders caught brandishing a handgun in public . . . Legislators recently amended the Texas Penal Code to soften the language from “fail to conceal” to “unintentional display.” Click here for the full list of legislative changes.

Legislation hits home

The laws mean major changes for a state in which about one in every 45 citizens is licensed to carry a concealed firearm — especially in Harris County, which annually issues the most applications in Texas (roughly 15 percent, according to 2012 data from the Department of Public Safety).

KHOU Channel 11 stopped by Spring Guns & Ammo on New Year's Day to get a sense of how area gun owners feel about the changes. Jayne Perkins, who was shopping for a gun with her grandson, says she's "a little concerned" about the shorter amount of required class time.

"We had this intense, all day training," she explains. "We got comfortable with the gun and we learned all the safety things."

But Chuck Persinger of Spring Guns & Ammo — one of the state's 3,000 instructors — feels the 10 hours of required lectures and Power Point presentations formerly required by the state had scared away many gun owners. He says four hours is plenty of time to cover the basics but encourages students to pursue more training.

Watch the KHOU Ch. 11 report:

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dream a little dream

New Houston business crafts classes, coffee, and community in Montrose

Courtesy of Little Dreamer Creative

Kelley Eggert is puting the finishing touches on Little Dreamer Creative

The man behind a string of successful Houston coffee shops and a veteran art teacher are teaming up on a new business that’s designed to get people away from their screens and working with their hands. Called Little Dreamer Creative, the new business will celebrate its grand opening this weekend on Saturday, September 5 from 6-9 pm, and Sunday, September 6 from 10 am-2 pm (1004 Taft St.).

The two-day celebration reflects the wide range of experiences Little Dreamer Creative intends to provide. Saturday night will feature live music, food, and a vendor market, while Sunday’s events include art activities and a market of local artists. Participating vendors include Zozo Fresh, Earth.Oils, Alchemist, Little Dreamer Coffee, Chilesquiles, Tucker Family Fungi, Award Winning Farm, and Amaize Artisanal Flatbreads.

Art teacher Kelley Eggert and coffee veteran Matt Toomey founded Little Dreamer to serve a range of needs. Having recently left her role as a ceramics professor at Lone Star College, Eggert will teach art classes for both kids and adults. Toomey, who’s shed his managerial responsibilities at Little Dreamer Coffee to focus on this new venture, will use the space to launch a number of new brands, including Third Eye Yoga and Nothing But Flowers, a new beverage concept related to teas and other drinks made with flowering plants.

“I love teaching. That is my calling is to be a teacher. It's literally in my astrology,” Eggert says. “But I don't want to teach for academia. I want to teach for the beauty of using art to heal, to meditate, to break away from phones and computers and all of that.”

Unlike a maker space that has tools and other heavy equipment, Little Dreamer Creative’s classes will be more project based. People could come in for three hours on a Sunday, for example, or for six hours spread over three weeks.

“[Little Dreamer] is more about art and human expression, you know, how that is a fulfillment of the desire of humanity — to express yourself with something creative and beautiful, and if it's not beautiful, who cares? You're not really attached to the outcome of it. You're just doing it for the sake of it,” Toomey explains.

In addition, Little Dreamer Creative will sell coffee, tea, and other drinks. While it doesn’t have a kitchen, it will offer items prepared nearby at Little Dreamer Coffee, the shop Toomey founded in 2025. In addition, Toomey is working pastry chef Alyssa Dole (Coltivare, Pinkerton’s Barbecue, LuLoo’s Day & Night) to develop sweet and savory baked goods and other pastries.

At night on the weekends, Little Dreamer Creative intends to host live events such as concerts, comedy shows, and movie screenings. While it doesn’t have a liquor license, Toomey is developing mixers that will allow visitors to bring-their-own spirits to make cocktails.

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