Pictures080802 017

Reader Matt W. writes:

I don’t carry. I support the RKBA without any ifs, ands or buts. Any. I live in a pro-gun town in the pro-gun state of Idaho. I am thrilled we are about to make concealed carry legal on college campuses. I’m a financial planner, one of the youngest in the country. I view concealed carry like a life insurance premium, which I have and sell a lot of. Given the stats, I don’t pay the carry “premium.” So many people in Idaho pay it already . . .

Just “the implication” — to quote Dennis Reynolds of IASIP — of all these other “policyholders” here in the land of potatoes and elk, allows me to to walk around statistically safe every single day. I’m certainly not saying I’m smarter for not carrying. But the risks of low frequency, high severity events are what I help people prepare for. And I’m sure there are other TTAGers who don’t pack heat for reasons that are worthy of discussion. Why don’t you carry?

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

219 COMMENTS

  1. I live in California.
    That said, there may be some relief coming for us soon. I’ve just started looking into getting a CCL, kind of waiting for my Shriff to update his position on the matter.

    • I’ve heard radio host Anthony Cumia describe what he had to go through to get his NYC concealed carry permit and it sounds like quite the process.

    • You don’t say if you live in or near NYC. The other person that replied to you mentions how hard it is to get one in NYC, so he is assuming that you live there. NY is a big state, and believe it or not, most of the state is not a suburb of NYC. In many counties it is fairly easy to get a pistol permit with no restrictions at all. The farther you live from NYC the easier it is. Much of the state is practically shall issue. You have to state how you will use it, but one sentence saying hunting, hiking, target shooting, and self defense is enough to get an unrestricted permit. It can, however, take a long time; mine took nine months.

    • Try getting one in NJ. Impossible except for Dem politicians and retired cops…just don’t throw popcorn at ’em.

    • Depends on where you live in NY. In Orleans county took my wife and I six weeks to get them after we turned in the paperwork. Orleans county respects our rights

      • Orleans county respects our rights

        I didn’t realize that one could open carry handgun or long gun in Orleans County, NY without government interference. Cool!

        • I understand, Fred. It’s a matter of degrees all over the country these days. I was making a general point. No worries, brother. Carry on (any way you can). 🙂

  3. I’m getting old. I’m fat, slow, and grouchy. I’m getting to be the perfect victim. I’ve had a CCW in 2 different states for over 20 years. But I seldom carry. I think mostly because I live 3 miles from work and hardly go out at night. I have a false sense of security. I know it. I guess accepting that you have a problem is the first step to fixing it.

    • Fat, slow and grouchy can be improved on though. I’m working on what I can so I can enjoy my family for a long time into the future.

    • I’m FAT and SLOW and OLD as well.
      I know the feeling.
      I really need to start carrying.
      Never thought about becoming the perfect victim. LOL Thanks for the insight.

      • I’ll never be fat (genetics) and I used to be not slow and not old. Those two things can’t really be controlled.

        I have to as a matter of work go into some sketchy spots. When I was younger, I was a fighter. I’m not younger any more, I don’t want a fight, I want a win if I need it. I do carry. 16/7 (sleep you know).

    • Yes, there are really two answers to this question, and “false sense of security” is #1.

      While it is statistically “proven” that “more guns-less crime” it does not follow that more guns = NO crime. In such an environment any Bad Guy with criminal intent will minimize his risks by targeting Gun Free Zones, or more likely, people in public and alone. Where is your support from the CCW crowd at that point? Are you NEVER alone? You never use a public restroom? What about when you are home or even when you are walking from your car to the house?

      Point #2, it should also be considered that just like the police, not one single person in your State with a CCW has any responsibility to intervene on your behalf even if they witness a crime being committed. They certainly have the option to weigh the personal costs and just find an exit.

      If you can carry, you should carry. You should NEVER get the mindset that someone, ANYONE else will be your savior. When seconds count, help is only minutes away, and your CCW hope of salvation may be looking for an exit.

      • I am in the choir singing for you! I am in the process to awakening to your point(s) that if you “support carrying, you carry within the legal local conditions and your own capabilities. (PERIOD) The rest of what I say here is not directed at your reply (Cliff H) but in reply to the original message.

        I am willing to give on younger people who are still making their ways into the world – determining what they think/feel about all the important issue because I was once one of them. I also did not have the benefits of being raised to be able to carry or even have the inclination to carry. I am one of so many 40 somethings (and female) who grew up believing that carrying a gun was simply something that dumb red-necks did. Then I starting thinking through it more and realized that I was the narrow minded, irresponsible one. I am still trying to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to responsibly carry and will continue to develop and maintain them.

        If you believe in personal responsibility and you live in a state/local where CCW are legal (like GA where I live), you should have the habit of carrying when you can. It is a little hypocritical for someone to say on one hand that he believes in personal responsibility and, thus, carrying a weapon and then on the other that he feels safe because everyone else is shouldering this burden for him. Further, if there are not enough people practicing the carry laws and general 2nd amendment right, there will not be enough people in the future to support them.

        • Cliff and you make excellent points.

          To be clear, I certainly don’t think someone else will save the day for me in some event. It’s more of a matter of believing(perhaps recklessly) that some event wouldn’t happen in the first place because of how prevalent cc is in Idaho in the first place.

          Also, I believe personal responsibility doesn’t mean you “have” to carry to protect yourself just like it doesn’t mean you “have” to buy medical insurance, what it means is that your aware of and prepared to face the potential consequences of not doing so. Just my opinion but I think I understand what you mean in your statement.

          While I believe that cc has been one of the most important legs of 2a support over the last 25 years, my support of the RKBA currently has about as much to do with day to day self defense as it does with hunting.

  4. I’m in Cali, that’s why.

    And it will be a decade before Peruta filters down through all the counties, and it will be a legal battle the whole way. By that point, our idiotic handgun roster/microstamping/smart gun requirements will ensure that there will be nothing left to carry.

    • It will be a while before they get to the Colt SAA Peacemaker though, or the Colt 1911 (Series 80). The former is not on the roster and doesn’t need to be, and the latter will be built and grandfathered for at least the next 100 years. They may be “antiques” but they throw a mass of lead. Or you can move to the Central Valley or up by Sacramento and get your CCW now. Although jobs are scarce, CCWs are easy to come by in short order way up here in the State of Jefferson.

    • I’m applying for a San Diego permit once I get stationed there. I might even see it before I leave, but I’ll be danged if I don’t add to their paperwork load. I’ll apply for an Illinois one too if I get the chance, though I pay extra for plane tickets to not connect in that awful state.

    • There are PLENTY of guns to carry in CA. Bought a Glock in January. Bought a Springfield in February. Bought a M&P Shield on Friday. Stop me if you can.

