Would you take a gun?

[Kendal Black]

Wow I'm highly surprised that the majority say leave the gun at home. Obviously you guys have NO IDEA of the reality of this world. You guys have obviously never seen true evil, because a man who has will never allow himself to be unarmed. It just blows my mind how naive people are.

Obviously you guys have NO IDEA of the reality of this world.

Send us a postcard when you arrive.

 

[msparks]

I look at this the same way as when I travel to towns over the weekend. I can't carry on the plane, so I try to be as safe as possible. Also when I travel with the Army I can't carry, so I just stick in groups and be as safe as I can.

My advice is not mess with it. Just be smart and keep situational awareness.

 

[ExAgoradzo]

Leave the gun, take the cannoli.

 

[mortablunt]

I'd carry the gun if you were 100% certain that you could get away with it.

Thanks to the fact that housing moved their feet and I got lucky, I am now out of the 24/7 Pot party that was my old 3 man room and I'm now in a single. Security at my campus NEVER goes into rooms or checks for anything. It's a bit risky, but I'm thinking that one of these days I might get a lockbox and an M1911.

 

[devans0]

You have a lot to lose by getting caught carrying, the social repercussions could derail any career even if you are completely in your rights and legal. if you carry, do a very deep conceal carry. I wouldn't. There are many options that are much less emotionally loaded, and that won't screw up a career that you've invested a fortune of time and money on. It isn't fair, but get over it.

 

[Mr.Blue]

Leave the gun, take the cannoli.

Haha. Classic!

 

[-eaux-]

On a schoolbus type fieldtrip, take comfort in "safety in numbers".
+1 on a short sturdy walking stick. So you're young, so what? Young people can't twist an ankle? I'd rather have a club at a knife fight than a knife at a club fight.
If this is a school facilitated trip, leave the gun at home. Your most valuable weapon (as always) will be situational awareness. Oh, and a heavy stick.

 

[doc2rn]

Most colleges claim that while on school sponsored trips you are their ambassador and their rules still apply i.e.= "No Guns Allowed". Besides I never felt the need to carry for myself, I am a sheepdog at heart. I carry to protect those closest to me, yes I am willing and all that. On my own I see little reason to carry more than a pocket folder and maybe an expandable baton, but thats just me.

 

[LibShooter]

You guys have obviously never seen true evil, because a man who has will never allow himself to be unarmed.

It's about weighing relative risks and possible consequences. Having your gun discovered on a school outing might have a very serious negative impact on your future. So might needing the gun and not having it. But scores of business trips, hotel stays and museum visits without incident suggest to me the bigger risk in this case is taking the gun.

 

[DeepSouth]

It's about weighing relative risks and possible consequences. Having your gun discovered on a school outing might have a very serious negative impact on your future. So might needing the gun and not having it. But scores of business trips, hotel stays and museum visits without incident suggest to me the bigger risk in this case is taking the gun.

The problem is when that thinking is wrong, and the bigger risk is.....dying.
Thousands of people go out to eat everyday, but ask Suzanna Hupp what the biggest mistake of her life was.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TufS87KZYg

Hunter125, if someone kicks your motel room door in, stabs you a hundred times and eats your liver, all these people who are telling you to leave your gun at home want be there to take care of your family or pay for your funeral. Just sayin.

What you do is your business, it should be a decision between you and your family. After considering the possible results of both circumstances it is, in the end, YOUR decision to do what you believe best for you and your family. The people here likely want know if you get killed in a motel or kicked out of school. Your decisions want likely affect us. I guess what I'm trying to say is IMO, your asking the wrong people.

 

[x_wrench]

if it is a required part of the class, i am certain that the school at least would consider it the same as being on school property. and some legal issues may arise simply because of that. it may be that while you are "in class", all the rules that apply legally to the classroom, apply where ever you may be while studying. so in that case, are you willing to throw away your education for the small chance that something bad will happen. don't get me wrong. i carry as much as possible. but sometimes, you have to take a chance, or you will never get anywhere. and if a court of law finds that carrying while on a class trip is the same as carrying in class, you will probably loose your carry permit, and there may also be real criminal charges on top of that. personally, i would leave the gun at home.

 

[BADUNAME37]

If your belongings are in a hotel room, in a separate location from where you are, how does one know whether someone (anyone) may go through your things, just out of curiosity?

