This is an interesting thread. It brings up a topic I never thought about before. From the time I was 16, I carried a S&W .38 Special in my car (that was about 1955, as a point of reference) all the time (including in the high school parking lot). I was not alone, I knew of six or eight other guys who had weapons in their cars all the time too.
I dated a number of girls over my years in high school and college. Some of them "found" the gun, some didn't. I didn't carry it concealed on my person, the only holster I had was a giant leather thing with outside straps and buckles and was about as concealable as a small suitcase. Of the ones who found it, two or three asked me to teach them to shoot it (which I did — at a range, with what were I am sure, tiresome safety lectures). Two Dads of girls I dated learned of the gun from their daughters, but neither one expressed any particular problem with me carrying it. One of them got his almost-identical S&W out and we compared them.
I was taught to handle firearms by a retired Cavalry Major and an ex-Infantry Sergeant in the years right after WW II. Neither of them was particularly hesitant to damage my tender psyche by criticizing bad handling practices (in colorful language even). I think they figured harming my self-esteem was preferable to having me put holes in them or the car or something else important.
Interesting. Like I said, I never really thought about it before.
Oh yeah, before somebody asks, it was Arizona and Texas in high school and Georgia in college. And I turned away from revolvers to Colt Governments.