  5. I don’t carry yet because my permit is not ready yet…waiting the 90-120 days until I get a card in the mail from the sherrifs office telling me to come pick it up….hopefully it will come before the end of March.

    • Yeah I just recieved my CWP yesterday. They also said it would be no less than 90 days but mine came in about 45 days. You might get it sooner than you think. I’m in SC though.

  6. Right now?

    Because San Fransisco PD arrests visitors who carry guns.

    Seriously, as beneficial as concealed carry is, I think sometimes people put far too much emphasis on carrying a gun as a defensive tool. Getting shot sucks, no doubt, but factually speaking we are more likely to die from driving the cars in our driveways or eating too many beef Chalupas.

    As such, I’d consider a person without a CCW but a frequently used gym membership and advanced driving training as better prepared for the real deadly killers of Americans then the obese dude with the MOLLE pouch plate carrier.Heart disease and cars kill hundreds of people a week . Even Chicago street gangs aren’t that violent.

    • I’ve never heard any such thing about the SFPD. A California CCW is valid in all counties, and an arrest would be unlawful. The only police contacts I’ve seen reported on CalCCW with SFPD were positive.

    • California does not honor ANY out-of-state permits, last time I checked.

      There are, however, legal ways to carry a pistol in your car in CA, basically unloaded and in a locked container/compartment separate from the ammo. There is no way to carry on your person either in or out of the car.

      As a truck driver I drove frequently into and through California. I wasn’t always scrupulous about the legalities, but I did know the rules. Didn’t keep my load from being hijacked once, however, since I stopped for dinner and had to leave my pistol in the truck. They took the whole truck AND the pistol pretty much as soon as I was out of sight.

      • There is something about ones domicile in CA law, and if you have to sleep in your vehicle, I think you can technically have a loaded gun. But it needs to be unloaded and locked up before driving. I’m not a lawyer, but I used to go drinking with one. I’m also unfamiliar with how this principle has fared in actual court rooms.

    • You’re spot on ST, about automobile accidents and disease killing many more Americans than violence, but some of us practice defensive driving, wear seat belts, purchase vehicles with superior safety features and crash ratings, and follow diet and exercise regimes designed to limit risk while carrying guns.

      That said, I think the real point is that humans are natural more horrified by interpersonal violence than impersonal threats (random traffic mishaps and slow diseases). Where accidents and the like are more likely to kill us, we still don’t fear them or see them as an affront like we do violence.
      Disease cannot properly be said to infringe upon a persons rights or an accident restrict their liberties because these things cannot have intent. The deeper, longer motivator for CCW is to thwart ill intent because this is a personal threat, aimed at an individual and thus is less palatable than random death or the impersonality of a disease.
      Control is almost certainly a factor as well. Accidents and disease, lacking intent, cannot be said to control us the way a person with violent intentions might and maintaining personal autonomy could be said to be more important than actual survival (liberty or death and all that).

      I don’t recall now the exact wording or the author, but once a wise man said that so long as he was armed anyone was welcome to state their case and negotiate with him about anything, what they could not do was to make him do that which he would not intend because at that extremity he would intend to end the coercion and thus the only thing they could make him do was fight.

      This is why CCW is esteemed by many over other sorts of life saving tools; It’s not always just about saving your life.

      • Yup.

        Putting NYC to the side, until last year we had a stupid superficial AWB (and access to lots of “compliant” rifles) and no magazine capacity limits. I live in a town that is liberal (in the good way) about issuing permits, and am surrounded by fellow former military. Not gun-lover heaven, but manageable.

        Now it’s just crap and my buddies in Canada have access to a wider variety of rifles.

  9. Wearing a concealed gun is uncomfy no matter how small it is. Cops wear duty belts for a reason. Of course its OK for them to constantly show off their gun. Chuck Connors in The Rifleman showed how its easier to just carry a rifle instead of a pistol. But that assumes a friendly sheriff, and townsfolk who dont scream in terror and call 911 at the sight of a long gun.

    • Look into the small NAA mini revolvers, at I think around 4 oz.
      I have a small magnum with I 1/8″ barrel. I carry it in my front jean pocket and never really know it’s there.
      The 22 magnum is not much compared to a 45, but the right style of bullet at “in your face” range can do considerable damage.

    • Relative degrees of comfort, particularly with a good holster. Compact gun and a great holster with a nice comfortable leather backer have made the difference for me.

    • There are guns smaller than cell phones, nowadays.

      If you can’t a fit an LCP (or like size pocket guns) in your pocket comfortably, you should rethink your wardrobe because it’s not the gun’s fault.

      • I have to disagree (respectfully), Rock. I have an S&W Airweight that I carry when my larger pistol is not easily concealable. I have considered pocket carry a few times, with different kinds of pants/jeans, and even in a Remora holster there is no way that pistol doesn’t print so clearly that I would feel comfortable in public with it. Not to mention it is a bitch to draw from that location.

        Any small pistol IWB, assuming you can drape a shirt or sweater over it, works better for me.

        • I don’t like snubbies for pocket carry either, the cylinder is too bulky for me as well.

          That’s why I said the LCP and alike, meaning small, semi autos. The LCP in a front pocket holster looks just a smart phone, and being so thin, draws about as well as one could hope for.

          Pocket carry isn’t a great draw position, except maybe when you’re standing still and straight up.

          Honestly, I very rarely find myself in situations where I cannot handle or comfortably conceal, at least, a sub-compact size pistol on my waist.

          But, for some, the pocket gun (actually in your pocket) is better than the full size gun that was left at home. And, I can’t argue with that.

        • I held a S&W 637 at a gun show, oh my god it felt perfect in my hand. Like buttah. Couldn’t buy it though due to the ability to buy a gun from a dealer to exercise my 2nd amendment right only existing in my state of residence, expats be danged. Got one from Buds though and shipped it home, picked up a Winthrop leather holster and a blue gun for break in. It is so freaking comfy, its amazing. The leather is not as wide as my kydex hybrids and the curves blend. Still need to pick up the real thing from my FFL, hopefully it doesn’t suck to shoot.

        • B, I’m not fan of shooting revolvers, not crapping on your gun, the snubby was my first carry gun, I just don’t like them anymore.

          A lot of people taut revolvers to be the ideal first time shooter/ carry guns and I don’t find that to be true. No first time shooter I’ve taught has ever liked them after shooting a sub-compact/full size 9mm, the revolver has always been quickly thrown aside.

          And, after carrying one for a few years, I began to dislike them and couldn’t find a reason not to switch to a sub-compact 9mm.

          Some people swear by snubbies and I was one of those people, but they no longer have a place in my heart, nor my carry gear.

