Advice requested: on being a small woman in an anti-gun state
- Thread starter Ellie
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dasmi
Member
No, you absolutely can not do this legally in California.
Oregon and Washington have ocean breezes.
TallPine
Member
+1 on the Surefire, to start with
When one of my daughters moved "back east" (anything east of the Mississippi is back east to me), I bought her a Surefire (actually a Maxfire "clone" from Walmart) to carry with her everywhere. I told her she should have it in her hand walking to her car after dark, etc. She is under 18 so can't get a carry permit even if she wanted to.
Legal to carry everywhere that I know of, and you can pretty much blind someone temporarily (plus you're not going to spray it on yourself
). Not the best solution I know, but at least it is something. I really think that the best part is communicating to would-be evil-doers that you are not going to be an easy victim.
The other plus is that you can always use it for a flashlight
Or... you can just move to a relatively free state like MT and starve and breathe free air
When one of my daughters moved "back east" (anything east of the Mississippi is back east to me), I bought her a Surefire (actually a Maxfire "clone" from Walmart) to carry with her everywhere. I told her she should have it in her hand walking to her car after dark, etc. She is under 18 so can't get a carry permit even if she wanted to.
Legal to carry everywhere that I know of, and you can pretty much blind someone temporarily (plus you're not going to spray it on yourself
). Not the best solution I know, but at least it is something. I really think that the best part is communicating to would-be evil-doers that you are not going to be an easy victim.The other plus is that you can always use it for a flashlight
Or... you can just move to a relatively free state like MT and starve and breathe free air
My last thought on this is to remind you that security starts with situation awareness.
Be aware of what is happening around you , avoid being alone in a place where it is hard to excape from.
Try not to be in a situation where the cover of darkness gives someone the advantage over you.
The best way to defend yourself is to avoid the need to do so.
Good luck and keep your eye and ears open !
Be aware of what is happening around you , avoid being alone in a place where it is hard to excape from.
Try not to be in a situation where the cover of darkness gives someone the advantage over you.
The best way to defend yourself is to avoid the need to do so.
Good luck and keep your eye and ears open !
Old NFO
Member
Ellie, you have to make up your own mind as to what to do. However, check out http://www.coronadoleather.com/ for ideas. And I would agree with the Surefire or good clone.
thanks!
thanks for the link! And I love your sig - my hubband always says that, and it always makes me smile.
Old NFO said:Ellie, you have to make up your own mind as to what to do. However, check out http://www.coronadoleather.com/ for ideas. And I would agree with the Surefire or good clone.
thanks for the link! And I love your sig - my hubband always says that, and it always makes me smile.
My wife and I moved from San Francisco about 16 months ago. It was easy for us as I was very close to retirement and my wife was looking for something different to do.
We ended up in a city where crime is almost zero and CCW is shall issue. We both have permits but don't carry because we feel so safe here.
While in San Francisco, my wife carried when she ran trails. She had, on occassion, ran into some rather unsavory characters who hid behind trees waiting for female joggers wearing headphone (about the dumbest thing a woman can do). When these perverts jumped out near my wife, they were greeted with a P9 and became instant members of the Fastest Perverts in the West.
However, to note, in the past few years in San Francisco, the police became an invisible force never to be seen or heard, so carrying a gun was not much of an issue.
California has jobs that are very high paying. You will find that moving to a state where there is little crime usually entails jobs that don't pay well, if you can find one at all.
We ended up in a city where crime is almost zero and CCW is shall issue. We both have permits but don't carry because we feel so safe here.
While in San Francisco, my wife carried when she ran trails. She had, on occassion, ran into some rather unsavory characters who hid behind trees waiting for female joggers wearing headphone (about the dumbest thing a woman can do). When these perverts jumped out near my wife, they were greeted with a P9 and became instant members of the Fastest Perverts in the West.
However, to note, in the past few years in San Francisco, the police became an invisible force never to be seen or heard, so carrying a gun was not much of an issue.
California has jobs that are very high paying. You will find that moving to a state where there is little crime usually entails jobs that don't pay well, if you can find one at all.
longtooth
Member
But oh oh oh the ocean breezes . . .[/QUOTE]
Got a gulf here too.
Got a gulf here too.
cliffstanc
Member
Apparently, there are no limits on the blade length of a concealed carry folding knife in California!
http://www.ninehundred.com/~equalccw/knifelaw.html
Note that it's from 2002, but I did a little online research the other day and couldn't find anything that contradicted the article - but you need to check yourself. (I couldn't find any San Diego ordinances against knives, but some cities have them, so check!)
IIRC, as long as the knife is:
you can carry practically anywhere, including the University campus!
Note that you should check the laws yourself or, better yet, have a lawyer do it! This is not legal advice! I'm not taking the fall for you! In fact, I don't even exist! There is no spoon! FNORD
More seriously, while pepper spray does have the advantage of distance, up close it's essentially useless. I believe that, if you cannot carry a handgun, you should carry a long-bladed knife - other physical weapons are much less likely to stop an attacker.
With all due consideration towards your physical training, this is even more true for you specifically as a woman. Consider grappling with your (probably male, larger, and stronger) assailant, and trying to swing a bludgeon overhand to hit a small target like the head, versus thrusting a knife into the attacker's midsection. The knife thrust requires less freedom of movement, less accuracy, and less physical strength. Even if you cannot reach a vital organ, the pain and blood from a cut in what you can reach is, imho, more of a deterrent to him than a bruised thigh or arm.
So my recommendation, for what it's worth: both pepper spray and a long bladed folding pocketknife (as well as the training to use them effectively). Of course, I hope you never need to use them.
Good luck!
