Hey there Mattitude.
1st off, thanks for the VTAC sling, I'm really glad I was able to pick that up from you.
But now for the real reason that I'm responding to your post...
Mass. gun laws suck. I've lived in this state for most of my life, but I haven't been blinded to that. I am deeply offended by the gun laws in this state.
However, I think that a lot of gun owners will be offended by the way you're saying a lot of these things. I agree with drgrant, there's a lot more to this than you'd think.
Let's say for a week NC decides to adopt discretionary licensing similar to Mass. If you chose to open carry and had your LTC revoked for suitability, ytou'd still be able to keep your guns in your house, buy ammo, etc. etc. Depending on your lifestyle, revocation of your LTC might not make a lot of difference in your life, because you're allowed to keep guns in your home in NC.
I live in Massachusetts. If I get my LTC revoked for suitability, the police will show up at my house and take every single gun in my posession. As soon as it's revoked, I can no longer posess even a single empty .22 shell casing in my home. I can't even keep a can of
pepper spray in my home if my LTC is revoked.
I really like guns. I carry all day every day, and I'm a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment. But if I'm at the grocery store and my shirt rides up over my carry piece accidentally, my chief can deem me unsuitable and strip me of every firearm and bullet that I own. Granted, I can fight the chief's decision in court, but this will cost me thousands of dollars, and for the many years that it's going on, I'll have no legal way to defend myself, not even in my home.
Even if the district court judge agrees with me and orders that my LTC be re-issued, the chief can appeal this decision to Superior court, and if they rule in my favor there, the chief can appeal it again. The chief has city-paid lawyers, and thanks to LEOSA, he can carry in all 50 states just on his badge. He won't lose any sleep, any money, or any gun rights. He'll never be left defenseless at 3 a.m. when a window is smashed in my house in the middle of the night. He won't go through the humiliation of having to beg in court for his constitutional rights. He won't have to wonder if he'll lose his job because he lost his LTC (I'm an armed guard, the ability to carry a gun is how I eat, and in today's economy a career change isn't likely).
The chief's life and finances won't be affected, not even a little bit, the whole time that I'm going through hell to try and just live my life the way that I choose to.
There's countless cases on here where people have had their rights stripped over nothing. I've read a lot of them, and I'll read about more.
Is all of that worth carrying an empty holster exposed on your belt? It's not worth it to me. Because as bad as things are here in Mass., I can still own & carry guns to defend my life and put food on the table.
On top of this, you referenced the Heller case and how those residents changed the gun laws of D.C.
Here's an explanation of how to purchase a gun in D.C. that was recently linked to in
a post here on NES.
Yes, the laws were changed in D.C., but is that really a victory for the 2nd Amendment? After all that time and money, and look at the tiny step that they took.
I'm not saying we shouldn't fight, I'm not saying we should roll over and take these laws with a smile on our face.
All I'm saying is that we have a huge legal battle ahead of us, and I for one would like to see it fought and won in a way that doesn't cost me everything.
That's all.