          That being said, I don’t consider someone out gunned with a snubby, like all the Internet experts, as the great Jeff Cooper said,”You’re only out gunned if you miss…”

          Or, of course, if you don’t bring a gun.

    • I know what you mean, but I agree with RockOnHellChild. IWB carrying is uncomfortable for me too. A pocket pistol with a soft Remora holster changed everything. Now I carry pretty much everywhere, and I can’t believe how comfortable it is.

      • So get an OWB rig instead. With a small gun and a long shirt or jacket, the gun will conceal quite well. Ask me how I know–I can’t carry IWB comfortably either.

        • ^ This!!!!!

          I use a sturdy nylon fabric holster on the outside of my pants but inside of my belt. It is very comfortable with a full size semi-auto pistol and conceals so well that my friends and family who know I carry (and carry themselves) cannot tell that I am armed.

          If you consider this route, be careful to wear a shirt, sweater, jacket, vest, etc. that extends down far enough to cover the end (muzzle) of the barrel. Oh, and you will usually (but not always) want to wear an undershirt of some kind to guarantee that your handgun never rides against your skin.

      • +1

        I was trying the IWB for a while, but the wife wasn’t 100% on board, and it was a bit of a production trying out all the different rigs. Started carrying a pocket pistol and it was night and day. Didn’t tell her for a few months and sprang it on her fait accompli- all is well in the world. Seriously, sig p238 in a soft holster and it’s gtg in jeans, slacks, whatever.

    • I said something about conceal carry not being “comfortable” a few years ago to another guy and he simply looked at me, smiled, and said, “It’s supposed to be comforting, not comfortable.”

      : )

    • Discomfort is so personal that it’s hard to address but with a good concealment belt and holster I routinely carry a 1911 (full size) 2 spare mags and an iPhone on my belt and I’m a very thin man with a bad back. I wouldn’t call it uncomfortable, though it’s certainly less so that would be sweat pants and no gun.

      I’ve carried medium to large pistols concealed for so long now that perhaps I’ve just gotten used to the discomfort and maybe it would actually be painful to someone who hadn’t acclimated. I got used to it when I was 15 years younger and more flexible. Still, I think there is a comfortable solution for almost any body and wardrobe conceal at least a pocket sized pistol, the problem is it’s largely trial and error with gun/carry modes.

      That being said, I just talked a healthy young new CCW holder out of a 1911 as a first carry gun because the size and weight aren’t conducive to daily carry. I wear suits all week, the length of the 1911 isn’t a problem under a suit coat and the weight is something I’m used to. Solutions have to make sense for the carrier, their build, life style and tolerance for the realities of CCW. I’ll say this though, on the days that I choose my XDS over my 1911 it’s as if I weren’t carrying at all, so perhaps cutting ones teeth on something big and heavy has advantages. . .

    • Drink at home. Drinks are cheaper, less chance of being accosted, and you can watch whatever game you want on the TV. And nobody cares if you gun is open on your hip.

    • I like them craft beers. Also, I’m decent at hand-to-hand, even if I’m still breaking rule 1 of gunfighting,

      If I’m not drinking, I’m packing.

  11. I carry when I want to carry. I don’t live and work in a high threat environment and I don’t mind relying on my situational awareness and soft skills much of the time, but if I’m not actually carrying then that doesn’t mean I don’t have a gun nearby (e.g. glove box, drawer safe or whatever).

  12. Wow.

    As we can likely all agree, an armed society is a safer, more polite society. My carrying is a benefit not only to me, but to others who are proximal to me.

    However, this is only the second time I’ve “heard” someone assert that they needn’t carry because so many others do.

    In the places in which I’m particularly glad to be carrying, others who might be are a worry rather than a reassurance. That’s of course where I work rather than where I live.

    Interesting perspective.

    • It’s really the same perspective as people who don’t vaccinate their children because enough other parents do; they benefit from the herd effect.

      For me personally, I think I would carry if I didn’t work at a federal facility. I’ve taken the training (I want the knowledge), at least. And fortunately I live in a pretty safe place.

      I will carry if I go out in the wilderness areas nearby. But if I carry regularly when I’m not at work, I judge there’s too great a risk I’ll forget or miss something I shouldn’t have left in the car. Of course THAT day will be the day I get a random vehicle inspection… :-/

      • True dat.

        M’self, I install alarm systems in either unsavoury or lonely areas, and a li’l chunk of steel forged in Radom is a darned fine companion.

  13. I carry because I can. I am low on the list for violent crime, statistically, but I would rather carry and never need it than not have it and desperately need it.

  14. I live in MD. I applied for a carry permit after we won Woollard, but they delayed and out waited me until they won on appeal. I have a non-resident carry permit from Utah, but while it is good in surrounding states, it isn’t good here. I will have to wait a bit longer.

    • I live in MD, too. I have a Utah & Florida permit but ai cannot carry in MD. The whole “waiting for the background check to clear” for 9 months was a tad bit rediculous. I can only carry in my home.

  15. Matt W.,

    Thank you for supporting “the RKBA without any ifs, ands or buts. Any.” In my opinion, that’s far more important to the cause of liberty than whether you carry or not. The decision to carry is a personal one. In times past, I have offered up to friends the notion that I might not be as inclined to carry if most everyone around me was more likely than not already armed. I’ve scuttled that notion now, perhaps in part, because the struggle to re-establish the everyday exercise of the RKBA has been so difficult. However, I can understand some of the reasoning behind your personal choice and you won’t find fault for it coming from me. Again, thank you for your support of the right to keep and bear arms; regardless of your personal choice to carry or not.

  16. Like others, I work mostly in a low-risk environment, and am in and out of courthouses and other government buildings on a frequent basis. Honestly, in those instances it’s not worth the hassle.

    I also drive a lot (50k+ miles a year) and it’s on the road that I perceive myself being at the most risk. There’s always at least one loaded firearm easily accessible in the vehicle.

  17. Due to being military, there are a ton of hoops for me to jump through to carry legally. I can’t bring it on base even though I live there. So I have to make arrangements to store it off base (no damn way I’m registering and leaving guns at the armory), pick it up when I leave the base, go do my errands or whatever, drop it back off, and return to base. Its not convenient at all and sometimes I don’t bother. Its an open carry state and they’ve taken my right to carry and defend myself with firearms through inconvenience.

      • Unfortunately, some folks have no choice in the matter. Like for me, being in the Navy, certain Navy policies prohibit people in certain ranks from living off base. For instances, being E-3 and below, you can’t live off base, especially if you are single…regardless if you’re over 21 or not. If your married, it’s just not worth the hassle.

