Do you ever show your CCW when asked for photo ID?

[Quentin]

I do when purchasing a gun

Same here! No wasted time phoning in for a background check in Idaho if you present the CC permit when purchasing.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I just got my permit. It has my picture on it and even the same number as my driver's license. We have a "voter ID" law, and at the polling place it is explicitly listed as an acceptable type. But I have no intention of using it as a primary form of ID. If for some reason I have a transaction that requires two photo IDs I'll use it for that.

 

[TanklessPro]

No. Mine does not have a picture

 

[REDMASTA]

I live in GA my CCW permit has no photo on it.

 

[Warp]

I live in GA my CCW permit has no photo on it.

There's no C or concealed in the name or the requirement.

And when you renew it will. The new ones, the "Georgia Weapons Carry License" ones (not GWL or GFL) are much more official and snazzy looking and have a photo. They are just like the driver licenses and photo ID cards.

 

[xfyrfiter]

I have never used mine as ID. I really wish that NM would recognize the CHL as a legitimate ID to purchase firearms though, as since I have had mine, I always get delayed, never a denial, just delayed. My wife, otoh, can walk in, fill out the 4473, pay for the gun, and walk out with gun in hand. I was never delayed until I got my CHL, and even BATFE cannot tell me why.

 

[4season]

When I worked in a grocery store we would occasionally have a customer pull out their carry permit when we ask for ID. The store policy was that cashiers could only accept valid in-state driver licenses for beer or tobacco purchase so I got called anytime it wasn't. I kinda thought it was odd that someone would want to identify themselves to the general public but knowing that you have to be 21 to apply I always took it as valid ID and made the sale. But our regional manager saw it different. She said that it had to be a driver license, or we could not sale them beer. I ask about the generic non license state issued photo ID that a non driving adult would have, and she responded that it was issued by the driver license office so it would be acceptable. I guess she must have been anti-gun or just had no clue what she was talking about so I didn't bother to explain that is where you get your permit only after jumping thru way more hoops than it took to get your driver license.

On the topic of showing a carry permit to buy a gun, I was told in Tennessee that since our permit is good for 4 years it did not comply with the Brady Bill that requires background checks unless your permit has to be renewed every year. Don't know if that is exactly true since I heard it from a LGS owner, but it sounds like the normal bunch of bureaucratic BS that we normally have to deal with out of D.C.

 

[P5 Guy]

Used many times to avoid the waiting period in some counties of Florida.
F2F sales to insure those involved are eligible to own firearms.

 

[Glock19Fan]

Showing your carry permit instead of a DL is kind of like using your military ID to buy beer, its just odd and it doesn't make people think you are any "cooler". In fact most people think it shows narcissism. Its not like its a badge or anything and there is no need or reason to reveal that you likely possess a weapon to a stranger.

Not only that, but you don't know who is behind the counter. Showing off your address, revealing a potential valuable stash, as well as having your vehicle identified is not something I want a stranger to know.

 

[Warp]

Showing your carry permit instead of a DL is kind of like using your military ID to buy beer, its just odd and it doesn't make people think you are any "cooler". In fact most people think it shows narcissism. Its not like its a badge or anything and there is no need or reason to reveal that you likely possess a weapon to a stranger.

Not only that, but you don't know who is behind the counter. Showing off your address, revealing a potential valuable stash, as well as having your vehicle identified is not something I want a stranger to know.

I think that if a person believes me to be armed, they are less likely to try to break into my vehicle or my home when I am there.

I think that is a good thing.

I'd rather deter them from attacking me or my family than draw them in under guise of being unarmed and then have to use a firearm.

 

[guyfromohio]

Lame. Act like it's a constitutionally protected right, not Willy Wonka's golden ticket.

 

[Hokkmike]

Only when buying a gun from a private citizen on his/her request. It is the most "instant" of background checks.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Some of the hate for handgun permit as a photo ID. Jeez, it's a state issued photo ID listed by the state as legally accepted as a photo ID for state business.

If two photo IDs are requested, I will have no choice but show my Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit and Drivers License because that's the only valid photo IDs I have.

I carry my THCP and my TDL in the same pocket in my wallet, normally.

 

[guyfromohio]

If I need two photo I.D.s, it will have to be shown as I have no other. Also, when purchasing a gun via pvt sale, I will show it. Other than that, I see it only as shock value or look-at-me.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I'd rather deter them from attacking me or my family than draw them in under guise of being unarmed and then have to use a firearm.

