GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas – The Galveston County Judge is paying out of his own pocket for county employees to take classes for concealed handgun licenses.
"We're glad to be on the cutting edge of something like this. We are the first governmental entity we know of to have encouraged it, County Judge Mark Henry said. "The reaction has been phenomenal as evidenced by the class getting full in five minutes."
The first class will have 65 county employees. They will be taking it on their own time Sept. 12.
Henry is footing the cost of about $25 per employee. Employees will pay for their own background check and state permit fee.
Corey Jannett, who works in Human Resources, signed up.
"We have two small kids. It was more about family protection for us," he said. "I just think it's interesting that we have an employer who is telling us it's OK to be a safe legal gun owner and they are standing up for us."
Clear Creek Gun Range in donating the range time and some county commissioners are offering to pitch in their own money too.
Henry knows the free classes could be controversial but he says they will make county buildings safer.
"The person has to go through the CHL class background check and take the class. They can do this with or with me. I'm just making it easier," he said.
In the future, Henry expects to offer the class to spouses of county employees and then dependents of county employees as long as the dependent is 21 or over.