Not In Kansas Anymore

[lizziedog1]

That is the famous line form The Wizard of OZ.

About five years ago I moved east one state from California. It didn't take long for me to get the I'm Not In California Anymore feeling.

We have a small bakery here. Every Saturday morning a bunch of the "regulars" show up for there morning bull session. This was one of the first places I visited when I moved here.

I went inside and there were several handguns laid out on the table where these gentlemen were sitting. It was a show and tell session. A local Sheriff even entered the establishment to get a cup of Joe for the road, he didn't even bat an eye about all these exposed weapons, some with loaded magazines next to them. The bakery owner even added his handgun to the display.

Now, for the ones of you that have moved from a gun restrictive to a gun friendly state, what was your I'm Not In Kansas Anymore moment? What was the first that happened that made you realize you made a smart move?

 

[SaxonPig]

I left CA in 1992. Went to my 1st gun show in my new state and saw auto knives and machine guns for sale.

"Free at last...

Free at last...

Thank God almighty, free at last."

-Martin Luther king

 

[The Bushmaster]

My new bank was raffling off a .22-250 Remington and had it on display in the customer area on a table with a gun rag so you could pick it up, examine it and wipe it off when you were through.

Arrived here in Ava, MO from Ventura, USSR of C July 13 2006 a free man...

 

[Jeff F]

Back in the mid or late 90's I lived in California but was sent to Reno for work for a month. I was in a Longs drug store waiting for a prescription and watched a guy come in and buy a Glock 9mm and a couple boxes of ammo and walk out the door with his purchase in less time then it took to fill my prescription. I moved here a couple months later.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

These stories should find their way into the newspapers in the big California cities. It would make a lot of CA citizens mad to the bone. Then maybe they'd wake up and do something.

 

[MedWheeler]

Who was it here that just said the other day in reference to having moved from New York "I feel that, for the first time, I've been given the same rights the criminals only had."? Someone else noted that that would be a good sig line..

 

[FROGO207]

Tis sad that one ever had to experience that feeling.:banghead: Growing up in rural Maine in the 60's and 70's was close to perfect. I am still enjoying what some may never see unless you move. When you do leave write a letter to the editor of the local paper and let them know why they lost your talent, vote and taxpayer $$$ to a free state.

 

[k-frame]

Not so much me as a friend of mine who moved here from Florida (but his comment made me appreciate where we live.)

We went to a gun show and I bought a pistol, cleared the background check and took it home. All within about 30 minutes, mostly waiting for the background check. He was astounded that I didn't have to wait three days. Said he: "Man, every day I am glad I moved out of that state!"

 

[ATBackPackin]

I moved to Pennsylvania from Maryland about 9 years ago. I lived in Maryland pretty much my whole life except the 5 years I spent in the Corps. To give you an example, when I first got my LTCF (carry permit) I actually felt like I was doing something illegal. Living in Maryland for so long I knew that only LEO's, criminals, and the very few fortunate were allowed to carry.

Oh and I forgot about that pesty waiting period for handguns in Maryland too.



It was very liberating.

Shawn

 

[oneounceload]

Back in the mid or late 90's I lived in California but was sent to Reno for work for a month. I was in a Longs drug store waiting for a prescription and watched a guy come in and buy a Glock 9mm and a couple boxes of ammo and walk out the door with his purchase in less time then it took to fill my prescription. I moved here a couple months later.

The Long's in Carson used to sell guns, liquor and drugs - all in a one-stop shop

Neat store

 

[armoredman]

I grew up in Free AZ, but was stationed in California from 86-89. I was very glad to move back here.
I have run into some refugees from very restrictive states who refuse to believe what our laws actually are, and demand to know where to register their firearms, or will I PLEASE stop kidding around and tell them what the process is to get a permit to purchase. When they "get it", the look is priceless. Welcome to freedom.

 

[medalguy]

Welcome to Texas. If you have a CHL, when you buy a gun they don't even have to do the NICS check. Pay your money, fill out the 4473, and walk out. Welcome to a free state!!

 

[straightshooter9]

Actually FLORIDA is one of the more liberal states when it comes to guns...
if you have a CWP there's no waiting.........it's very easy to get a CWP and "printing" is allowed. The hacks are working on an "open carry" scenario, we'll see where that goes.
I lived in ATLANTA for a number of years and saw a lot of the "good ole" boys carry open with no problem, usually not in downtown HOTLANTA, though.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

"Welcome to Texas. If you have a CHL, when you buy a gun they don't even have to do the NICS check. Pay your money, fill out the 4473, and walk out. Welcome to a free state!! " Not saying I agree with the BATF's actions, but this is probably why Texas and some other border states are now having to do extra reporting on assault weapon sales. If NICS checks have been unnecessary before, then attention to the border problem is now adding some other BATF regs, etc.

 

[orionengnr]

Those guns are not flowing into Mexico through CHL holders. Despite what the corrupt and incompetent Eric Holder or the BATFE say.

If you have a Texas CHL, you do not have a criminal record. If you commit a disqualifying crime, your CHL is revoked. So the phone call to NICS is redundant.

Back OT...when I moved to TX from IL, I found out I could get my CHL after being here six months. Talk about an "A Ha!" moment.

 

[papaairbear]

Yes, welcome to freedom. But we have work to do to keep it this way. Those whose attitudes you have escaped are following you and are impinging on these freedoms we share. So please, let me passionately implore you to help us preserve our freedoms. Join the NRA, vote to preserve the things you pulled up stakes and moved for, and donate to those institutions dedicated to preserving all of this for us. Ok, off my soap box!

 

[Standing Wolf]

When I left California for Colorado in 2002, it took all of ten minutes to acquire the Colt Python I hadn't legally been able to "import" in California.

