Bennett Prescott
Member
I've just recently moved (like, last week) from the Land of Milk and Honey (New Hampshire) to less libertarian Connecticut. I'm not complaining, I had to move for work, I found a real nice place in a real nice neighborhood, and they let me keep all my guns. Not only that, I already have a state pistol permit, a phone call to the police got my new address put on it and I'm all set to go (now I just have to wait for my out of state from NH!). It could have been a LOT worse (MA, RI, NJ, NY, MD), and I won't be buying that AR-15 anytime soon (CT has their own AWB), but they seem to have a reasonable respect for my right to protect myself and my family, which is all I really care about.
Tuesday, I spend the morning from 8-11 at the DMV getting my ugly mug on a new license. Afterwards I drove on into lovely downtown New Britain to register to vote, and I figured as long as I was there I'd stop by the police department to pick up CCW paperwork for my housemate, who is a long time friend of mine. I was lucky in that I could just change the address on my state permit, if you are already a resident it is about three times the hassle and expense to get a state pistol permit, which is ridiculous, but I digress.
As I'd parked in front of the town hall to do my voter reg, and the police department was only a half mile or so away, I figured I'd walk and see a little of this new place I call home. I was carrying my full size Kimber inside the waist band, with my traditional hawaiian shirt as a cover article. I called the police station ahead of time as long as I was on my way to make sure that they had the forms and I could get them right then and there.
A brief walk through a part of town that had definitely seen a boom, a bust, and was working it's way up again later and I found the police department. Walking up the steps, I was about to go through the front door when I noticed an enormous sign bolted to the opposite wall: "ONLY SWORN PEACE OFFICERS ARE PERMITTED TO CARRY WEAPONS IN THIS BUILDING", per RSA something or other. Normally I'd just put the gun in the car and try again, but the car was another mile round trip away at this point, and besides, I'm not going to inconvenience myself over their stupid rule.
So I got my phone back out and dialed dispatch again. "Hi, I called a little while ago about picking up some pistol permit paperwork? I'm standing outside, and I'd love to come in and get it, but I'm carrying a gun and there's a sign says I'm not welcome."
That seemed to give the woman on the other end a moment for pause, so she asked if she could put me on hold. A minute later she came back on the line and said that someone would be out to help me, and to hold. So I did, casually, phone on my left ear, right hand unconsciously in my pocket.
While several officers came and went, none of them paying me any attention, I failed to realize that I had become the cause of some consternation inside the building. You and I know that I have my permit, and I am here to pick up the paperwork for a friend, but I failed to make that clear to anyone else, so as far as they know there's a man with a gun outside the building looking to get a pistol permit, for which there's probably a fine of life imprisonment in Russia or something ridiculous like that. I normally try and avoid these sorts of situations, but I was feeling a little pugnacious after reading the stupid ordinance and having walked this far to be inconvenienced by it, so I wasn't thinking very carefully.
Eventually, the officer who's going to deal with me comes out and I can tell, since he looks directly at me and holds that look as he approaches and evaluates me. "Get your hand out of your pocket." My expression must have been interesting as it was at this point that I realized that I'd been unclear.
Long story short, he asked me if I was wearing my gun, where it was, and after I very carefully indicated, disarmed me. Then we took a minute for me to explain exactly what was going on here, and why exactly I needed to get into the police station. Once it was clearer that I was not, in fact, a psychopath he had me unload my gun (THAT made me nervous), take off my holster as well, and wait while he went inside to run my license.
Interestingly, nowhere in this discourse did he actually check to see if I had any other guns or weapons on... ordinarily I'm carrying a back up, but it's in the shop. I was, however, wearing my Kershaw Black Blur knife and Surefire E2D LED defender.
Finally he came back outside, brought me in, and I could go and get my paperwork, which took all of 30 seconds. I returned to the lobby and caught his eye behind the glass, and he came back out with my gun.
"So how do you want to do this in reverse?" I asked, since I plainly couldn't reload right here in the lobby of the police station. "Just go outside and turn your back to the street so nobody can see what you're doing", was his reply. So there I was, standing outside a police station, traffic in both directions, facing a tinted window, trying to juggle my paperwork while getting my holster back on my belt, loading a full size 1911, dropping the mag, putting the round that was in the chamber before I was disarmed back in the magazine, re-inserting the magazine, checking the chamber to make sure it was loaded, safetying, holstering, and covering. THAT made me a little nervous.
