Contractors / tradesmen etc. Carry in homes?

MrJT

MrJT

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I have some questions for the contractors and tradesmen etc. out there who work in peoples houses.

Do you carry your gun in their home?

Do you inform them of it?

How would you respond if they spotted you and asked you to remove it?
 
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It's an interesting question. The opposite is worth consideration too. If you observed a tradesman in your home with a handgun on his belt, what would you think?

I rarely have any reason to go into someone's home who is not a close personal friend but I can think of one case and I always leave my pistol in the car.

A home is much different than a place of business, and that is true both in contemplation of law and also morally and ethically, as far as I am concerned. If I don't know the person well enough to KNOW how they would feel about it, I don't bring the gun into their residence and I don't ask. I would appreciate the same courtesy from others.
 
I am an electrical contractor and do a lot of remodeling for house flippers. Many of their houses are in undesirable parts of town, maybe abandoned and broken in to. Usually the guy I meet there and myself are both packing heat and bright flashlights.

When at a customer's home I generally do not carry unless it is a rough area. I think that it would be rude and maybe an insult to carry a weapon into someone's residence. Probably would cost you a job and you know how people talk and post on the net. Just may bite you in the rear.

Bottom line, I will try to protect myself while still playing the odds on when to carry or not.

I would not ever place myself in a position where a homeowner saw my weapon while inside their home.
 
I'm a professional locksmith. I've been in thousands of homes and businesses. I carry.

Since I can find myself going from one end of town to the other or to other cities near or far, I can't predict when I "think" I'll need it.

There are some places that I don't carry. Have to leave it in a lock box in my work van. Those are obviously areas where it is not legal like court houses ect....

Examples of why I carry and will continue to do so.

Several years ago a lady calls me out at night. Needs her locks changed. I get there, she says the lock on the front door. I change it and while I'm waiting to be paid, in walks her deadbeat boyfriend who immediately demands that I give him a key. Then at the top of the stairs appears ANOTHER lady that I hadn't seen or talked to. Turned out her girlfriend called me out so she wouldn't have too. The side of her face was black and blue and bloody. She screams at her boyfriend and yelled obscenities at him while I stood there. She paid me and as I tried to sneak out the front door the deadbeat grabs me and asks for a key again. I said no. Then he pushed me. So I pushed him down the stairs. (he was ok but I didn't care).


We secure crack houses.

Change the locks on businesses because "we fired someone and they are a gun owner!":rolleyes:

"I'm the executor of the will but my brother just helped himself to everything!"

Like law enforcement, we get to see the worst in people. Just not to the extreme as cops do. I've been assaulted twice. Bit twice by dogs that supposedly didn't bite. Been threatened many many times because they got evicted or thrown out by their significant other. I've even been chased away from business by employees that were loyal to either the husband or wife as they were getting a divorce. :eek:

After twenty years of doing this, yes you bet your behind I carry. I carry one gun (two after dark), a reload, Benchmade knife, and a Streamlight.
 
As a few others stated, concealed means concealed. Nobody should see it, thus no questions and no hassles. What you have on you (knife, gun or even a condom in your wallet) is YOUR business and nobody else's business. No need to ask permission or announce what's on you/in your pocket (at least IMNSHO).

Last week I was in my PD, talking with the dispatcher, secretary, chief and deputy. I was CCW'g and nobody asked any questions (the biggest bulge is my cell phone and some of my students occasionally guess it's a gun :)).

Like the locksmith, I serve legal papers and perform evictions. No way I'm doing this job unarmed. When doing an eviction, I don't ask the mover or the locksmith that I hire if they are armed . . . that's their business (but I think they'd be foolish not to be armed), we just don't discuss such matters even though we'd all be on the same team.
 
First of all, you need to look at the laws in your state. In my state, you must ask permission of a home owner/renter/legal resident to legally carry in their dwelling. Violation of this is a crime, they do not need to ask you to leave first.
 
Clovishound said:
First of all, you need to look at the laws in your state. In my state, you must ask permission of a home owner/renter/legal resident to legally carry in their dwelling. Violation of this is a crime, they do not need to ask you to leave first.
Click to expand...

You could be right. However concealed means concealed. If they don't know, then why worry about it?
 