    • This is my problem as well… That said, the rules (for Navy at least) were changed in 2009, and if the base commander allows, you CAN register your weapons at the Armory, but keep them at home. If you carry concealed, you must unload, lock up and declare at the gate, and you can’t leave the weapons in the car… If you live off base- SOL regardless of what the base commander allows.

      Why is it harder for military, who HAVE sworn to protect and defend something, to carry than civilians?!?!

  18. I also don’t carry; firearms are prohibited in my workplace, so it seems like a bit of a pain for the occasional trip to the grocery store or eating out.

    That having been said, I also don’t have the slightest problem with others doing so.

    • People need to start suing the EFF out of places that prevent lawful carry, when they get shot at, or are otherwise forcibly disarmed and unable to defend themselves when some bad guy who couldn’t read the “No Guns Allowed” sign brings a gun in.

      That’s the reason I don’t carry. Too many places have a “no guns” sign, and leaving a firearm unattended in a vehicle is too much of a risk.

  20. I don’t carry in the shower because I make it a rule never to carry when I’m not wearing pants. Otherwise, I am carrying.

  21. I am a Boise State employee. I like feeding my family, but this will change once Gov Otter signs the new bill.

    • Yeah, While it’s only a misdemeanor now if I get caught carrying on campus, I have no doubt whatsoever that my university employer will terminate my employment if I do, and I like my job. The law may change down the road, but for now I don’t carry at work.

    • Same here. I don’t carry because New Jersey.

      It’d be great if the SCOTUS overturned the 3rd circuit court ruling in Drake v. Jerejian, but I’m not holding my breath. Call me cynical, but even if that happens, I expect NJ legislature and police to devise new rules and restrictions that will effectively make CCW impossible to obtain, again. I’d be surprised if they didn’t do that.

      • Same here, being from Jersey ccw is not legally an option. That said, I am in the process of turning a violin case into a custom carrier for my ar and some mags. This I will be carrying everywhere. I will be well within NJ draconian gun laws as I have an FOID and that pretty much allows me to carry a long gun most anywhere. In my area these and other cases are extremely common. I live in a city that’s 1×2 miles and one of the most densely populated in the states. We have 7 public schools and if I’m not mistaken just as many private schools, so people with instrument bags are seen year round. Its not as good as ccw, but given 45-60 sec I can be up and running.

  23. I don’t carry for a very simple reason: until Peruta is finalized, I’m not allowed to exercise my natural right to bear arms for self-defense outside the home. The wheels of justice turn slowly here in California.

  24. Joisy is gun unfriendly unless your a politician, judge, leo, or you own one of the a fore mentioned. I’m hopeful that that will change.

  25. Like others – low threat small rural town. Work forbids it (I work in a courthouse – note of course, the law says the common citizen can carry provided they notify the Sheriff in advance; however we workers are forbidden by law).

    Also my wife hates it. She dislikes guns in general, but she’s not “truly” anti-gun. In fact this year when I was going out deer hunting she asked if I was planning on taking the 9mm that sits in the nightstand, stating she feels safer knowing it’s there. She went to the range with me once, had a good time, but has declined every time since, I always make sure to invite her – but never pressure.

    The funny thing is the Permit to carry was her idea, She commented on us both getting them. I found us a class, she said bad time for her but that I should do it, so I followed through, she has not.

  27. My Dad dose not carry because he does not want to un-tuck his shirt haha been going tucked his whole life. And he has had a carry permit ever since my family moved to Indiana and it became available there.

    • I wear tucked-in business shirts and dress slacks every work day…. with a tuckable IWB holster.

    • You can go the tuckable inside-the-waistband holster route, which is my default holster type for my G26; but that can be tricky when you actually tuck your business shirts into it. There’s the hassle at the urinal, of course, but more importantly, there’s a million more steps and chances for errors in actually presenting that firearm in a defensive gun use (DGU).

      I’ve practiced many times with snap caps and an old button down shirt and can only present smoothly about 70% of the time. And that’s under stress-free practice conditions with minimal variations. In the real world? I’m resigned that I’d have a far less than 50% chance of effectively presenting that firearm under most conditions.

      So I carry a second firearm: a nice little Taurus TCP 6+1 in .380, carried in an Uncle George wallet holster (manufactured right here in Texas) in my back right pocket. The stiff holster holds the light firearm in exactly the same place and prints only the flat surface you’d expect of a wallet; without weighing down suit pants or slacks. I can present that firearm with near 100% precision in practice, which I’m guessing would translate to something notably higher than 50% in a DGU. I like those odds.

    • Have your dad look into sweater vests for work that he wears over his dress shirt. They’re very stylish now and cover an IWB holster very well.

  29. I don’t carry because on campus firearms are prohibited. However that doesn’t stop me from having a small armory in my off campus apartment.

  30. I live in CA, but in sacrament county. However, I haven’t been able to afford a proper holster, belt, etc… or the specific firearm I would carry. CA permits need the serial no. Of the gun, so my understanding is that I need that first.

    • Start with the firearm–that will be the big bite–and then get the rest one piece at a time. The gun you will have for years, and it protects your home. There are plenty of good belts for $50 or less, holsters from $50 to $75 that will get you going. The licensing fees will set you back around $160, and the class an equal amount, and the class needs to be taken within three months of the licensing/interview, so you’ll have to save that up.

      • Yeah, that’s the plan. Glock 19 or a M&P 9c. Soon as I can drop $500. Just because the pistol I have not has had…issues before. Never been able to recreate or even figure out what happened.

    • And this, dear friends, is why we need to be pushing for the repeal of UNreasonable gun laws. Whenever someone wants to have a discussion about “reasonable gun laws” our immediate response should be: “Ok, if ‘reasonable’ is the standard we’re trying to achieve, our first course of action should be to repeal a bunch of ‘unreasonable’ gun laws.”

      • Very true. Add to that the fact that where individuals can ONLY carry under a permit or license, then they are exercising a privilege and NOT the right to keep and bear arms. In those locations, the People are actually denied the exercise of their right; a clear violation of the Second Amendment under practically any interpretation.

  32. Thanks Matt W. From work in the investment world in past life and fiduciary stuff now I especially appreciate your explanation of CCW why and why not on an individual basi in practical and rational risk vs return and ROI basis.

    In a rational world my decision would be to carry iwb as needed to certain places at certain times both for work and potentially family protection outside the home.

    Unfortunately the State of CA has in past decided on a one size fits all that denies that right

    • PS congrats on your CFP. Thats not easy and best of luck in your biz. I have a marketing tip for you. Pm in Forum with contact info if interested.

  33. I live in MD and whatever reason I have is not good enough for the State and their minions the State Police.

  34. Right now I can’t afford the bribe I’d have to pay to carry in suburban New York.

  35. I carry always, because I firmly believe that I alone am ultimately responsible for my own safety, and for that of my family. Because none of them will (or can, legally) carry…..

