i have been a gun nut since age 5. I learned to read on old mans
lap on gun and outdoor magazines, not the funnies. In spite of
that I have never felt the need for a carry weapon. Until the other
day. I was up a ladder putting electric service on a house, in a
little river town of about 0 serious crime. I had herd a lot of sirens for about 5 minutes. Then a guy came running around the
house and about upset my ladder. When he got back on street
all kind of law converged on him. Turns out he tried to rob a
store down on highway. Driving a stolen car & and wanted for
suspicion of murder. He had shot and killed an old man and set
house on fire to cover murder. I guess it's getting bad all over.
Going to work with tool pouch on one side and gun on the other.
Actually the guy dumped his gun and shirt before he passed my
location. Took the cops with a dog several hours to find them.

A kid and his stepdad were shot in a drive by about a mile and a half from my house. We have meth heads in the neighborhood. I pack all the time.

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Even older, even crankier....

I always preferred to carry.
The only real zero crime area is an inaccessible, uninhabited one.

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it just needs more voltage

Carrying does not have to be an onerous task.

We live on the polite side of Tucson. The gentleman who lives across the street with his wife and two sons is a local police sergeant. He encouraged me to "move up" to a Kel-Tec P-3AT from the P-32 I bought not long after we moved here from Zoo Jersey many years ago. More important, he encouraged me to carry it.

I believe Robert still carries his Kel-Tec as his off duty "always" gun. After a succession of other pocket pistols, there is a 642-1, with a titanium cylinder installed, that lives in my pocket as my "always" gun.

I have never come close to needing to draw any of the pistols I have carried. But, the process is effortless and "carrying" has become second nature.

Yes, YMMV. But, with all the small, light handguns on the market, why not have one handy rather than wishing you had.

It is just a tool--like a pen knife or screwdriver.
Blessings

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TEXAS, by GOD

Went to Cobb theatre last night,while looking at coming attraction posters...notice a sign!! Cobb theatres has a no weapons allowed on property sign!! YUP....I was carrying....will I continue to carry ?? YUP,I ccw & no one knows!
Jim

I've only been licensed to carry here in Illinois for about 18 months, and I carry EVERY day. At first I was very self conscious (like most folks) and thought I was being scrutinized by every person I passed on the street, making me really focused on how I dressed, moved, etc. But as time went by and I recognized the reality that most people are totally oblivious to what is happening around them, I stopped worrying about "printing" or about a shirt tail lifting up and exposing part of my gun, etc. Now it is just like putting my wallet in my back pocket, my money clip in the front pocket, my keys and smartphone in my pockets, and my gun on my belt or in my pocket. The only time I am overly conscious of it is when we are out and about and my wife and I end up in a store or some other place which I notice just as I am entering that it is posted. On the rare days when I know I am going somewhere where it is not only posted by where metal detectors are used, such as the courthouse, or even to the V.A. Hospital, I leave the gun at home and feel very, very vulnerable.

I know statistically that it is likely that I will go the rest of my life and not ever need to draw my gun. But crime does happen to some people, and terrorism does strike occasionally, and I could never forgive myself if I should be in the wrong place at the wrong time, with my wife or my grandchildren with me, and have literally no means of defending them.

BTW, at first my wife was very angry when she knew I was carrying. She is emotionally anti-gun and I learned decades ago that I would not ever change her feelings and thoughts about guns. Now though, she has just learned to go along with it and we never even discuss it.

You've got to wonder at the thought process(if there is one!)in regards to just who they think they'll stop with those stupid signs...The criminals & deranged won't worry about them at all; the only people that will are the law abiding, the people most in need of protection.

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Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

Vito:
As free Americans, we have the right to carry as set forth by the Constitution. As far as carrying in property that the public has a right to access is legal to carry concealed with a license. If a sign is posted as to no guns allowed, no one knows you are carrying. However, if a security guard or property owner, associate, suspects you are carrying, you must exit the premises or you would be in violation of an armed trespass and would be subject to arrest if the police are summoned and take you into custody. I do not know about the law in your state, but in the prohibited areas, such as court houses, law enforcement areas, motor vehicle office, etc., I leave the gun in the trunk and go about my business and retrieve it when I return to the car. There are ways to overcome it but it is your right to be armed as a law abiding citizen in areas that are not prohibited in Government buildings.

