After some friends came in from out of town for the three day weekend, I woke up to find myself in that transition zone between still loving Macallan 12 and cursing its very existence. It’s a great time to awaken actually. You can still hydrate, eat, and maybe curb the effects of a raging, stay-on-the-couch-all-day, avoid-light-like-a-vampire hangover. In my particular case, I was up at 7:00 AM to meet up with my dad for a daytrip to see an aunt of mine. As I was (slowly) getting dressed, I reached for my carry rig…and then put it back . . .

I would barely trust myself to operate a motor vehicle in that state, much less carry a gun. My motor skills were on par with a toddler’s. I couldn’t deal with noise or light. And I felt like anything more complicated than walking would have me keeled over and ralphing. So I made the decision to leave my piece at home. Now, I’ve made the argument here that it’s good to take your training to the extreme, and my Labor Day hangover might have been a great training exercise. But it’s not something I’m willing to test in the real world.

Here’s the question: besides any legal restrictions, what keeps you from carrying?

 

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83 COMMENTS

    • Yup CA sucks…
      But this is a very good question.
      Being a responsible CC or OC is important. If you ate impaired in some way, I.e. hung over or you are going to be out drinking or what ever you might think twice about tooling up.

  2. if i’m taking any sort of meds that impair function i just leave the gun safe locked. and if you’re impaired too much to trust yourself with a gun you should never be in control of a much deadlier weapon, the automobile.

    • I know. It sucks.
      Of course, that is technically a “legal restriction,” but it’s still worth bitching about.

      HEY POLITICIANS! I’m not a delinquent. I’m not a druggie. I’m not a felon. Don’t treat me like one. If I can vote, I want to carry. Just sayin’.

      • Personally, I’d rather you guy’s wait to you’re even older than 21… 😉

        Looking back, I wouldn’t want myself carrying at 21.

        Just sayin’.

      • Try being 18 and legally able to carry a handgun, legally able to own a handgun, but not legally able to buy a handgun.

        That’s the situation I found myself in three years ago. Thanks Indiana, I’m responsible enough to carry one, and responsible enough to own one, but I’m sure as hell not responsible enough to BUY one, Heavens no!

        • kaliope, i believe that 21 yo age limit on handguns is a federal, not a state requirement. feds trump state.

      • I’m an 18 yearold. My homestate of IL doesn’t recognize my right to bear arms or even own a handgun. I’m trusted with the most important duties of our country with voting and serving in the military. I’ve done both now and I thought it’d get better here at the Air Force Academy, they train us to use M4’s and M9’s but heaven forbid anyone have any access to a gun off the firing range. They tell us of all the different times there have been shootings on bases and at schools and what we’re supposed to do is hit the floor and wait for security forces.

  4. Outstandingly Honest Observation, Tyler. Way too many of the tin-foil-concealment-vest Crowd act like there is never a time to NOT be armed. There are.

    In my life, legal restrictions in certain places, travel to certain areas, activities that don’t provide the practical opportunity (SCUBA Diving, etc) and , yes, drinking, all keep from carrying from time to time.

    -RJP

  5. Pretty much legal restrictions… Having a J-frame and a Sig P238 I can choose from to pocket carry I have little excuse for not carrying.

    I don’t carry on nights I go out when I feel there’s a strong possibility I’ll be drinking, but that’s about it.

  7. last night i was at a wedding, i realized that i never carry when wearing a suit and tie. undershirt, dress shirt, suit jacket, and dress slacks aren’t comfortable to begin with, and i don’t really want to add any more gear to add to the uncomfortability. i did have one in the car though, since the wedding was in philly.

      • James Bond also wore a high-end tuxedo that was specifically cut to conceal a firearm in a shoulder holster. My department store suits print like crazy in a shoulder holster. That being said, I do carry in a suit in either a concealment pancake holster or in an ankle holster if I plan on taking my jacket off.

  8. Basically nothing keeps me from carrying! I don’t drink or do drugs, and yes I still have fun, AND I can remember what I did the night before. I avoid areas that do not allow CC as in Federal buildings, do not fly anymore, and when I travel by car I avoid Illinois (I’ll spend the extra money on gas to drive around that state). So I’m good to go, and the fact that I’m retired, I don’t have to worry about an employer who disarms their employees. And it also helps to live in one of the most progressive states concerning CC, and they (MO) have even gone farther, in it is now just an infraction if you accidentally print or expose your concealed weapon, as long as it’s not in a aggressive or intimidating manor! How many other states can say that?

    I’m not paranoid or wear a tin foil hat, I’m disabled, and an OFWG, and realize SH$T happens (everywhere), so why not be prepared!

    • “just an infraction if you accidentally print or expose your concealed weapon, as long as it’s not in a aggressive or intimidating manor! How many other states can say that?”
      Well in Indiana you can open carry or carry concealed. The law is silent. I’d hate to live in a state that gives me infractions for an accidental flashing of my carry gun. I bend over or reach for something on a high shelf way too much.