If you have to take it and hide the fact that you are taking it and if it is going on or in any places at all where it is not allowed, you are breaking the law.

In my opinion, I would feel safer and more at ease if I were in such a situation, to just leave all the guns at home. Many times, I go to an adjoining state which is about ten minutes from where I live. In that state, one must either carry openly or carry with a license to carry concealed. Whenever I go to that state, all guns and ammo stay at home. It simply is not worth the hassle if, for any number of reasons, I may end up getting caught with a gun!

Now, if I happen to be going to a friend's house in that state, the state requires a person to have the gun separate from any ammunition, and both out of reach of the driver. So, I would put the gun with a lock on it in my trunk and I would put the ammo in a tool box with a padlock. That way, if anything should happen, say, a collision, I don't need to worry at all that I might be breaking any laws.

 

[Sam1911]

If you have to take it and hide the fact that you are taking it and if it is going on or in any places at all where it is not allowed, you are breaking the law.

This isn't strictly true. You may feel the need to hide it, and hide the fact that you're taking it, without breaking any laws at all. Most of us hide the fact that we're taking a gun with us every day, though we're breaking no laws. Anyone who doesn't open-carry does so.

Second, there are many places where guns are "not allowed" by various powers-that-be, wherein that prohibition is not backed up by any law. If I carry a gun in a local amusement park it is "not allowed" by park rules, but not prohibited by state law, so my risks are limited to being asked to leave.

You guys have obviously never seen true evil, because a man who has will never allow himself to be unarmed.

None of us would advocate being "unarmed." But few of us would agree that simply not having a firearm with you makes you UNARMED. There's lots of tools in the toolbox (some already mentioned here) and some are more feasible in some circumstances than others. Many of us spend large portions of every day or every week in buildings, locations, sites, or even whole states where having a firearm on hand at all times is unlawful and/or impossible. We cannot, however, consider ourselves "unarmed." "Unarmed' is a mindset failure, not a toolset limitation.

I absolutely agree that you must weight the likelihood of violent altercation (probably slim in general) in which only a firearm would avail you (slimmer yet), modified by your heightened practices of situational awareness (to avoid danger) and your secondary defensive capabilities (what other tools in the toolbox?) -- against the danger presented by discovery (more likely in a directed group traveling and lodging together) and censure by your institution (serious repercussions for loss of your educational investment and loss of future livelihood).

You can't carry daily right now due to your state's limitations. By what means do you avoid trouble and prepare to defend yourself during your daily life? How do you foresee those means not being sufficient during your planned trip? If you will be exposed to heightened risks during this trip, what can you do to step up your capabilities without risking your whole career?

 

[Neo-Luddite]

In the end, you must be your own council on this one. I've been in very similar situations in similar circumstances. Utmost in my mind would be the fact that you would seem to have little control over the safe storage of the weapon for large time gaps in places where theft (especially of weapons) is quite common and/ or someone might get hold of it or 'discover' if and turn the whole matter into something else entirely (ie. you're not a nice person with a sidearm but a raving lunatic ready to go on a murder spree).

But the other side of the coin is, I've found myself really wanting my not-with-me-on-that-trip weapon when I've had a hopped up junky pacing around the hotel hallway at 3 AM looking for a fix and believing his connection was behind my room's door. NOT FUN.

And I have sat in Cole 101 on the NIU Campus for 100's of lectures back in the day---and we all remember with stark sadness what happened there not long ago.

You'll have to decide---my only practical advice is *if* you bring a weapon have a plan for safely getting rid of it if need be and stand ready to account for your actions. From what I know of most accademics, they would fry you like an egg if they caught you and decimate your career possibilities.

ps - Two good non-lethal items for hotel room defense no one could even balk at (except to say you are eccentric)----Good old 2-3 D cell maglite & a smaller dry chem (powder) fire extinguisher. Take Care and good luck in your studies and travels. Mike B.

 

[BADUNAME37]

If you have to take it and hide the fact that you are taking it and if it is going on or in any places at all where it is not allowed, you are breaking the law.

This isn't strictly true. You may feel the need to hide it, and hide the fact that you're taking it, without breaking any laws at all. Most of us hide the fact that we're taking a gun with us every day, though we're breaking no laws. Anyone who doesn't open-carry does so.

