Need help. Pros and cons of different states.

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Blarelli

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I am a Utahn. Love it here, carry a gun to school everyday, but that can't last. I am applying to dental school next year, and that means moving out of state. I am starting to put together a list of schools I will be applying to, and I am starting to take living factors into consideration, including gun laws. If residents of these states could put down a few pros and cons of their states gun laws, I would really appreciate it.

West Virginia University School of Dentistry
Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas
University of Alabama School of Dentistry
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry
Ohio State University, School of Dentistry
University of Oklahoma School of Dentistry
University of Tennessee School of Dentistry
Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Massachussetts
Creighton University School of Dentistry, Nebraska
University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Dentistry
 
I don't live in any of them, but the only state on that list that I would avoid is Massachussetts. The rest should be OK, unless you are looking into NFA.
 
Don't waste your time on Ma,the firearms law here are the same as the Federal AWB. Permits to carry are issued at the discretion of the COP.
 
You may want to consider where you want to practice in that equation as well.

I don't know squat about dental schools. But I do know that when I was in engineering school during the last ice age, the school made a huge difference in what part of the country you were likely to work in.

So, if that applies to Dental school, you may want to trade a little for a few years of school to have a lifetime of what you want.

Oh, and I really would not want to live in Las Vegas. The rest of Nevada is fine with me, but I can't stand Vegas.
 
Don't waste your time on Ma,the firearms law here are the same as the Federal AWB. Permits to carry are issued at the discretion of the COP.
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+1,000,000. If you care about your freedom and rights as a gun owner, hell, if you care about your freedom and rights as a human being, do not under any circumstances consider relocating to this Commie hell hole. Due to family obligations and a very good job I've endured this place my entire adult life and when I retire in a couple years I am gone, gone, gone.
 
yeah, i would say that all of those are decent to good with the one glaring exception of MA. in comparing the others, it really depends on what's most important to you. for instance, TX has no open carry but possibly the best use-of-force laws in the nation. if you intend to CCW, the costs associated with getting the license can also vary significantly. if you're planning on reciprocity with UT, you should do some research to see where it will apply.
 
OH is probably the best there from my own experience. I live in KY on the border of OH and their firearms laws are pretty good compared to the other state I have lived in which was MI. And MI isnt that bad either. I also live on the border of WV and that seems to be at least as good as OH.
 
Texas does offer reciprocity with Utah. The only negatives would be that would would not be exempted from the instant background check when buying a gun from a FHL, and you wouldn't get the exemption from the federal "gun free zone" law. This means that you would not be able to carry in school zones. The exemption from "gun free zones" only applies if you hold a CHL from the state that you are in. So, you would have to get a Texas CHL to be able to carry in a school zone. That will cost you about $100-150 for the class and $140 for the actual permit (yes, the State of Texas bends you over if you want a TX CHL), and Texas charges $75 for a renewal AND makes you take a class before you can renew. Unless the school zone thing really bothers you, you'd be better off just keeping your Utah CFP.

Other than the aforementioned issues, Texas is a great place as far as gun ownership and use. As TX Bulldog said, if you actually had to use deadly force to defend yourself, Texas IS the state you would want to be in.
 
I know Utah is mountainous and cold. Have you considered that some of your locations are devoid of mountains and some are very hot compared to Utah. Might be important to you or it might not be depending on how much you will miss the mountains and the cool weather. Columbus, Oh State University, is flat as a pancake, no mountains for about 200 miles. Baylor in Tex is going to be hot, hot, hot compared to Utah. U of Tenn in Knoxville is near the Great Smokies. Lots of outdoor fun. WVU in Morgantown WV is in the mountains and there is plenty of snow skiing. Otherwise, gun laws look good in all of your choices with the exception of Mass.
 
I live in Knoxville TN where UT is. I assume the dental school is at the UTK campus. If you want to move to a very beautiful region that is gun friendly, this is the place to be. Lots of places to shoot, great weather, mountains close by...... its an all around great place to live.
 
OK is very gun friendly.

If you move here, I'll take you to some pistol matches.

Plus, OU is renowned for its medical classes
 
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I think you should choose the best school you can afford in the part of the country you hope to practice. School choice makes a difference and firearms would be low on my list of concerns. You can tolerate just about any state laws for a time it takes to get through dental school. You finish school and you leave.