    Plus I have been fired upon by an elderly drunk from a hotel window (in a “low threat rural town”), and know from bitter first hand experience that help was ten minutes away.

    Relying on others to protect you when you are faced with a sudden and possibly deadly encounter is just plain foolish.

    John Davies
    Spokane WA USA

  36. I don’t carry at work because my employer prohibits it, I am a truck driver for one of the largest in the world and would prefer to, but to keep my job I abide by the rules. I do carry to work though and lockbox it while I’m there.

  37. I only not carry when I cannot legally or where I have contractually agreed not to carry (my job). Even then I keep my EDC locked in my car. I figure I could probably carry at work and never get found out, but I honor my agreement and figure the statistical likelihood of an active shooter is low enough (and the fact that work on the fourth floor and am near a back stairwell leading to an emergency exit) that I am reasonably safe. I was more likely to get shot in my last job than this one.

  39. I have a Utah, Oregon, and WA state license to carry. That said, I carry selectively. As a Contractor, carrying a weapon on my person on the job is impractical. Keeping a weapon in my service van is standard. If I am working at night, or in high crime areas I keep my 9 with me.. If I travel to any of the States that recognize my Licenses I carry. My wife is in LE and she never carry’s unless I suggest it.

  40. I have a permit and I carry when I go for a walk on the path by the river, because there are coyotes, and strange people.

    I don’t carry when I go to work and I’ll tell you why. I step outside my door and walk 10 safe yards to the car (if the garage weren’t full of junk I wouldn’t even have that much time outside). I drive to work in safety. I park in a fairly secure underground garage where my walk between parking spot and elevator is no more than 50 yards. I get off the elevator and walk to our secured office. In the middle of the day I might walk a few blocks to lunch, and then back. At the end of the day I take the same commute in reverse.

    The vanishingly tiny amount of danger involved here doesn’t justify the costs of carrying. Lakewood has something like 20 murders a year. The chances I get attacked between my door and the car are incalculably small. Similarly the chances of being attacked on the streets of the central business district in downtown Denver in broad daylight are so miniscule that on the rare occasion such a thing does happen it makes headlines.

    Basically I would have to buy a whole new wardrobe, be uncomfortable all day every day, give up slouching, and give up office happy hours, in order to protect myself from a danger so microscopic it’s hard to even estimate the right order of magnitude (0.001%? 0.00001%? 0.0000001%?). It’s the same calculation we make when putting on our seatbelts or buying homeowner’s insurance, except that the chances of getting in a car wreck or having your house catch fire (or etc.) are vastly larger. So those things are worth doing, and carrying a gun isn’t.

    Carrying a knife, on the other hand, costs almost nothing, and is useful for other things, so I never leave home without one.

    • Uncomfortable all day everyday means you have the wrong holster. I have a subcompact pistol with a full size magazine in a good hybrid holster with leather backing and it makes it a lot better. Bigger shirts never hurt however 🙂

      • This is just a personal difference I have with other people. I cannot even count the number of times I’ve been told by someone that they carry a steel-framed 5″ 1911 all day every day in perfect comfort. Well, I can’t do that, or anything remotely like that.

        I’ve carried a G19 in a Sparks VM2, Comp-Tac MTAC, Comp-Tac Infidel, and a handful of others. The MTAC works best for me though I disliked it at first. Still, intolerable to wear all day. I’ve carried a 4.25″ alloy-framed 1911 in a VM2 and MTAC, with basically the same experience as the G19 (their loaded weights are very similar). I have a Ruger LCR, and anyone who thinks that gun actually *conceals* in a pocket is out of their minds. I have a Kahr P9, which is probably going to be my best bet all around, but even that small gun is uncomfortable. All of this is on a nice horsehide gun belt, BTW.

        I just don’t see how it’s supposed to work, geometrically / anatomically. Wear the gun at 3 o’clock and it’s right on your hip bone, plus it bulges visibly out to the side unless you wear a size-too-large shirt. Start moving the gun around to the 4:00-5:00 range and you alleviate the hip problem, but now it digs into your back, and you can’t bend over or sit down in a chair. And of course OWB holsters require a cover garment, which I simply can’t consistently accommodate.

        I’m at the point where I’ve sunk about 3 grand into carry guns, belts, and holsters, and nothing works. I would have to be far more committed than I am in order to justify continuing.

  41. You make the assumption other concealed-carriers will swoop in to save you in an emergency. There may be many, but I’m not one of them unless you’re my family or personal friend. I’m not risking my life or my family’s well being for a stranger. I’m not a hero, coward, vigilante or have an inflated sense of being a do-gooder. I just don’t expect others to take car of me, and vice versa.

    That being said, I follow all state and local laws; this means 30.06 and 51% signs in TX, as well as federal buildings, schools, arenas, etc. The same applies to my workplace, which does not bar carry for CHLs, but does have a policy against employees carrying on company property. I follow the rules.

    • Correct.

      Matt W may be over-simplifying or conflating “non-systematic” risk (what happens to one holding in a portfolio)

      with systematic risk, (what happens to all growth stocks) which can be hedged by “insurance” on the asset class, and portfolio diversification, and which is the basis of actuarial science that makes insurance work for risk pools, vs one insured’ life.

      It is true that the socio-political environment of Idaho’s assumed numerous CCWs reduces systematic risk on the AVERAGES, but it does not apply to the non-systematic risk of any one holding.

      In other words, what happens to the value of that individual stock if top management is incompetent and unexpectedly goes bankrupt?
      Happens to the best of the blue chips- think ML in 2008.

      If Matt Ws “portfolio”, as far as his family is concerned, includes his life as its most important asset, then he can mitigate the risk via life insurance, from a black swan, like the shooter in a mall, or car-jacking- which can happen anywhere, even downtown Coeur d’Alene, where all the rich yuppies retire from Washington State.

      However, from his perspective- it doesnt change the fact that he is dead.

  42. Disabled in PA,carry every day,can’t run,fight,I will shoot you very quick though.

    • I’m in the same boat, It sucks to get old, and sucks even more to be partially disabled. I always have a shoot’n iron in my pocket.
      The only thing I worry about is that I might shoot myself in the nuts!

  43. I carry. Always. I’m an OFWG with muscular dystrophy. I require meds that are popular for abuse. I intend to die of natural causes. If I’m never threatened, I eke by on SS Disability which is hardly the panacea some make it out to be. If forced to defend myself, and the jury doesn’t like me, I get a gated community with 24 armed security, 3 free meals per day, free use of a gym and library, free cable TV, and lots of company of people who are all innocent as accused. What have I got to lose?