One of the arguments against publishing handgun permit database info in Tennessee was it would allow targeting of homes of individuals who had carry permits by burglars seeking guns. The Memphis Commercial Appeal had no problem defending publishing individual's data on the grounds that criminals knowing who had a permit might help gun owners:

Wikipedia

In a February 15, 2009 editorial, the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper defended publication of the Tennessee handgun carry permit list and suggested it could protect permit holders by steering criminals away from armed households.[1]
An independent study published in 2011 found "[Memphis] zip codes with the highest concentration of permits experienced roughly 1.7 fewer burglaries per week/per zip code in the 15 weeks following the publicization of the database, and those with the lowest concentration experienced on average 1.5 more burglaries."[2]

1. Chris Peck, "Inside the Newsroom: Case for gun-permit listings trumps emotional opposition," ''The Commercial Appeal'', February 15, 2009.
2. http://www.heinz.cmu.edu/~acquisti/papers/acquisti-REV.pdf
Alessandro Acquisti and Catherine Tucker, "Guns, Privacy, and Crime", 2 Jan 2011.

The problem with that is what I call the LoJack Theory: if car thieves have no idea what car might have a LoJack tracer installed, every car owner benefits from the deterrent effect of potential car thieves' fear that any car reported stolen might be readily located by LE. However, if cars with LoJack installed were required to be identified, car thieves would simply target cars w/o LoJack.

 

[Sam1911]

Nope. If I want someone to know I've got a gun (or guns) they'll be able to see them.

I keep my various gun carrying credentials in a separate part of my wallet. Learned that one the hard way when an officer peeked into my wallet as I was retrieving my DL and saw the LCTF sitting behind it. That lead to a conversation I did not need to have.

Now they stay tucked out of sight unless I ever have some NEED to show them.

If I needed to produce two forms of picture ID, I wouldn't have a problem with using them, but it isn't the credential people are expecting to see when they ask, 99% of the time, so it just leads to an extra second or two of friction as we negotiate whatever bit of business is going on. Don't need to spend another second longer than necessary with a clerk or counter-dude, anywhere, ever.

As an absolute value kind of thing, I don't care. But there's a heavy tinge of "Oh, lookey what I've got!" to whipping out your carry credentials in situations where they're unexpected and/or not appropriate.

You remember the scene with the private security guard showing off his Glock to John Cusak in Grosse Point Blank? Yeah, don't be that guy.

 

[Newcatwalt]

I normally only show when purchasing a firearm from a dealer so I don't have to pay extra for the background check and to a private citizen to show I'm "legal".

 

[SC Shooter]

Showing your CWP is sort of like showing pictures of your baby. Most people are not nearly as impressed with the fact that you have it as you are.

 

[Warp]

One of the arguments against publishing handgun permit database info in Tennessee was it would allow targeting of homes of individuals who had carry permits by burglars seeking guns. The Memphis Commercial Appeal had no problem defending publishing individual's data on the grounds that criminals knowing who had a permit might help gun owners:

Good for them?

They don't need an excuse to justify not publishing that information. It simply shouldn't be published.

Also, burglary when nobody is home ranks far lower on my priority list than attack or hot burglary/home invasion. Knowledge that one is or is likely to be armed would seem to increase likelihood of the former while decreasing likelihood of the latter. That's an exchange that I personally will take every time.

The problem with that is what I call the LoJack Theory: if car thieves have no idea what car might have a LoJack tracer installed, every car owner benefits from the deterrent effect of potential car thieves' fear that any car reported stolen might be readily located by LE. However, if cars with LoJack installed were required to be identified, car thieves would simply target cars w/o LoJack.

Interesting...real world data that indicates the opposite of what you are worrying about. Real world data indicating that the presence of firearms being known decreased burglaries.

I'm not sure what you are saying, though. It seems like burglars, per that data, were targeting homes they believed were less likely to have firearms. Following that logic, letting people know you are likely to be armed by using your carry license as ID would decrease your chances of being targeted, not increase.

Or did I miss something?

In the end this is all a personal decision for each person to make. It's no different than open carry vs concealed carry or carry at all vs not carrying or owning a gun vs not owning a gun. Each person is to decide for themselves what they want to do, and it really shouldn't be a big deal to anybody else.

For the record I don't show mine, but I'm not going to go insulting those who do simply because I choose differently, and I can see benefits to them doing so.

 

[GBExpat]

Showing your CWP is sort of like showing pictures of your baby. Most people are not nearly as impressed with the fact that you have it as you are.

Hahahaha ... Excellent point!

I do still seem to recall being mildly impressed with my CWP-ship (a word?) back in the '70s when I was issued my first few VA CWPs.

Even back then, though, I was careful to not let folks see that I was carrying ... but back then, being young & stupid, I was probably more concerned with being seen as a Hotdog than keeping the fact from the BGs.

 

[Glock19Fan]

I think that if a person believes me to be armed, they are less likely to try to break into my vehicle or my home when I am there.

I think that is a good thing.

I'd rather deter them from attacking me or my family than draw them in under guise of being unarmed and then have to use a firearm.

Warp, you are correct that they would be less likely to invade your home while you are there, but knowing where you live and what vehicle you drive is a huge incentive for someone to break into your house while you are not there. Guns are one of the quickest items to turn into cash and all someone would have to do is watch your vehicle pull out of the driveway and break into your house and clear all your weapons an valuables.