Nick

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NRA Instructor\GCA Gunsmith

I sometimes wonder if there is a liability insurance issue going on here.

Do the theater's lawyers (or the insurance company) tell them putting up signs decreases their liability if there is an incident on the property?

Just guessing about this and I'm neither a lawyer or an insurance person.

Of course only the good guys that aren't a threat pay any attention to the signs -- so the signs are less than useless.

i carry even in my home. dirtbaggery is wide spread, and unavoidable. it's no longer a matter of if, it's when and i choose to be pre-paired. some will call you a fanatic, or paranoid, but i'll err on the side of caution... and suggest you do the same.

One of the great and not so great things about life is that you never know what's around the corner.

I'm armed throughout the day, in and around the home too. It's a matter of routine. Slip an LCP in my pocket like I do my wallet every morning.

"As free Americans, we have the right to carry."

As free men, we have a God-given right to defend ourself and ours. We have an obligation to be responsible. Permission be damned.

This pretty much sums it up. I have tremendous respect for my local law enforcement officers (and those elsewhere), but they can't be everywhere at once and they can't respond to 911 with the speed of light.

A little gun like a Ruger LCP can be very inconspicuous. It won't resolve a zombie apocalypse, but it can make you feel better walking across a dark (or not so dark) parking lot and is a darn sight better than nothing if the SHTF unexpectedly. The M&P Shield is only marginally more difficult to conceal and is my personal favorite.

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Jim - M&P Pro 40L/Shield 40

As they say, Better to have and never need than to need and not have.

I enjoy guns. Even in the absence of any immediate perceived threat I would keep one handy, the same as I would have books or magazines to hand because of enjoying reading.

Where I live was far more dangerous in the not so distant past than it is now. The Army used to ban travel past this area unless it was in an organized group with at least 25 rifle armed men. It is positively sedate in comparison now.

Years ago, I stopped worrying about, when to carry, what to carry, what caliber, what type ammo, OWB, IWB, holster type, round count, etc.

Like Phil, I throw an LCP in my pocket when I get dressed. It's like an inhaler, unnoticeable but there when needed.

I have never felt undergunned. If I ever get into a bad situation, I've got seven chances to get out of it.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

I got my CCW permit in 1998, shortly after it was made legal. For the most part I haven't carried. Been shooting guns since as long as I can remember. Born and raised in a small, rural town never made me feel like I needed to carry until recently. Drugs have moved in, mainly meth, and these people get crazy. After speaking to a couple of the local deputies they said its a much bigger problem than most folks realize. The overall crime rate has also gone up and most of that can be traced back to the drug problem. In the past year I made the decision that full time carry is probably in my best interest. Since the I've purchased a couple new handguns and carry 100% of the time I'm awake and have one by the bed while sleeping. The right gun/holster/belt combo can make all the difference in the world as to whether you carry or not. For me, it's really not even an inconvenience anymore.

I am carrying more and more ! Where I live in Maine near Bangor crime is not too bad yet! But it is growing as we are getting new scum bags moving in! With the crazies in the world today I will be carrying more!

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9mm Shield

Only problem with that, IF you live in a state like mine (NC)....is that it is now a misdemeanor to carry a firearm or other "weapon", whether concealed or not, into any private establishment that posts a sign forbidding it. Used to be that private property owners could forbid it....but that did not carry any legal consequences (unless the carrier refused to comply). Now, it is illegal. But, as a misdemeanor must be witnessed by a police officer, in order for charges to be made, it seems mostly unenforceable. If caught carrying by a rep. of the establishment in question, the thing to do is just LEAVE immediately, so that you are not on the premises anymore, if the police are called. Of course, it could be that you get spotted (and the police called), without your knowledge.