      • But Michael, my point was, that those states that do not have OC and there are many, make that a felony and you can lose your CC license if it happens. MO has open carry, but it is so vague and varies too much between counties, that it’s non existent! That’s all I was alluding to.

  9. Answer: Our unconstitutional permit laws in the state of Idaho.

    If they weren’t there, I’d get training and carry in certain citations. The biggest thing that would change is that I wouldn’t have to fear some DOG(no better than street-trash) trying to arrest me for having a concealed weapon in a vehicle… just throw the rifle behind the seat.

  10. Laws.

    Terms of employment.

    That’s about it.

    Question: if someone is a mature adult, and has recognized the importance of self-defense, and of being vigilant to protect oneself and loved ones, why would that person ever consciously choose to be in ‘condition white’?

    In other words: haven’t you learned to stop drinking like a goddamned asshat by now?

    • Wow, enough pointless vitriol? Just because you can’t drink and not be an asshat doesn’t mean others are the same way. Condition white isn’t a sin, there’s nothing wrong with what he does.

      • I think that being in a situation described in this post equates to a situation where someone was ‘drinking like an asshat’–to wit: “My motor skills were on par with a toddler’s. I couldn’t deal with noise or light. And I felt like anything more complicated than walking would have me keeled over and ralphing.”

        Condition White is unavoidable in life — sleeping, illness, injury, etc. But choosing to drink to the level of intoxication and beyond? How is that a responsible choice — for a member of the so-called “armed intelligentsia”?

        • “But choosing to drink to the level of intoxication and beyond? How is that a responsible choice — for a member of the so-called “armed intelligentsia”?”

          How is it ever responsible drinking oneself to the point of intoxication? I thought that was the fun of it.

    • I too am an IL resident. No need to carry where I live, but if I ind my self in New Falluja (AKA Chicago), I pack my Ruger LCP JIC. I’d rather suffer the penalty of the felony then being another statistic.

  14. Alcohol, in the very rare times I do drink. Maybe 2 times a year. Church. Actually being in the control room where I work, although my firearm is less than 75 feet away secured in my car.
    Pretty well it other than places not allowed by law. Wish Ar would allow carry in church. The 2 recent robberies( bad guys were armed) in Little Rock during church services makes me wish Ar would allow carry in a house of worship!!
    I try to avoid going any place where CC is not allowed. My Dad is from Springfield Mass and we want to go on a tour of the S&W plant there but He and I agree it is not worth the hassle getting permission to carry in Mass for 2 or 3 days at the most!!! So we haven’t been yet.
    BTW: I only drink at home so no worries about being Condition White in public.

  16. I don’t do CC because I don’t have a CC permit though we are allowed to OC in Oregon. I don’t open carry because I’m not comfortable letting others know I am armed, and because I avoid putting myself anywhere near a high risk activity or situation. Yes, I recognize anything can happen anywhere.

    Big News: this week I’m going to take the class for Oregon only CC. Sometime afterwards I’ll take the Utah CC permit which covers 30 states.

  19. A good question. What I find interesting is that if an event takes place which demands I be unarmed , I ask myself mentally what’s so great of an activity that I’m willing to chance being shot dead should the bell toll for me today?

    Going to the bar? Why. You don’t meet good women there, and alcohol’s on sale at the local grocer. If I feel like meeting chicks I go to Starbucks and the local bookstore, lawfully armed and sober enough to know who i’m looking at.

    ALL EXPENSES PAID CAMPUS TRIP TO CHICAGO/SAN FRANSISCO/NY ONLY $500. No thanks. There’s precious little I can do in those commie cesspools that I cannot do here. If I want to see the view at the top of the Empire State Building, ill call up youtube at home where im lawfully armed.

    In fact when considering visiting someplace which demands I be unarmed I generally say “naa, no thanks. Ill just get some boolits and hit the range instead. Kthanxbye.”

  20. Two reasons at present:
    1. age
    2. no campus carry in this state

    One more in the future: UCMJ prohibits carry while in uniform.

  21. The thing that keeps me from carrying is usually what I’m wearing. For work it’s dress shirt and pants and in the summer it’s so hot that a jacket is unbearable. I’d love to solve this problem!

  22. The thing that keeps me from carrying is usually what I’m wearing. For work it’s dress shirt and pants and in the summer it’s so hot that a jacket is unbearable. I prefer OWB carry but I’d love to solve this problem!

    • I’ve carried a Glock 30 compact 45acp for many years with IWB holster wearing just pants and a T-shirt untucked with no one the wiser; if I’m wearing dress clothing with my shirt tucked in, a .380 in a pocket holster works well.

    • @ George, Taurus TCP, in the on the belt pouch. Tuck your shirt in no problem. Looks like cell phone or P.D.A. pouch. Works great in Florida.

  23. New Jersey. If you drive into New Jersey then don’t stop. You might hate it so much you would open the top hatch of a bus and kill yourself. True story.

    • Yeah, so stupid. A kid a few towns over from me lost his head (and most of his upper torso) flipping off the opposing hockey team pulling into the arena lot. Sharp turn, new driver, long bus, idiot plus concrete embedded light pole equals “Whoops!”