I have had multiple friends have their homes broken into because the wrong person found out about their hobby.

People get too complacent about who they let know about their firearms but now days it is no different than telling someone about your stash of cash, silver, or gold. It doesn't matter how big and tough you think you look with your permit or your AR-15, it just takes a little patience and 2-3 minutes for someone to break into your home and rid you of all your valuables.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I don't think using THCP makes me a burglar magnet--either attracting or repelling

It seems like burglars, per that data, were targeting homes they believed were less likely to have firearms. Following that logic, letting people know you are likely to be armed by using your carry license as ID would decrease your chances of being targeted, not increase.

Personally I don't think using my THCP as a state issued photo ID will increase or decrease my chances of being targeted for burglary. I doubt that, in the course of casing my home, a putative burglar would have any reason to ask me for two state-issued photo ID.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal website intitially allowed search of name (you could add city or zip to narrow searchp) and returned all THCP data including street address which after an uproar was blocked out. I think anyone being able to query the THCP database from a newspaper website on a home or public library desktop computer and getting names and street addresses was a bad idea. http://www.commercialappeal.com/data/gunpermits/ That could be used to case houses for guns.

The study was correlating public release of HCP data by ZIP code to following changes in burglary rates reported to police. It appears that burglars began avoiding zip codes based on fear that even if there is no car in the driveway of a home in that area, some one may be more likely to be home with a gun. and targeting safer neighborhoods where they would be less likely to encounter permit holders; however, it would take a careful survey of successful burglars.

Most burglar surveys are incarcerated inmate surveys which ask felons (not limited to burglars) if burglars are deterred from entering homes where they might encounter an armed resident (the NIJ survey of 1874 gun-using felons Wright & Rossi "Armed and Considered Dangerous" found 74% indicated that burglars avoided occupied dwellings, because of fear of being shot). One could quibble that incarcerated felons who used guns are not representative of successful burglars.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I have had multiple friends have their homes broken into because the wrong person found out about their hobby.

I have known at least two instances where folks were robbed of jewelry or guns because they could not help showing off stuff they were proud of to casual acquaintances, so-called "friends", who came back days later and stole from their home.

 

[Warp]

Warp, you are correct that they would be less likely to invade your home while you are there,

That is a very good thing, since safety of people is priority #1.

but knowing where you live and what vehicle you drive is a huge incentive for someone to break into your house while you are not there. Guns are one of the quickest items to turn into cash and all someone would have to do is watch your vehicle pull out of the driveway and break into your house and clear all your weapons an valuables.

Better than when we are here.

But no, it wouldn't be quite that easy.

Hopefully it wouldn't be that on your home either.

If your only home security is you with a gun, you're doing it wrong.

I have had multiple friends have their homes broken into because the wrong person found out about their hobby.

I'm sorry to hear that.

What kind of security measures did their homes have? In terms of locks, reinforcements to doors and windows, dogs, security systems/monitoring, gun safes, exterior lighting, etc? How were their homes broken into and approximately how long did the thieves have to locate valuables/how many valuables did they get/were they caught?

People get too complacent about who they let know about their firearms

Personal preference and choices here.

I don't consider it complacency.

I personally do not hide the fact that I own firearms.

I am not ashamed to own firearms.

I do not believe it does us good, overall, to hide firearm ownership from the general public.

And I still believe this is more likely to prevent myself and my family from being attacked than the other way around. And as I said above...I'll take that trade Every. Single. Time.

but now days it is no different than telling someone about your stash of cash, silver, or gold. It doesn't matter how big and tough you think you look with your permit or your AR-15, it just takes a little patience and 2-3 minutes for someone to break into your home and rid you of all your valuables.

Again, better they do that than attack me or my family.

That whole "safety is priority #1 thing"...it's pretty important. To me.

And my home isn't was easy to break into and get away with valuables from as most.

It sounds to me like that is the real problem here...fast and easy access to guns that are left in the home.

 

[TennJed]

In Mississippi it looks almost identical to a drivers license, only a slightly different shade.



I have no problem showing it if asked for a second id. I wouldn't use it as an only primary for the reasons stated above. Never can be too safe



I do think we give cashiers too much credit. I doubt many at all would even notice if I showed them my ccw instead if my dl. Again, I have no reason to, I will stick to using my drivers license.



However I do think most of the time it would be much to do about nothing. The majority of the people asking for id never bother really looking. The reason I say this is, I can't tell you how many times I have used my wife's debit card (and run it as credit) and been asked to show id. I have never been denied even though the name in the id doesn't match the card. NEVER.



In case you are wondering me and my wife have seperate checking accounts. Mine pays the regular household bills hers pays the groceries and store type stuff. She has a card with my name for my account (so she doesn't get it confused with her card) and I have one of hers for the same reason.



Anyway we are rarely asked to show id when not using a pin and if we are, we have NEVER been declined. I think sometimes gun owners think more of themselves than other people do. Again, I doubt very many would even notice (if they look similar like MS)