- Cliff
http://www.ninehundred.com/~equalccw/knifelaw.html
Note that it's from 2002, but I did a little online research the other day and couldn't find anything that contradicted the article - but you need to check yourself. (I couldn't find any San Diego ordinances against knives, but some cities have them, so check!)
IIRC, as long as the knife is:
- not locking
- completely concealed when folded and carried
- has a detent or "bias toward closure" (see the web article), and
- may only be opened with positive manual pressure on the blade (eg using a thumb stud attached to the blade for one-handed operation is ok - but no springs and it cannot be weighted towards opening)
you can carry practically anywhere, including the University campus!
Note that you should check the laws yourself or, better yet, have a lawyer do it! This is not legal advice! I'm not taking the fall for you! In fact, I don't even exist! There is no spoon! FNORD
More seriously, while pepper spray does have the advantage of distance, up close it's essentially useless. I believe that, if you cannot carry a handgun, you should carry a long-bladed knife - other physical weapons are much less likely to stop an attacker.
With all due consideration towards your physical training, this is even more true for you specifically as a woman. Consider grappling with your (probably male, larger, and stronger) assailant, and trying to swing a bludgeon overhand to hit a small target like the head, versus thrusting a knife into the attacker's midsection. The knife thrust requires less freedom of movement, less accuracy, and less physical strength. Even if you cannot reach a vital organ, the pain and blood from a cut in what you can reach is, imho, more of a deterrent to him than a bruised thigh or arm.
So my recommendation, for what it's worth: both pepper spray and a long bladed folding pocketknife (as well as the training to use them effectively). Of course, I hope you never need to use them.
Good luck!
- Cliff
DRZinn
Member
A little background for the rest of you:
There's been a "crime wave" here at San Diego State in the past month or so, and they've even gone so far as to import campus police from other CSU campuses. There are signs up everywhere reminding students to program the Uiversity Police telephone number into their cell phones - because after all, the first thing I'd think of if someone jumps out in front of me in a dark parking garage is calling the police.
No-one has suggested carrying even mace, much less a gun.
There's been a "crime wave" here at San Diego State in the past month or so, and they've even gone so far as to import campus police from other CSU campuses. There are signs up everywhere reminding students to program the Uiversity Police telephone number into their cell phones - because after all, the first thing I'd think of if someone jumps out in front of me in a dark parking garage is calling the police.
No-one has suggested carrying even mace, much less a gun.
P-32
Member
double tap sorry.....
P-32
Member
Washington State even with it's liberal west side has remained a "Shall Issue" state. Traffic is bad on that side or so they tell me. I would not wait too long to move as the prices of things are being driven up by those who have already bailed from your part of the world. Finding employment for you might not be so hard but since we don't know what hubby does can offer no advice for him.
I also think there has been some great advise given thus far. I did 2 tours with the Navy at China Lake in Kern county, CA. This is where the gun nut in me was born. You could carry a firearm if you were fishing.......
I also think there has been some great advise given thus far. I did 2 tours with the Navy at China Lake in Kern county, CA. This is where the gun nut in me was born. You could carry a firearm if you were fishing.......
Phyphor
Member
marshall3 said:Not as handy as a pistol, but....might come in handy.
And no one will be bothered by it either.
'Cept the cops who arrest you for possession of burglary tools.... :banghead:
cliffstanc, you're correct on almost everything, but you're wrong on locking blades being prohibited.
The 5.5" Cuda Max is perfectly legal in Cali. Matter of fact, California State Law doesn't prohibit any blade length for folders. http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/ca.txt
The 5.5" Cuda Max is perfectly legal in Cali. Matter of fact, California State Law doesn't prohibit any blade length for folders. http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/ca.txt
cliffstanc
Member
Actually, I'm mostly wrong about locking blades being prohibited. I was wrong about Ms. Ellie not being able to carry them at the university, but they are prohibited in public schools, which is where I got them confused.hso said:
California Penal Code:
626.10. (a) Any person, except a duly appointed peace officer as
defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of
Part 2, a full-time paid peace officer of another state or the
federal government who is carrying out official duties while in this
state, a person summoned by any officer to assist in making arrests
or preserving the peace while the person is actually engaged in
assisting any officer, or a member of the military forces of this
state or the United States who is engaged in the performance of his
or her duties, who brings or possesses any dirk, dagger, ice pick,
knife having a blade longer than 21/2 inches, folding knife with a
blade that locks into place, a razor with an unguarded blade, a
taser, or a stun gun, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 244.5,
any instrument that expels a metallic projectile such as a BB or a
pellet, through the force of air pressure, CO2 pressure, or spring
action, or any spot marker gun, upon the grounds of, or within, any
public or private school providing instruction in kindergarten or any
of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, is guilty of a public offense,
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
or by imprisonment in the state prison.
626.10 (b) is the section that applies to Ellie:
<...> who brings or possesses any dirk, dagger, ice pick, or
knife having a fixed blade longer than 21/2 inches upon the grounds
of, or within, any private university, the University of California,
the California State University, or the California Community Colleges
is guilty of a public offense, punishable by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment in the state
prison.
So yeah, there's no problem with a locking folder of any length at the university, mea culpa.
(Disclaimer: not a lawyer, not legal advice, etc., etc.)
- Cliff
Oleg Volk
Moderator Emeritus
What's an unlocking blade good for?
Oleg Volk said:
Hmmmm . . . slicing pepper jack cheese to go with the crackers that you snuck into the movie theatre - oh wait, I have a big ol' scar on my hand from that.
Thanks, Cliff, for digging up that piece of California Statute for me.
But gee - I wanted to carry a -dirk-. For goodess sake! On that note, did you know that California legislators pass 4 laws per DAY on average in this fine state (most of which Arnold vetoes, bless him).
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