printing in public in Mass. problems

Open carry is a terrific way to meet your local law enforcement officers.

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And what, have a cup of coffee with them? As has been mentioned in this thread previously, open carry is legal. Police can't do anything to you just because someone *sees* your gun.
 
It just shows how browbeaten gun owners in this state are.
i'm sure it plays a part, but if this guy is new to concealed carry, you are very conscious about having a gun on your belt. people think everyone knows what it is and truth be told, no one is looking.

like yourself i don't care. i reach for something at the supermarket and my shirt rides up...oh well, right? i'm just too damn old to care about trivial shit and besides, everyone knows me everywhere in town so i just have that confident swagger while printing while cruising around town. [laugh] ;)
 
Even after a year of carrying daily I still think everyone is noticing the holster and gun. Honestly though I think like some others have said most people are so wrapped up in their own world no one notices. Plan properly and dress accordingly.
 
Printing is a non issue. Unless you are carrying a desert eagle in skinny jeans.

The real problem is accidentally showing. Seen it happen a few times- usually a larger person, bends over and you can see the firearm when their shirt rides up.

The way I think of it is will a middle aged Karen call the police? If yes- you did something wrong, if no then don’t worry about it.

A well trained eye may catch a ‘print’ in public but none us would say anything…. Except maybe to ask what model you carry.
 
For most progressives in MA it's so unreal that someone other than a cop would carry a gun that they actually don't care and assume you are the police/feds whatever (if you don't look like a gang member that is).
I split my time between MA and northern ME and got used to open carry while hiking in the warmer months...and by accident also started doing so in MA and realized no one cares. This is not only western Mass but also Blue Hills area.
 
In MA, since open carry is technically legal, if you had a LTC-A, couldn't you strap on two desert eagles on your belt and walk around Boston streets? As long as you're not doing anything illegal, cops can't touch you amirite?
Want to get into technicalities of MGL?

A SBR is not a rifle or a shotgun but a firearm under MGL. LTCs cover carrying firearms, concealed or openly, in public.
 
And what, have a cup of coffee with them? As has been mentioned in this thread previously, open carry is legal. Police can't do anything to you just because someone *sees* your gun.
Sure they can. They can refuse to accept your LTC as facially valid and confiscate the gun, for return after you show up at the station. This happened to an attorney in Springfield, and the court sided with the PD and accepted the argument that the officer could not tell if the LTC was valid and was therefore justified in seizing the gun. They can also send a report of the incident to the issuing authority for a suitability review (and don't think that Simkin will protect you at this level).
 
Before you carried did you ever notice someone “printing”? Most people are oblivious.
Yes, at my 25th High School reunion. A very drunk classmate who happened to be a local cop was very obviously armed that night. Interestingly, there are also two statie's in my class, both were there, and much less drunk, but must've overlooked our drunk & armed classmate.
 
Yes, at my 25th High School reunion. A very drunk classmate who happened to be a local cop was very obviously armed that night. Interestingly, there are also two statie's in my class, both were there, and much less drunk, but must've overlooked our drunk & armed classmate.
Different rules for different people.
 
I've literally had a State Trooper back in to me in line at the grocery store, accidentally smack his hand into my holstered pistol, look down at his hand and shake it, and then walk away. I wouldn't worry about it.
 
I work in an office environment downtown and wear suits or sport coats and slacks. Skinny build, so trim suits. During the summer, I have a tuckable iwb. During the winter I don't tuck and wear some kind of sweater/vest to cover my waistband. This week I grabbed a sweater that was too short and the clip and a small amount of holster was visible. I was more worried than the people around me. I kept telling myself: "people are too wrapped up with their own shit to notice". The same thing I told my teenage daughter when she had a pimple.
 
I stopped worrying about it a decade ago. Most of the people will just assume it is a cellphone.

I hate seeing posts like these. It just shows how browbeaten gun owners in this state are. It is really sad that it has gotten to this point.

Bob

I worried my first year of carrying, but it's no longer a consideration. What's under my shirt is under my shirt and someone can go F-off as long as I'm not brandishing it. As you mentioned, they don't know. Hell, it could be an insulin pump for all they know, and without probably cause, no one will know unless SHTF and I actually need to pull it. And that being exceedingly rare, I doubt Joe or Sally public will ever find out.

That said, I'm not EDC'ing a G34 with 33 round mag either, so this never comes up.
 
I worried about printing for about a day and a half after I began carrying. Then I realized I didn't need to, because...

1. It's probably not printing.
2. If it is printing, 99.9% of the population won't notice.
3. For the other .01%, the majority will think it's a phone.
4. Of the minuscule percentage who know it's a gun, most will assume you're a cop.
5. The rest? They have NES usernames. Not a worry.
 
nope,

the SJC's ruling in Simkin, a licensing authority CANNOT suspend or revoke a license for printing or open carry
Nope? No YOU nope.

Suitability. . . NOTE: I am not saying he is not suitable - I am saying that the licensing authority will say he is not suitable, because they cannot suspend or revoke merely for ptg or open carry.
 
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So if your "printing", you may be doing it wrong.
Although I'd be surprised if any sheeple are going to notice unless your actually unveiling your heater.
 
Nope? No YOU nope.

Suitability. . .
One has to read Simkin carefully. While the wording about doing "Exactly what he has a license for" is encouraging, it also compliments Simkin for going to lengths to exercise discretion regarding exposure in the medical facility. This could be seen by some as establishing that as part of the criteria or at the very least provide a basis for arguing that it is "not the same" as being spotted in public.. He had to disclose the gun because he was getting undressed in an exam room, which is quite different from choosing to go publicly and visibly armed.

The ruling is not a definitive "action cannot be taken against a licensee for not concealing a handgun in public". It can be read that way, but there is no assurance a district, appellate, superior or even SJC will agree with what many on NES consider a forgone conclusion. Don't forget that licensing authorities have a blank check for legal fees; do not like to have their authoritah disrespected; and frequently appeal license revocations or denials that the district court overturns. In other words, caution is the order of the day unless you wish to spend $$ to attempt to prove a point.
 
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