      • Worked there also. Old fat white guys who don’t bathe daily were left alone. But thanks for the concern! LOL

  44. I work at an urban University where carrying is prohibited.

    I carry at all other times, including at home.

  45. I don’t right now because i work full-time, go to school full-time and spend the precious few hours I have free with my young child. I could not carry 99% of my awake hours legally. Also, as a student I am really poor and it is cost prohibitive to take the neccisary class and pay $100 for the license. Michigan is an open carry state, so if I really need to carry ill do so in that manner. I have seen a few guys doing it here and there; you just really need to make sure it isn’t concealed at all.

  47. I support the second amendment, but…nothing, too. I’ve had my carry “permit” (don’t think I should need one…it’s my right. But I digress…) for almost 10 years, yet I rarely carry. I’m a teacher, so I can’t have a firearm anywhere near work. Can’t leave it locked in the truck…I supposed I could park a ways away in a surrounding neighborhood, but…

    So that pretty much takes care of Monday through Friday. Sat and Sun…going to start.

    What infuriates me is that I served 6 years in the Army…infantry…have since attended many training sessions, and train on my own…yet I am denied a tool that I could use to save children’s lives if the unthinkable ever happened.

    I really need to get off my a$$ and see if I can start changing that politically.

    • I really need to get off my a$$ and see if I can start changing that politically.

      I’m going through the latest NRA publication Freedom First right now and they pointed out that many schools across the nation are changing the policy of no guns at school, not just for guards or police. Seems like a good time for you to push it. Good luck.

  48. I live in a suburban, mainly retirement community where the odds of a DGU are miniscule. However, I learned many years ago at Harvard Business School, there are many situations in which stakes are more important than odds. So I carry – at least one gun – at all times.

    • That’s it in a nutshell: it’s the stakes, not the odds. If the stakes weren’t so high, none of us would worry about the odds in the first place.

  50. I carry everyday unless I think I’m crossing into DC or MD. 99.9% of the time I stay in VA, don’t frequent “bad neighborhoods, and stay out of businesses that are anti-gun. When I carry; I’d say 99% of the time is concealed and 1% is open carry.

  51. After my first DGU, I thought I was statistically immune from it happening again.
    Then it happened again.
    And again.
    And again.
    Different places, circumstances, times of day every time.
    So, I choose to carry.

  52. Don’t carry, cause….

    1. regardless of what you may have read, Hawai’i is not a “may issue” state; it is a “no way in hell” state.

    2, it’s hard to carry a Glock 34 concealed in flipflops and shorts.

    • I live in SoFla and usually have a similar outfit. I carry a full size beretta Px4 Storm with little to know printing. Thanks to tactical belly fat!!!!

      • Mecha75, you’re missing a marketing trick!

        It’s not “belly fat”, it’s an “onboard backup nutrition storage system”, for elite tactical operators who want to keep tactically operating elitely for extended missions… or something like that. If you could just sell it in a choice of black or FDE you’d be quids in, or whatever the US equivalent is.

  53. Oklahoma is Shall issue, carry home and away except when on the local military base. Home carry I might not always carry an extra mag, but I do still carry, if not it is nearby. Knife, too.
    Hoping that HB2329 / HB2886 pass into law.

    http://ok2a.org/stateissues

  54. I’ve had my carry permit since it became available in Ohio, 2004. I carry virtually every time I leave the house for the same reason I wear my seat belt all the time. I don’t know when I’ll be in an accident so I try to be prepared.I don’t know when I’ll need the gun, ( hopefully never ), so I have it with me always.

  56. Who said anything about carrying a gun? Just because you asked if I’m carrying doesn’t mean I’m not. I’d iike to think that since I have a brain, and try as much as humanly possible to be alert and aware of my surroundings, that I always have a weapon. Of course, I also have two hands, and two feet, and maybe something handy besides.

    Point being, if your head is stuck in the sand it doesn’t much matter what else you have.

    Oh, almost forgot….still waiting on my permit. Maybe by the end of the week?

    Tom

  57. I live in Cook County,Illinois. I don’t carry YET. I DO carry a knife & a pepper blaster on my person. At this time I only own a shotgun. Right now I can’t afford the possibly $1000 (around $500 for ccl,buying a decent gun,holster,etc) it woud entail. You dont need to carry until need it. AND +1 Phil. Matt W. doesn’t get it.

  58. I carry out, I carry at home. I even use an IWB with my pajama bottoms. With the LCP, I barely notice it’s there. Hell, I could carry this thing in a onesie.

    • +1.

      I, too, PJ carry. OWB 1911, SP101 in .357, or shortened birdshead New Vaquero in .45 ACP with the SP101 being most common. Over the years, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to learn of how many of us carry even wearing pajamas. 🙂

        • Haven’t figured out a method that works for me yet, PJ wise. Otherwise I am carrying except where specifically forbidden (work).

  61. Because if you get caught ignoring any other nanny-state laws while carrying, you end up in jail for a long time.

    • I’m in the exact same situation, precisely. Not old enough, and even if I was, I can’t have a gun on campus.

      However, I do carry pepper spray and my Kershaw Cryo II every day.

      • We’re not even allowed to have those on our campus, and I recently made it on to the campus security’s sh1tlist (for mouthing off to an “officer” when he illegally detained me at 1:30 in the morning and started asking for information, all on the grounds that I was “acting like I was drunk.”)

        So, I’m not really looking to piss them off any more.

        Funny thing- A guy has been breaking into off campus homes lately. The school’s advice is, “Hide.”

  63. Gun Free zones. If I’m going to one I don’t carry. That means work, my sons school (although I can carry there as long as I don’t get out of the car or leave the weapon unattended in the car), every in door mall in the area, most of the movie theatres ( I try very hard to only go the 1 that’s not a posted gun free zone, but sometimes it cant be helped.) I’ve had my CCW since I retired from the Navy 5 years ago, I carry less than I should because its a huge PITA.

    • I carry everywhere, even in posted places (except government buildings). In Arizona the signs technically carry force of law but in practice they have to ask you to leave and you have to refuse before it becomes an actual issue.

  64. I don’t have a good gun for carrying and my work doesn’t allow guns. Normally I’d be questioning their gun policy, but I can understand not wanting loaded guns in a manufacturing environment so I don’t make a big deal about it.

  65. I work at home and do home carry. I do have a MA concealed carry permit, unfortunately most of the time when I leave the house I’m either going to the kids’ school, the Post Office or both, coincidentally the places I’d most like to be packing were it legal. I also spend all almost my time in relatively crime free affluent suburbs, so the odds of a problem are nil. Couple that with living in MA and the concern of someone freaking out if they notice and it’s just what it is. Following the rule of avoiding stupid people doing stupid things in stupid places will prevent 99.9999% of all possible problems.