In terms of geography and climate, I am partial to Tennessee. Seems like a fairly good school from my limited experience.
 
I would scratch off Massachussetts due to the anti gun laws and Las Vegas due to multiple reasons. Most of the other states on your list are OK gun wise so I would focus on the other important issues like weather, cost of living, fun things to do, pretty girls. :D
 
Nevada is good as far as the gun laws go. Shall issue CCW, NFA is allowed, open carry is legal (although it will get you stopped in Vegas.). There is also lots of open desert to shoot in.
However, I'm not sure about dental but I can tell you that the medical here sucks. I am a nurse and I can't believe the garbage that goes on in this town.
Plus you would still be relatively close to home for visits.
 
I would not let ccw laws influence where I would go to school. Go to the best school you can get into. You can write your ticket to any place you want to practice afterwards.
 
Oklahoma doesn't have open carry, but tied with Alaska for dead last on the Brady Bunch's gun laws list last year. It's a very gun friendly state.
 
Boomer Sooner!

Go to OU.... but I am kinda biased :-/

As far as gun laws....
Get an Oklahoma driver's license and residence in the state and you can buy whatever.
Take a class and go through the paperwork you can get a CHL,CCW,CHP whatever it's called.
Hunting is big here.
There is a fair amount of competitive shooting and ranges.

As far as Oklahoma....
Bricktown (downtown OKC) has been given a major facelift, we have an NBA team now that may win a game someday in the future, and there are lots of great stores/restaurants all on the riverwalk.

As far as Norman goes.... we have OU football.

Oklahoma is a good place to live, good cost of living, etc.
The type of people who hate living here generally want to go to places like New York City or California.
 
Columbus, Oh State University, is flat as a pancake
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It's nowhere near as flat as Utah's 2500 square miles of Bonneville Salt Flats and Great Salt Lake. :D

Ohio is generally pretty "carry friendly". There are some great gun shops and places to shoot/hunt around central Ohio.
However, you will not be able to CCW on the OSU campus or in an OSU Hospital system facility.
How many universities in any state permit CCW on their campuses? If Utah schools do, you might want to stay there.
As has been said already a few times.....choose your school for the education which will give you the best future, not for it's state's gun policies.
 
I'll recommend Texas, although I don't live there. I've spent a lot of time in Texas over my life, and I continue to go there a few times each year. They 'get it' in Texas. And Baylor is a fine school.
 
Are you planning a permanent move or just staying long enough to graduate? If temporary then Harvard is the most prestigious school. If admitted I would put up with their stupid laws long enough to get my degree there and then move. After graduation if you really enjoy exercising your Second Amendment rights then go back to Utah. I lived there 1996-2000 and it is by far the most gun friendly state I have personally experienced.

TX, OK, TN, AR, are also very good in my experience. Others, too, but I haven't been to all of them. I lived in OH 1992-96 and the big cities (Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton) are very anti-gun with semi-auto bans, waiting periods on sales, and other nonsense going beyond state law.
 
I agree with the others, pic the right school and don't worry about the gun laws for a few years.

That said, I'm close to VCU and can tell you VA is gun freindly. We have open carry and shall issue for concealed carry. Not sure about carry on campus.

VCU is 2 hours from the mountains, 2 hours from the beach, and 2 hours from DC if you like museums and monuments. There are plenty of places to shoot close by, good hunting and fishing, and you'll be seriously dissapointed in the skiing here.
 
I lived in OH 1992-96 and the big cities (Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton) are very anti-gun with semi-auto bans, waiting periods on sales, and other nonsense going beyond state law.
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Whoa.....None of that is currently valid in Ohio...This is the year 2009, not 1996. :)
Statewide Ohio law has superseded all of those antiquated, goofy, and varied municipal ordinances of the past.
Ohio has no semi-auto bans, no waiting periods, we have open carry, CCW laws are pretty good, a "Castle Doctrine" is in place, etc, etc, etc.
 
Texas charges $75 for a renewal AND makes you take a class before you can renew.
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You don't have to take the class again, you simply have to re-qualify/prove you can still hit the target. Takes maybe half a day.

+1 for Texas CCW. Though I'd like to see some expanded firearm freedoms, I agree with bulldog on the use-of-force laws being on our side here.
 
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