TRADESMEN AND CC

I was an Rn that did home visits to bad areas and bad times of day/night. I carried as did many of the smarter more exp'd women. would we EVER tell the Pt, homeowner, or Mgt? a resounding HELL NO. your job would be instantly over. if a homeowner saw it, you can't make them un-see it, so their house / their rules, and be dam polite about it. I would not appreciate someone bringing a cc into my house without asking permission first, as a matter of respect to me. would I let them in with a gun, some yes but certainly not all. I just hope they are able to conceal their guns better than their butt cracks.
 
Thanks but I prefer living in a state that doesn't require me to get permission from everyplace that I go when I'm CCW'g. No desire to carry a stack of "waivers" to get signed in every business/home I go into. I don't advocate breaking the law, but thankful we don't have laws like that even in terrible Commiechusetts!
 
Always carry...never tell. I could have lost jobs because of carrying. Nobody but me ever knew. If I am not inside my house, I am armed. The ONLY exception is my once every five years visit to the county courthouse to renew my permit.
 
Kanewpadle said:
You could be right. However concealed means concealed. If they don't know, then why worry about it?
Click to expand...

Well, it is against the law whether they see it or not, and I could go to jail if I am caught doing it. The penalty is a fine of not less than a $1000 or imprisoned for not more than a year.

FWIW there are lots of ways I could be caught carrying into a home without permission, no matter how well I conceal. I don't need a signed agreement with the home owner, just their permission. Admittedly, that is not practical if I am a tradesman going into customers homes all day.

The other side of the issue is the right of the home owner to have control of their own property. I don't support the criminalization of someone carrying on my property without permission, but I do support my being able to say what I will, or will not tolerate in my own home.

I wholeheartedly support an individual's right to carry, but my home, my rules.
 
I would guess that about 25% of my HVACR business is residential. I for one do not carry into a customers home. I feel it's a matter of courtesy. I hate leaving my gun in the truck, but I do have a small safe mounted under the passenger seat.

I've worked in plenty of places I couldn't carry... Schools, courthouses, a jail. It's a pain locking up the gun, and I don't like doing it, but it's got to be done. My compromise is wearing my 24 oz hammer on my hip. At least it's something.

Now if I'm working in a public location like a restaurant, convienent store etc. (the mojority of my work) I'll carry.
 
Clovishound said:
Well, it is against the law whether they see it or not, and I could go to jail if I am caught doing it. The penalty is a fine of not less than a $1000 or imprisoned for not more than a year.

FWIW there are lots of ways I could be caught carrying into a home without permission, no matter how well I conceal. I don't need a signed agreement with the home owner, just their permission. Admittedly, that is not practical if I am a tradesman going into customers homes all day.

The other side of the issue is the right of the home owner to have control of their own property. I don't support the criminalization of someone carrying on my property without permission, but I do support my being able to say what I will, or will not tolerate in my own home.

I wholeheartedly support an individual's right to carry, but my home, my rules.
Click to expand...

I explained why I carry and will continue to do so. We've discussed here many times the right of the home owner and the concealed carrier.

My right to self protection trumps the home owners right to decide whether I carry or not.

I know you will disagree. But if you were in my shoes you would carry too.

Both times I was bit were inside a customers home and they supposedly didn't bite. Both by german shepherds.

The home owner is still in control of his property. But if he can't control himself or his animals then I must.

That being said, I understand the consequences of being caught carrying concealed in someones home or business. Especially in the area I live. And that is the primary reason why out of six people I am the only one allowed to carry on the job.

Edited to add: If there are lots of way for you to get caught carrying concealed then you aren't doing something right. Doesn't mean that I should follow your example.
 
IMHO if you are legally licensed and allowed to - - - go right ahead. If you carry CORRECTLY, know one will be offended because they won't know!
 
Kanewpadle said:
My right to self protection trumps the home owners right to decide whether I carry or not.
Click to expand...

Not true.

You have the right to refuse service to any place you don't feel safe. The owners of private property have the ultimate right to determine who can and cannot carry onto their properties. There's a reason it called "private property." You have the choice to accept their business under their terms or not. There are plenty of contractors who will take your place.

I am for personal protection as much as anyone else, but "my rights" do not trump anyone else's. Any contractor who chooses to carry for his/her protection is welcome in my home, but advance notice is appreciated so that there's no surprises.
 
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