Exactly my response.
Though I've been made fun of by my children and friends for carrying two when at home.
Nice, I should carry a spare too!
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Exactly my response.
Though I've been made fun of by my children and friends for carrying two when at home.
I am fairly certain that the OP's question was well meant, however, whether one carries or does not carry is really a MYOB issue IMO. People complain about their lack of privacy, yet are willing to divulge details about their carry habits. There are lots of people who read these boards (not all of them registered and not all of them our friends) and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who some of you are.
This is a question best left unanswered, unless of course you want the world to know that you carry concealed, which seems to me a contradiction.
No offense to anyone, I 'm just sayin'....
I understand where your coming from on the privacy point but on the other hand its our legal right. Why we HAVE to carry CONCEALED is part of the problem in the first place. Why we have to stay HIDDEN from the general public just adds to the stigma of gun owners. If we did not live in the state we do (MA) I don't know if the "outing" of being a gun owner or carrying daily would have the same consequences. Maybe its just too many of us grew up in a liberal home and now live in a liberal state that makes the paranoia continue to fester in being a gun owner.
That all being said one problem, phone call or question and they can yank your right away so I fully understand the concept of keeping it to yourself. I am just not one that will allow that paranoia to rule how I live, speak or discuss my hobby and right.
No offense to you in any means just my two cents on the topic.
I take no offense. Let me give you my background: growing up and living in Arizona back in the day, open carry was permitted (except where prohibited by local ordnance like Tombstone...thank you Wyatt Earp). We wanted to carry concealed, only LEOs could. After many years the law changed in Arizona (long after I left it). Maybe it is the "forbidden fruit" thing, you cannot open carry in Mass (at least de facto, maybe de jure you can, but who is going to test the law?).
It is not paranoia that is driving me. It is more of a privacy thing. We freely give away so much information about ourselves that can and will be exploited. I legally exploit information people post about themselves everyday on the internet, so it is not based on some tinfoil hat fantasy. (I cannot emphasize enough though, only by carefully following certain proscribed parameters, the bad guys or the unscrupulous don't have to operate under my limitations).
With regard to open carry, some feel that it is a deterrent, if a bad guy sees you walking down the street in OC mode, chances are that he will pick an easier mark. There may be some merit in that. On the other hand I don't want you to know if I am armed or not, just like I don't want you to know how often I brush my teeth or what kind of toothpaste I use (Shaws and CVS already know), or what my religious beliefs are or if I buy lottery tickets or not. These are all fairly innocuous personal items of information, but it is really none of your business, just like it is none of my business what you do in these areas. As I get older my right to privacy trumps all other rights, especially when I see how easy it is to exploit information that people voluntarily relinquish.
Personally, having open carried, in an open carry state, I think the novelty wears off after awhile, and people resort to CCW
Mark is right IMNSHO.
We (you, I, whoever posts here) have no idea who reads it and what their intentions are. Not all house-breaks are "random" . . . what people post can and will be used against them by thugs who are ill-intentioned, perhaps by those in LE, employers (or potential employers), etc.
When I get papers to serve, I frequently turn to the Internet to see what I can find about the person being served. My real intent is personal safety, and if something looks questionable my first stop will be their local PD to see if my suspicions are valid (most often they are) and proceed accordingly (they usually offer to back me up to keep the peace).
Mark and I are dinosaurs who grew up before the Internet age, when stringing together personal info on someone was a manual labor task and thus not efficiently done. We both have seen (from the LE side) how much info local agencies amass on residents and recognize the potential for mis-use, thus we suggest caution (which is mostly ignored here ).
Personally my most major concerns aren't gov't but are "other unknowns". Some examples:
- Former neighbor was a wholesale diamond merchant. Two days after he and his Wife left for FL on vacation his house was broken into. Thief methodically tossed everything. We're certain of two things: thief had been told that they were leaving town (probably in beauty shop) AND knew what kind of business he was in.
- Another neighbor used to own an antique store in Newton, but lived ~25 miles away from there. Their house was broken into during daytime hours and they tossed the lesser valued jewelry in the bushes on the way out. No doubt they knew their target and were looking for valuable items not trinkets.
- Not many years ago obituaries would frequently post more info on where deceased lived (street address) and where immediate family lived. Frequently there were house-breaks during the time all of them were at the church/funeral parlor/cemetery. Not random at all. Thieves were using the info for their purposes. Nowadays most people post very little info in hopes of avoiding this as well as leave a trusted person at their home during the services/interment to further protect the property.
"Loose lips sink ships" may be an old WWII slogan, but it still holds true today. Even amongst my gun-owning friends I've never heard this topic come up. I guess we have too much respect for each other to even broach the subject.
YMMV and many of the younger generation (who tend to post their entire personal lives on the Internet) will likely disagree. It's fine to disagree and do as you please. Perhaps Mark and my admonitions might give a few pause for thought before posting too much personal info.
With due respect, this is just one person's opinion.
Mark is right IMNSHO.
We (you, I, whoever posts here) have no idea who reads it and what their intentions are. Not all house-breaks are "random" . . . what people post can and will be used against them by thugs who are ill-intentioned, perhaps by those in LE, employers (or potential employers), etc.
