Either Always Carry Or Never Carry

Well, that wasn't perhaps directed at anyone in particular, but I agree with limiting those visits if you're able. (And I tend to carry in a lot of places I've been told are pretty edgy ... though legal.)

Thread title doesn't make sense. I'll carry when I decide to, not blindly follow some internet tautology.

Being one of those unfortunates who never figured out how to schedule my emergencies in advance, my only recourse is to carry as close to all the time as I can, everywhere it's legal. And generally I stay away from places where I can't carry legally.

orionengnr said:

Au contraire.
Leaving your gun in the car for 3-5 minutes once a month (or once every several months, in my case) is an entirely different proposition from leaving your gun in the car in the parking lot all day, every day...or leaving your "truck gun" in your vehicle 24/7, year round.

The latter is irresponsible, IMHO. The former is a very occasional and necessary evil.

I am in the camp of one of our local TX CHL contributors. His sig line is "Carry 24/7 or guess right." Within the limits of the law, I do exactly that.

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Interesting. I've seen debate on this before, but not expressed like that.

I understand what you wrote, but dont necessarily agree...without further explanation.

I see it the other way. It *can be* very risky to put your gun away for 3-5 minutes once a month (the ex. given) if you are doing so in a public place *at your destination*. Parking lots are being observed by crooks all the time. And you might think you're being secretive, but not necessarily. Those car break-ins take just a couple of minutes (or less) and cables are too easily cut.

I say this from experience as a park ranger.

Re: keeping a gun hidden & secured in a car or truck as a habit? Why is that irresponsible? Altho the law may say differently in some states, I am not responsible for someone committing a crime to get my gun or their use of it later.

So I'm interested in clarification on that post.

9MMare,

Not to drag this thread off into another "truck gun" battle, this thread delved pretty deeply into that issue: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=8218031#post8218031

OK thanks.

Edit: I scanned the 10 pages and didnt really see it covered but will not take this thread off topic further.

Sam1911 said:

Here in PA the courthouse rule is the same. (Texas is MUCH better though!)

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I'm curious as to what you are saying here.

One of the reasons I hate jury duty so much here in Texas is that there is no provision for you to bring a legally carried handgun into a courthouse, and no requirement for them to provide you a place to store it.

Irks me mightily.

I'm curious as to what you are saying here.

One of the reasons I hate jury duty so much here in Texas is that there is no provision for you to bring a legally carried handgun into a courthouse, and no requirement for them to provide you a place to store it.

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Ahhh, crap, sorry. I meant STATE house. Not courthouse. I conflated the two accidentally.

Darn. I was hoping you knew something I didn't.

I kind of understand how you feel Beatledog7.

I'm a US Navy (DoD) employee. When I'm at work on the base or in a government building of some kind I'm unarmed. I'm also unarmed going to and from work since the base I work at (the Navy Yard) doesn't allow personal guns inside vehicles. It doesn't matter anyway since it's located inside Washington, DC. Fortunately for me though is the post office I use is also on base and that's the only other no guns allowed place that I have to run errands to.

Back across the river I'm legal most of the places I go to and I'm the Security Ministry leader for my church. I report directly to the pastor and he's pretty much pro-2A.

The moment you start justifying when you "need" your firearm and when you "don't needs" your firearm, you start down a very slippery slope. I can see the post shooting interview:

Officer/lawyer: Do you always carry a gun?
You: Not always.
O/L: Why don't you carry a gun all the time?
You: Well sometime I don't need it.
O/L: But you needed it this time?
You: Yes.
O/L: If you though you needed a gun, if you thought you'd need to use it, why didn't you avoid the situation in the first place?

Yeah, that sounds good, except...

In my case the except is that I travel interstate for work. I'm often away from home for two or three weeks at a time. As soon as you start crossing state lines, life starts getting complicated. When those lines start to involve unfriendly states like NY, NJ, or Canada, things get really complicated. Since over the course of the weeks I'm out, I might get sent to any of those places without much notice, the only real option becomes to leave the gun home.

Thus, I may well be in a place where I could legally carry, with reciprocity and all that, but don't because I may find myself headed for Hoboken or Toronto the next day.

That leads to the grimly ironic situation of carrying when I'm around the house, in relatively low threat rural Ohio, but going disarmed through all the places in the country that make you think about self defense.

beatledog7 said:

Let's say I'm about to depart my house, and I have a number of stops over the next several hours:

--post office, campus, church, grocery store, then back home--

I can't carry in the post office, can't even legally have a gun in the car in the parking lot. So, no gun. Unless I come back home and get it, I'm now unarmed all day.

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Good concerns, which requires good planning.

However, might I suggest you revisit your supposition that you cannot legally have a gun in the car in the Post Office parking lot?

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/11/us/guns-post-office/index.html

This should help make your planning a wee bit easier now.




EDIT:

Ummm...never mind. Seems this was already addressed at some length. Silly me, not reading the entire thread before posting! Sorry about that!

I carry nearly all the time. The only place I've been (in my home state) that I can't carry in the last year is the Post Office. When I go there I stow my gun out of sight as the law requires in my locked car. I also set the alarm every time I lock the vehicle (same button on the remote) whether or not a gun is inside. My opinion is that if you're going to carry a handgun you should carry it as much of the time as you legally can.

I carry all the time and wherever it is legal. Places where it is illegal I avoid. Post office,schools,etc. if it's legal in the parking lot I lock it in the car.

The only places I dont carry are ones with a metal detector at the door. ymmv

I'm extremely biased on this one, as I am of the less than 1%. I've been kidnapped, robbed, and other terrible encounters, too many times to go into detail here. My wife and I have both had deadly encounters, to which the decision to carry every day, and on those days, is why we have prevailed, or survived as it were.

I carry all the time, and if my day involves "gun free" zones I simply take the steps necessary to secure my weapon while attending to such, but in my vehicle so I don't spend the rest of my day unarmed. I carry in church, the bank, grocery store and any where else I can.

GS