  29. Because the legal jeapordy, even for a very legitimate self-defense shooting outside of your home, is so daunting.

  33. I’m a diabetic, and if I’m having a day where I’m having lots of low blood sugars, I don’t drive or carry. I can get a DUI for driving with a low blood sugar and not a drop of alcohol. There isn’t anything in Texas law that says you can’t carry with a low blood sugar, but I don’t want to be a test case. Having a low blood sugar feels the same as being drunk, and I have the same operational problems.

  34. I didn’t carry for almost three days when I was moving. I was sweating quite a bit, carrying heavy stuff up and down 2-3 flights of stairs. I did have my Smith in a backpack nearby, as well as my Ruger SR-556 in Condition 3 nearby as well.

    • Where do you live? Afghanistan? 😉 IMO, it must be a really bad place in the US (or you’re in the witness protection program or are a drug dealer) to feel like you have to be that prepared… 😉

      • Um… I’m the same way. If the handgun is not on me it’s no more than 5 feet away, if the saiga isn’t on me its no more than 50 feet away. Something odd about that? 🙂

  35. [quote] What Keeps You From Carrying?[/quote]
    Not a thing. I carry concealed daily including inside the home.
    PA remains gun owner friendly for now.

  37. School aged children. Literally impossible to legally carry if you have school aged children. Too many comings and goings involving school property and/or organized school events that are federal or state law violation traps.

    Don’t suggest “park off site” – unrealistic.

  38. If the laws in your current state suck…Move to Alaska. Anyone that can legally possess a firearm, is also allowed to OC or CC, no permit or anything. I honestly know no one that has a CC permit up here , yet a majority of the people I know keep a pistol on themselves and an AR in the car.

    • Yeah, it’s like the wild west up there…the last time I went on a hunt in Denali, we rolled out of the woods after a week to resupply. Needless to say we looked like backwoods commando’s, camo’d up, dirty, unshaven, etc…I was walking through stores with the glock 10mm on my side and no one looked at me sideways (except for the muscle at the liquor store). It was cool just to do it. 😉

  42. I bought a tiny-niney (Diamondback DB9) so I could carry in anything with pockets. Otherwise, how I dressed would make it tough to carry my bigger weapon concealed.

  43. What keeps me from carrying? Well, it is not allowed here in France – but that’s not the reason. I don’t wish to. I love shooting although mostly at targets. For me, the pleasure of it is the precision, the excellence of the equipment, the physical interface between the shooter and the weapon. It’s like driving or flying – a skill that it is a pleasure to master. Hunting – not so much. I’m not a vegetarian – far from it – but I take no pleasure at all shooting animals and do so only for reasons of conservation, and rarely. With huge respect for those who will not agree with me, I am of the dripping wet opinion that it makes sense to have fewer guns around in public places, rather than more. It pleases me that our local police here in my village rarely carry their pistols. I recognise the utterly different traditions in America and do not feel I am much entitled to pronounce one way or another on your laws. Where I reckon I might agree with most of you is that I do believe people should be entitled to defend their homes and property from criminals. But there are always consequences – not the least being that the ubiquity of firearms in the hands of people who are not properly trained, and might often be unbalanced, seems to make societies less rather than more safe. Perhaps we can all agree that we should respect guns for what they are – highly dangerous instruments that demand strict discipline at all times. So – no carry for me. Even if I could, I wouldn’t.

  45. Like most here I don’t carry and drink. I have taken predinsone and won’t carry when I’m on it. It makes me jumpy and when you come down from it you can get very short tempered.

    I also don’t carry when I fly somewhere. The paperwork is just too much of a hassle.

    • “I also don’t carry when I fly somewhere. The paperwork is just too much of a hassle.”

      I do fly with my gun in stow. I actually find we get through quicker. At least we did on a run from Oregon, into California, onto Arizona and back. There was no paperwork for us. They gave me a yellow slip, I signed it, they tag it to your boarding pass and you are done.

      Oh! And a yellow slip for inside your gun case.

  46. Texas weather + No Open Carry = piece stays home. I am a big guy, and I were a T-shirt and jeans 10 months out of the year. There is no way I can carry without printing or being horribly uncomfortable.

    • pocket carry of a j frame or small auto doesn’t work for you? i’m a big guy too and with floppy t’s and cargo shorts or properly fitted jeans i can pocket carry up to my makarov comfortably.

  47. Being in such close proximity to MD and having to run all my errands there. It would be nice if the state would, you know, become shall issue or something. Hopefully soon.

  51. Money. I’m too broke to afford it. Not just the weapon and a few rounds, I’m sure I could save up for that. I don’t have the money to afford “the life style.” Lots of ammo, range fees, gas to and from the range. But rest assured I am working on a better job, and will be a proud CHL owner once I can afford that life style choice.

  52. Corporate policy prohibits carrying while working. I can carry to and from but during the summer I ride a motorcycle with no storage and thus have no place to stow during the day.

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