The permit to carry concealed firearms took three weeks to be delivered, not the month promised. The little female deputy who rolled my finger prints thanked me for getting my permit. Virtually nobody notices my openly carried guns.

I don't even miss the beaches any more.

 

[smalls]

Although I left Canada when I was very young, I still visit pretty frequently (my whole family still resides there). None of my family members can grasp the concept of legally carrying a handgun. And a lot of them are hunters/"gun guys"!

 

[Averageman]

" Not saying I agree with the BATF's actions, but this is probably why Texas and some other border states are now having to do extra reporting on assault weapon sales. If NICS checks have been unnecessary before, then attention to the border problem is now adding some other BATF regs, etc.
Or it could be the "Operation Gun Runner/ Fast and Furious" that the BATFE totally screwed up.

 

[leserz]

i lived most all my life in illinois. what a bunch of BS there with guns. need a foid card saying you went thru a state back ground check need it to buy any ammo or gun then buy one and need another back ground check . waiting period for hand gun shotgun little less time. your gun needs to be in a case or in your trunk bla bla bla. now i live in arkansas it's like another world here walk in a store put your money down a 2 minute back ground check walk out the door with your gun . lay it down on the seat next to you it's cool as long as its not loaded. now if it is hid under the seat then it is considered a concealed weapon then if you don't have a carry permit and then you could be in trouble if you got stopped and they want to do a car search . tennessee is the same as arkansas

 

[philpost]

Who was it here that just said the other day in reference to having moved from New York "I feel that, for the first time, I've been given the same rights the criminals only had."? Someone else noted that that would be a good sig line..

I may have said it (I forget the details of every post I make ) but if I didn't, it sure as heck applies to me and I stand by it! When I lived in NYC, in a nice neighborhood, you didn't have to be a genius to figure out that me and my neighbors would have been severely outgunned by the residents of the public housing projects down the road. I used to worry about what would happen in the event of the thin blue line being overstretched for whatever reason. The other side of the coin was the liberal/leftist mentality that prevented me from taking the appropriate steps due to not wanting to be ostracized as a nazi weapon owner, as well as having to travel for hours and pay $300+ to register a .22 rifle with the police.

 

[KodiakBeer]

Fifteen or twenty years ago I was fishing at the mouth of one of the small rivers here on the Kodiak road system on a drizzly July day. A half dozen Germans were going by on horses, guests of a little ranch at the head of the bay there. One of them had stopped to chat with me while I was fileting a bunch of pink salmon and as that happened, a little brown bear which had been hanging around all morning decided he would make a move across the river at the fisherman there. He was just a little guy, and he probably thought he could make off with some easy fish.

Anyway, he puffed up and started across the creek and the four or five guys down there (about 30 or 40 yards away from where I was) almost simultaneously pulled big revolvers out from beneath their rain gear and sent a thunderous barrage into the water ahead of the bear. I can't tell you how loud that was! There is a rocky bluff there along the river on the side the fishermen (and me and the Germans) were on and that seemed to echo the sound and make it even louder.

The bear skedaddled, one of the Germans nearly fell off his horse trying to keep it in control, then everybody put the guns away and picked up their fishing poles again. The German I was chatting with had a very definite "I'm not in Deutschland any more" look on his face. I don't remember the words, but he expressed considerable consternation that all of these people around him were armed.

 

[Chedderbob]

grew up in Oklahoma my entire life, was in my local academy sporting goods. Guy that just moved here from California was looking at an Evil AR-15. Conversation went about like this.
Cali Guy:"So how long is the wait to get one of these?"
Clerk: "usually less than 30 mins.... you in a hurry?"
Cali Guy: *Chuckles* "You must be mistaken, can I please see a manager?"

Took the manager, two clerks, myself, and two other customers to convince him he could walk out the door with the firearm, as many 30rd mags as he could carry, and cases of ammo in less than an hour.

He honestly thought all states were as awful as California.

 

[Hangingrock]

There is a generalization concerning the South about being firearms friendly. When I relocated from Pennsylvania to North Carolina what a contradiction I was now a resident of the Massachusetts of the South.

At the time frame not a shall issue state and purchasing permits were required for handguns. The purchasing permits required are issued by the county of residence Sherriff’s office. The paper work included personal references requirement. When shall issue became law a course requirement was stipulated in order for a NC-CHP to be issued.

Its gotten better over the years but its still like pulling teeth out of a chicken in regards to firearms issues. The NC Senate and House of Representatives are now with a Republican majority so some good things have been accomplished but there is a long road to go.

 

[RogueLeader]

Been a lot of different places with my 20 years in the Air Force. In Michigan, I could get a handgun, but I had to get a "pistol purchase permit," and then had to register it with the local police. In California, before 1990, I could buy a handgun from the local gun shops (Victorville) without problems (pre bradybill). I now live in Nevada, and the length of time it takes to purchase any gun is the time it takes to get the background check and the paperwork done. The only place that has restrictions is the Base Exchange. You can't buy a gun and ammo on the same day, which I see as reasonable for the location. As far as carrying a handgun, according to Las Vegas Metro PD, Nevada is an open carry state. They don't have laws preventing OC, so it's legal. In the LVMPD jurisdiction, a handgun can be loaded and concealed anywhere in a vehicle, as long as it is not in a purse, or any other bag that can be removed from the car with the handgun inside, as long as the owner does not have a CCW permit. With the CCW, there is no problem carrying concealed in the vehicle. I wish the state would pass a concealed weapons law similar to Arizona's. It is easy enough to get a CCW here, just take a class, submit an application to Metro ($100.25), wait for the background check, and waiting for the permit to be mailed.