    I do carry if I’m otherwise transporting guns, like to the range or guns store. I never understood why that isn’t a good cause for a CCW permit? I mean, if you’ve got guns isn’t the best way to keep them from getting stolen to have one of them available for use?

  66. An online friend of mine posted this a couple of days ago:

    One of our best customers was shot in the chest a month ago while minding his own business. Middle of the week day in Sugar Land, one of the safest test towns in Houston – upper-middle class. A SUV swerved into his lane, he honked, the SUV hit his truck. Obama’s son came out and opened fire on his truck, with his parents, wife and 1 year old son in the truck. He was hit in the chest and only survived because he was reversing as fast as his truck would go.

    He was unarmed.

    The whole incident was recorded on the 911 tape as he was on the phone with 911 because of the way the SUV swerved into him. They caught the scum a mile away and arrested him. He was dead from a drug overdose 9 days later, so karma is a bitch.

    Another customer’s father was murdered by another of Obama’s sons while minding his own business. The murderer was running from the cops, crashed into my customer’s father business premises, he came out to see what was happening and was gunned down in cold blood in front of his wife, my customer’s mother.

    He was unarmed.

    • Dumbass racist. So, I guess every time someone white shoots someone they’re Bush’s son, Ted Nugent’s son, etc.

      • I for one urge you to keep haphazardly throw out the term “Racist”. It won’t be long until most people become sick of hearing that word and it ceases to become anymore relevent. Keep it up.

  67. I don’t. I have a class A commercial driver license. When I took my training I was told that carrying on the job, any kind of “weapon” including pocket knives over 1inch, was a felony offense. I was told this law was put in place by the FMCSA, but i have never seen the law in print.

    This has always been upsetting to me. I deliver supplies to convenience stores in the middle of the night and have to break up fights between drunks around once a year. So far, I haven’t had to use anything more than my “drill Sargent” voice… But I don’t know if that will last forever.

    Any advice?

    • Talk to a lawyer, it sounds like you were told a bunch of FUD.

      And even if that law does exist, do the same thing as untold numbers of Domino’s drivers. Carry anyway.

  68. I’m waiting on my pistol. After tgat work doesn’t allow cc and with the number if smash and grabs nearby I’m hesitant to kept it in the car

  69. State law bans guns where I work. Additionally, the place where I work occupies 1/3 the total area of the town where I live.

    So 5 days out of the 7, no carry for me. Even weekends and evenings are pushing the envelope; it’s hard not to find yourself on forbidden ground at some point when there’s so much of it.

  70. 1.) I live, by choice, in a free, very low crime, nondiverse state and in a rural area where the only likely crime is home meth/pot producers. THREATCON = zero

    2.) Not going to “request” permission of the state to exercise my Constitutional right to keep and bear.

    What my state (shall issue) needs is a test case of a citizen being arrested for not having a CCW permit of someone that would have received such if an application had been made.

    • Although I presently live in Cook County, Illinois, I am from a small rural town downstate. A few years ago, a friend who lived a few miles outside of town was gunned down by one of those home meth producers. A great guy who simply stumbled upon something on the way home that someone really didn’t want others to see. Rural areas aren’t magically immune from violent crime.

  72. I live in LA county and don’t have a spare $50,000 for a bribe, excuse me I mean “campaign contribution” to the sheriff.

  73. I carry, but not all the time. I’m definitely a homebody and the majority of my time outside the house is at work (no guns allowed, but I can keep it in the car per state law). I just don’t see the point in strapping on my gun to walk 10 feet to my car, drive to work, put it in the glove-box, go inside and work, then put the gun back on to drive home and walk 10 feet back inside. When I go out with friends on the weekends, I usually carry and if I’m going somewhere (such as this past weekend of looking in on a relative’s “middle of nowhere” home) where I know there won’t be many other people around, I definitely carry.

    • In Houston, a common criminal tactic of late is to catch people on their way home from the grocery stores and to attack them in their driveways. Criminals know people will be distracted by kids, bags, keys, toys in the yard, whatever, and probably won’t be able to respond quickly. Some of these cases have involved rape, if the woman was alone, while others have been robberies/burglaries if it’s a couple together.

      The more relevant paradigm probably isn’t to view a short walk from front door to car door, or car door to office door, as being but a small fraction of the overall day and therefore a small fraction of the overall risk of crime. It’s probably more appropriate to acknowledge that risks are not spread uniformly throughout the day and across locations. Risk levels rise and fall depending on the circumstances, of which time and location are only part. Many criminals are pure opportunists, but most of the worst ones target their victims and strike at pre-determined points of particular and known vulnerability, like one’s own driveway.

  75. I like shooting and owning guns very much. I think a gun is an excellent and effective way to defend yourself/property/loved ones. I have given this a lot of thought over the years and have decided for myself that I will not use my guns in this way. What you want to do is up to you.

  76. Travelling to an anti-state (including my native CA), airport travel, anyplace that has security screening/ x-rays at the entrance, or places that are “No Guns Allowed” but I need to go and the possibility of it being exposed (such as the VA hospital). That being said now that I can, I almost always carry; usually open, and concealed in places where people have delicate sensibilities.

  77. I do not carry because I don’t feel I’m skilled enough to hit my target reliably enough. I rarely have the time for practice and until very recently (last couple months) I haven’t been able to get ammo anyway. Getting to the range for practice is usually a major ordeal–if I want to go, I have to take time off work to go.

    I also do not own a pistol that’s appropriate for concealed-carry.

    • It’s admirable that you have given the responsibilities of carrying a handgun such careful consideration. However, I would like to offer up that we have legally blind carriers who limit themselves to contact or near contact shooting should a self defense situation present itself. Also, there have been accounts of little old ladies, who ostensibly rarely-if-ever go to the range, successfully using a handgun in self defense. The point being that knowing one’s limitations are important for any of us carrying a sidearm. Maybe consider your one of your limitations to be contact or near contact shots only in emergencies?

  78. It’s hard reading that people in free states don’t carry when they can, especially when people in slave states would give anything to be able to carry.

    Proposal: carry for the greater good, carry because they are stopping your brother from carrying

    • Excellent point.

      It feels probably like what not voting feels like and I would consider that terrible.

      • Yes, not voting for either side in the false left-right paradigm (two approved “choices”) would be terrible.

    • carry for the greater good, carry because they are stopping your brother from carrying

      I like that… outstanding!

  81. I am newer to the gun world and I am saving up to buy my first handgun and getting my CCL

  82. Not sure how to phrase this one, so I’ll just run it up the flagpole and see who salutes. I won’t say I carry – I won’t say I don’t carry. I wonder how many folks actually see a GFZ sign and say to themselves “oh darn – I must run back to my vehicle and secure my concealed firearm (operative word there “concealed”), versus how many folks never even notice the signs?