Stupid. And all because I was very careful to obey the law. Would have been a lot easier if I was a criminal.
Tuesday, I spend the morning from 8-11 at the DMV getting my ugly mug on a new license. Afterwards I drove on into lovely downtown New Britain to register to vote, and I figured as long as I was there I'd stop by the police department to pick up CCW paperwork for my housemate, who is a long time friend of mine. I was lucky in that I could just change the address on my state permit, if you are already a resident it is about three times the hassle and expense to get a state pistol permit, which is ridiculous, but I digress.
As I'd parked in front of the town hall to do my voter reg, and the police department was only a half mile or so away, I figured I'd walk and see a little of this new place I call home. I was carrying my full size Kimber inside the waist band, with my traditional hawaiian shirt as a cover article. I called the police station ahead of time as long as I was on my way to make sure that they had the forms and I could get them right then and there.
A brief walk through a part of town that had definitely seen a boom, a bust, and was working it's way up again later and I found the police department. Walking up the steps, I was about to go through the front door when I noticed an enormous sign bolted to the opposite wall: "ONLY SWORN PEACE OFFICERS ARE PERMITTED TO CARRY WEAPONS IN THIS BUILDING", per RSA something or other. Normally I'd just put the gun in the car and try again, but the car was another mile round trip away at this point, and besides, I'm not going to inconvenience myself over their stupid rule.
So I got my phone back out and dialed dispatch again. "Hi, I called a little while ago about picking up some pistol permit paperwork? I'm standing outside, and I'd love to come in and get it, but I'm carrying a gun and there's a sign says I'm not welcome."
That seemed to give the woman on the other end a moment for pause, so she asked if she could put me on hold. A minute later she came back on the line and said that someone would be out to help me, and to hold. So I did, casually, phone on my left ear, right hand unconsciously in my pocket.
While several officers came and went, none of them paying me any attention, I failed to realize that I had become the cause of some consternation inside the building. You and I know that I have my permit, and I am here to pick up the paperwork for a friend, but I failed to make that clear to anyone else, so as far as they know there's a man with a gun outside the building looking to get a pistol permit, for which there's probably a fine of life imprisonment in Russia or something ridiculous like that. I normally try and avoid these sorts of situations, but I was feeling a little pugnacious after reading the stupid ordinance and having walked this far to be inconvenienced by it, so I wasn't thinking very carefully.
Eventually, the officer who's going to deal with me comes out and I can tell, since he looks directly at me and holds that look as he approaches and evaluates me. "Get your hand out of your pocket." My expression must have been interesting as it was at this point that I realized that I'd been unclear.
Long story short, he asked me if I was wearing my gun, where it was, and after I very carefully indicated, disarmed me. Then we took a minute for me to explain exactly what was going on here, and why exactly I needed to get into the police station. Once it was clearer that I was not, in fact, a psychopath he had me unload my gun (THAT made me nervous), take off my holster as well, and wait while he went inside to run my license.
Interestingly, nowhere in this discourse did he actually check to see if I had any other guns or weapons on... ordinarily I'm carrying a back up, but it's in the shop. I was, however, wearing my Kershaw Black Blur knife and Surefire E2D LED defender.
Finally he came back outside, brought me in, and I could go and get my paperwork, which took all of 30 seconds. I returned to the lobby and caught his eye behind the glass, and he came back out with my gun.
"So how do you want to do this in reverse?" I asked, since I plainly couldn't reload right here in the lobby of the police station. "Just go outside and turn your back to the street so nobody can see what you're doing", was his reply. So there I was, standing outside a police station, traffic in both directions, facing a tinted window, trying to juggle my paperwork while getting my holster back on my belt, loading a full size 1911, dropping the mag, putting the round that was in the chamber before I was disarmed back in the magazine, re-inserting the magazine, checking the chamber to make sure it was loaded, safetying, holstering, and covering. THAT made me a little nervous.
Stupid. And all because I was very careful to obey the law. Would have been a lot easier if I was a criminal.