Second, there are many places where guns are "not allowed" by various powers-that-be, wherein that prohibition is not backed up by any law. If I carry a gun in a local amusement park it is "not allowed" by park rules, but not prohibited by state law, so my risks are limited to being asked to leave.

I certainly did not create that sentence the way it was intended.
Let me try again.

What makes this different than being home is when one is home, they can usually store their firearms legally and not be concerned about them.

However, when one is on the road, there may be restrictions set in place in such a manner so as to make anything you do with the gun unlawful -- most certainly not out of any of your doing, but simply just by having the firearm with you. For example, no weapons permitted in the motel room you have rented, no weapons permitted on a bus you need to go from point A to point B and back to point A again, no weapons permitted in certain buildings you need to frequent, etc. If the scenario plays out like the above two sentences, how does one carry on their person and be within the law?

 

[Sam1911]

However, when one is on the road, there may be restrictions set in place in such a manner so as to make anything you do with the gun unlawful -- most certainly not out of any of your doing, but simply just by having the firearm with you. For example, no weapons permitted in the motel room you have rented, no weapons permitted on a bus you need to go from point A to point B and back to point A again, no weapons permitted in certain buildings you need to frequent, etc. If the scenario plays out like the above two sentences, how does one carry on their person and be within the law?

Certainly agreed! Giving up control of your schedule, itinerary, means of transportation, etc. means you may be placed in a situation where you'll break the law. This can be mitigated, especially if you REALLY understand the laws of the places you'll be visiting, but can't be entirely eliminated.

And, being a school or professional type trip where you're part of a group, halting the entire group (or abandoning it) so that you can head back to the hotel room and stash your gun is of just about the same level of consequence as being blatantly discovered carrying. That won't end well.

 

[steveracer]

If it would be legal, I would bring it in a heartbeat. Campus policies are garbage. If you get thrown out of school for defending your life, you are still alive.

 

[BADUNAME37]

Yes, I agree, Sam, I think I stated it more the way I had it in my head. I agree with what you wrote.

 

[wamj2008]

Hey man. You're probably not going to need a gun. You have a wife, I don't know if you have kids. But you have a family, and getting kicked out of school with nothing to show for it but debt (I'm assuming), is not a great outcome for the two of you. Like the others implied, your brain is your best SD weapon. Just my 2 cents.

 

[BADUNAME37]

If it would be legal, I would bring it in a heartbeat. Campus policies are garbage. If you get thrown out of school for defending your life, you are still alive.

Yes, alive, but maybe WISHING that perhaps you WEREN'T if "the system" wants to make an example of you!

 

[thom1960]

A no brainer for me. If you can legally carry, carry! When ever I question whether or not to carry I quickly remind myself that when seconds count the cops are only minutes away!

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

If it would be legal, I would bring it in a heartbeat. Campus policies are garbage. If you get thrown out of school for defending your life, you are still alive.

The sky is not falling and the Zombies are not attacking.

Living in a state where it is still illegal to carry concealed (unless you are on the political payroll) has made me aware of some things. You can survive without carrying as long as you are aware of your surroundings and don't be stupid. I live, literally, in the middle of one of the biggest gang areas in Illinois and I get by just fine not carrying. Now granted I do have a firearm within easy reach in EVERY room in my home, but when out, I just use a healthy dose of intelligence and situational awareness.

As 90% of us have said, it is NOT worth the risk of getting kicked out of your graduate program by doing something on a SCHOOL outing.

 

[JTHunter]

Hunter125 - your best choice would be to find a better location even if the school isn't quite as good.

 

[Shadowdancer]

I'd leave it home. You are traveling with a group. There is safety in numbers. How many times have you needed to pull your weapon in the past 10 years? Is it worth the risk of ruining your career and future because of a tiny possibility? If we spent as much time perfecting our driving skills as we do worrying about our firearm skills, the roads would be much safer. Of course, if you are going to South Central LA, New Orleans, or Harlem... you may need to reevaluate.

 

[Chris-bob]

If you can truly conceal it at all times, then take it. If there is a chance of it being found or seen, leave it. It does no good to take it if you have to leave it in a place that is out of reach. If I could, I would carry everywhere. Unfortunately, I work in an airport and am not 'supposed' to have any firearms(I've broken this rule before). I also travel regularly, so I cannot carry during those times. But whenever I can carry, I do. I even carried when I was on grand jury duty(no security at the state courthouse here).