    I know it’s an issue when one must pass through some sort of security checkpoint, obviously. On the other hand, every time I read about this particular subject, I’m reminded of the old saw “would you rather be judged by 12, or carried by 6?”.

    So, thoughts?

  85. Illegal to carry on campus in Ohio, which is basically 75% of my whole day. Doesn’t mean I don’t carry a knife (also illegal but no one cares) or some FOX. Carry when I can in public and at home, otherwise use situational awareness and hope no one decides to go postal.

  86. I don’t carry because I can’t buy a handgun from an FFL until I’m 21, and carrying a shotgun or a rifle around would be a pain in the ass. T minus two years and two months, give or take.

  87. I am getting my CCW. I did not carry before I got gray hairs, largely because I felt that, as a black man who tends to be in more well-to-do neighborhoods more often than not, I would be less safe when carrying. When I was younger, I got stopped by cops for various things, and they’d always go shining lights in the car and being intimidating and such. I’ve been asked if I had a weapon, and the answer was no. Things were fine, I went along on my way. I always felt that things may not have gone as well had the answer been yes, or if there had been evidence of arms in the car. Now that I am older, I think the risks from criminals are higher than the risk from cops. But the police were always my biggest concern when it came to carrying.

    • Would you agree that the racist roots of gun control are still bearing at least some fruit of the original seeds? I would… I’ve witnessed it… even in the 21st century. My skin is light and I’ve carried all of my adult life without too much difficulty from law enforcement. Friends with darker skin haven’t been so lucky.

  88. I have my permit but don’t carry. I even have a little TCP. But I just don’t need to carry. I live in a little town with virtually zero crime. My 9-5 has me in clients homes all day long. No way I’m carrying in their house. In a crowd I would be one of the last to be picked out as a potential victim. When I go out with the family we don’t go to the city. The only time I ever carry is when we’re camping or if I have to be in a bad part of the city for some reason. Being a slim guy with a modern wardrobe makes carrying even a TCP a PITA.

  89. I live in ny. I’ve had a carry permit since I was 22. I carry every day and have only had one instance that I had to put my hand on my gun to prevent a crime. My mother was in a school that suffered a school shooting, when I was in college every person I lived with was held up at gun point once and two of them twice, that was Washington d.c., my mother’s school is in upstate ny. Don’t assume that because u feel safe you are, as was said above eat exercise be aware of your surroundings but if u can legally, carry you don’t know what each day will bring.

  90. To Matt W…….
    It’s your decision to not carry.
    And, it will be YOUR funeral for
    making that choice should the
    worst come to pass. The truly
    sad thing though is that it might
    also be your wife’s funeral or your
    children’s funeral also.

  91. I was a financial Planner as well for 26 years and ran a brokerage,I Carry.! And everywhere I could I did.You are in essence driving around without auto or life insurance cause others have it!Be my guest but no one has an obligation to come to your aid!

  92. I have a Washington permit and carry concealed in the back country when solo hiking where retreat and evading an assailant is most likely next to impossible. With that said I don’t feel the need in Seattle. The disadvantages of carrying in the city outweigh the advantages for me – Worrying about going into gun free zones such as work’s no guns on the premises policy, having to disarm when I want a beer after work and I don’t like leaving it in the car, If you print I think it can make you as much if not more of a target for some thieves as it might be a deterrent for others. Basically, I ‘m situationaly aware and feel secure without one in my day to day life and carrying a gun on me most of the time in the city would actually make me feel less safe. With that said, it’s locked and loaded at home since I’m much more likely to be the victim of a home invasion than an assault when I’m out and about.

    • I really wonder how many people here would know what they’re looking at if they saw a gun printing. I’m almost positive 99.9% would interpret it as some sort of tech.

  94. Hmm… Well, right at this minute I’m between permits. I had a FL non-resident that I had converted from my FL resident when I left the military. In FL your military experience only counts for proficiency while you’re active. So I decided to switch to an AZ non-resident permit. It’s only 2 or 3 less states than the FL non-resident permit.

    But in Texas, the carry laws and gun free zones are silly. I really can’t go anywhere with my weapon. Not church, anywhere with a “criminals allowed”… I mean, “gun free” signs, etc. Don’t even get me started on the laws concerning mental health. Hopefully the whole open carry thing goes through.

  96. I am a human weapon. I do carry occasionally but I can kill just as easily with my hands. I suppose I have trained more with them than with my pistols.

  97. I’d rather not have my name on any sort of “gun registry”, even if I’m in a gun friendly state. Don’t trust the security of that data. Don’t trust the government. Unregistered weapons all the way, paid for in cash. They can’t come take what they don’t know exists.

  98. I DO CARRY. I feel, as a supporter of the pro gun agenda it is not only my right but my duty to carry everywhere I can as often as I can. In fact since I became licensed to carry I reduced my casual alcohol consumption so that I could carry in public and still be in compliance with my states laws. I’m not an alcoholic, but in my state there is zero level of intoxication allowed while carrying, so having a beer in the afternoon and then running up to the store means shopping unarmed if you would like to stay within the limits of the law.

    My message to the Author “you need to start carrying”. I don’t believe that it is the duty of every person to carry a gun the way I do, however I do believe that if you are one of the people the recognizes the benefit the RTKBA provides to society and you support that you should take up arms with your brothers and fully support the movement rather than just reaping the benefits provided by the sacrifice of others.

    The decision to carry isn’t an easy one, it costs money there are many factors to consider from gun size/caliber, holster selection, carry method, and the worst part is the actual burden of having a heavy piece of metal and plastic tethered to your body all day long. The gun isn’t just a personal accessory you toss in your pocket like a wallet I promise you, it’s something you are made aware of every time you stand, sit, squat, or lean over.

  99. I live in Virginia but work in DC. I don’t carry because I do not want a gun in my car in case if I am pulled over by the overzealous DCPD and I cannot legally carry in DC. I would be carrying for the 1st third of my drive to work and the last third of my drive from work.

  100. Because I live in Hawaii. I do have a Utah non-resident license so if I ever travel to a free state I will carry concealed.

  101. I don’t carry yet…I had to set up an appointment with my SO for my application, that was a one month wait, after I meet with them it will be another 90 days until I get my permit…

  102. I always carry…unless:
    A) I will be physically or electronically searched for weapons where I am going. Or,
    B) I have to dress in a tucked in button-up and cant conceal. Then I try to have a backpack with my P30 inside. If I am wearing a blazer/jacket obviously I still carry OWB/IWB.
    I really wish SC had Open or Constitutional Carry!

Comments are closed.