When I get papers to serve, I frequently turn to the Internet to see what I can find about the person being served. My real intent is personal safety, and if something looks questionable my first stop will be their local PD to see if my suspicions are valid (most often they are) and proceed accordingly (they usually offer to back me up to keep the peace).
Mark and I are dinosaurs who grew up before the Internet age, when stringing together personal info on someone was a manual labor task and thus not efficiently done. We both have seen (from the LE side) how much info local agencies amass on residents and recognize the potential for mis-use, thus we suggest caution (which is mostly ignored here ).
Personally my most major concerns aren't gov't but are "other unknowns". Some examples:
- Former neighbor was a wholesale diamond merchant. Two days after he and his Wife left for FL on vacation his house was broken into. Thief methodically tossed everything. We're certain of two things: thief had been told that they were leaving town (probably in beauty shop) AND knew what kind of business he was in.
- Another neighbor used to own an antique store in Newton, but lived ~25 miles away from there. Their house was broken into during daytime hours and they tossed the lesser valued jewelry in the bushes on the way out. No doubt they knew their target and were looking for valuable items not trinkets.
- Not many years ago obituaries would frequently post more info on where deceased lived (street address) and where immediate family lived. Frequently there were house-breaks during the time all of them were at the church/funeral parlor/cemetery. Not random at all. Thieves were using the info for their purposes. Nowadays most people post very little info in hopes of avoiding this as well as leave a trusted person at their home during the services/interment to further protect the property.
"Loose lips sink ships" may be an old WWII slogan, but it still holds true today. Even amongst my gun-owning friends I've never heard this topic come up. I guess we have too much respect for each other to even broach the subject.
YMMV and many of the younger generation (who tend to post their entire personal lives on the Internet) will likely disagree. It's fine to disagree and do as you please. Perhaps Mark and my admonitions might give a few pause for thought before posting too much personal info.
With due respect, this is just one person's opinion.
Lens I always respect your posts and the time you take to explain the reasoning behind your opinion.
Just reading the information you posted gives me a better understanding of why a public broadcast is in many ways not the smartest route to take. Thanks for sharing a bit more about the background that got you too that opinion.
I'm fundamentally against open carry because it's essentially advertising to any potential bad guy who they should take out first. The last thing you'd want is to have the perp reduce the precious few seconds you have to react against a violent confrontation.
Just like my reasoning that has no actual basis on why Open Carry would deter over Conceal Carry. What is your guys basis that an OC person would be targeted first. Is there examples that I just don't read or hear about where someone who was open carrying was targeted first. Having a criminal deterred from committing a crime due to seeing a citizen with a gun is far more likely to never have a statistic because the crime never happens due to the deterrent.
I can certainly see the walking down the street, criminal sees armed person and has ability to try and jump them and get the gun but that comes down to situational and environmental awareness on behalf of the person open carrying.
I'd put yourself in the bad guy's shoes. If he was 100% going to commit a violent crime in a public area, would you target the person with the means of immediately stopping you first? I'd suspect so.
If I was in the (potential) victim's shoes debating whether to OC or CC, I'd want to blend in as much as possible with the population so that the perp isn't giving me any special consideration over anyone else.
Just like my reasoning that has no actual basis on why Open Carry would deter over Conceal Carry. What is your guys basis that an OC person would be targeted first. Is there examples that I just don't read or hear about where someone who was open carrying was targeted first. Having a criminal deterred from committing a crime due to seeing a citizen with a gun is far more likely to never have a statistic because the crime never happens due to the deterrent.
I can certainly see the walking down the street, criminal sees armed person and has ability to try and jump them and get the gun but that comes down to situational and environmental awareness on behalf of the person open carrying.
I'd put yourself in the bad guy's shoes. If he was 100% going to commit a violent crime in a public area, would you target the person with the means of immediately stopping you first? I'd suspect so.
If I was in the (potential) victim's shoes debating whether to OC or CC, I'd want to blend in as much as possible with the population so that the perp isn't giving me any special consideration over anyone else.
I carry 99% of the time. My employer does not have a policy for or against it and if everyone keeps their mouth shut it'll stay that way. Plenty of us carry, so if anyone ruined it they'd have plenty of really angry coworkers
Don't mean to hijack but any deals on Kegs?
I'm the semi-fortunate holder of a Class A LTC with "Target and Hunting" restrictions. When I have explained to friends and family that this means I have a license to carry that doesn't actually allow me to carry, I usually get the response "Well would you really want to carry anyway, doesn't it seem silly to carry a gun anytime you leave the house even to run to the store?"
My response is that having an LTC and choosing not to carry is like getting in your car and choosing not to wear a seat belt. You probably won't ever need it, you hope you never do, but if you do need it and you don't have it you may not survive or you may survive but have to live with the consequences. Obviously if you are going to carry you need to be 100% comfortable with your abilities, but aside from that concern why would you not carry?
Do most of you feel the same way and carry regularly, do you just carry in certain situations, or do you choose not to carry because you don't think you will ever win the "Oh $h!t" lottery?
Just curious.
Indeed. I've taken several. Your handgun can be gone before you know it, both from your holster and your hands.It is eye-opening to take a firearms retention class!!
I carry everywhere, 24/7.
I'm with him..
Except swimming...still need a swimming gun.