Seems inefficient, stupid and unenforceable (as I said already)....not to mention a trifle unfair. However, private property owners DO have a right to control what happens on their property.

So, I make it a policy to NOT patronize such posted establishments, unless absolutely necessary.

Let's be very clear here. What you post may be the law in FL but that may not be the law in other states. Someone blindly following your "legal advice" could very easily find themselves charged with a felony or at the very least permanently lose their CCW license.

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183rd FBINA

Just yesterday, a Loomis guy was picking up money from a Publix. Just doing his (grossly underpaid) job. Some miscreant, on video sitting in ambush, waits for the pickup, walks up behind the guy and pops him in back of head. Takes the money. I don't imagine to know how far down the "evil well" you got to dip to get that low. Sincerely hope the Loomis guy makes it and that it ends as badly as possible for the perp. Even if his teary eyed "Moms" gets on the tube to explain how bad his childhood was and how he just got out of jail and was making a "new start." Carry! Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

As of 12-1-2015 the below is the change in the NC law. H562 stipulates that it will be an infraction for carrying concealed on private property that has been posted

Any person who has been issued a valid permit who is found to be carrying a concealed handgun in violation of G.S. 14-415.11©(8) shall be guilty of an infraction and may be required to pay a fine of up to five hundred dollars ($500.00). In lieu of paying a fine the person may surrender the permit.

I still wouldn't do it be at least it's not a misdemeanor

NAY! NAY! Free men have the right to be armed. Why would free men need the Constitution to give them a right that they have had since birth. The US Constitution only states that the Govt. will not do anything to keep people from being armed. There is a difference. Larry

What I don't understand is if CRIME is up everywhere HOW is crime rates and local statistics LOWER than it was in the 1990's?

Bluntly we gun owners justify owning / carrying guns based on the need for self-protection but the crime rates are LOWER than in the past.

OR are they lower in the CITIES but higher in rural areas and small cities than they were 25-30 years ago in the 1980's when the cocaine wars were all the rage.

Liberals want to ban guns because of crime and we want more.

What is the truth there is MORE crime now or less and we are MORE aware of it?

Love that 642, got any links to posts about it's origin and a range report?

I live downeast near Machias, if I'm outside I'm armed. Except for immediate family and a handful of close friends, I don't trust anyone, anywhere.

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Don't kiss smiling dogs!

Crime Rate in the United States, 1980–2013
(rate per 100,000 inhabitants)
The following table shows the crime rate per 100,000 inhabitants committed in the United States from 1980 to 2013, including violent crime, property crime, rape, robbery, and more.

Year Violent
crime1 Prop-
erty
crime2 Murder and
nonnegligent
manslaughter Forcible
rape Robbery Aggra-
vated
assault Burglary Larceny-
theft Motor
vehicle
theft
1980 596.6 5,353.3 10.2 36.8 251.1 298.5 1,684.1 3,167.0 502.2
1985 556.6 4,650.5 8.0 37.1 208.5 302.9 1,287.3 2,901.2 462.0
1990 731.8 5,088.5 9.4 41.2 257.0 424.1 1,235.9 3,194.8 657.8
1995 684.6 4,591.3 8.2 37.1 220.9 418.3 987.1 3,043.8 560.4
2000 506.1 3,617.9 5.5 32.0 144.9 323.6 728.4 2,475.3 414.2
2005 490.5 3,535.4 5.9 32.2 150.8 301.6 750.2 2,342.6 442.7
2010 404.5 2,945.9 4.8 27.7 119.3 252.8 701 2,005.8 239.1
2012 386.9 2,859.2 4.7 26.9 112.9 242.3 679.2 1,959.3 229.7
2013 367.9 2,730.7 4.5 25.2 109.1 229.1 610.0 1,899.4 221.3

Link removed.

NOTE We have HALF the crime we used too rate wise but there is MORE people and more media.

Color me skeptical.

Any government statistic is of questionable validity.

Police chiefs, commissioners, mayors etc. are evaluated based on how well they do on crime reduction.

We may be seeing people "forget" to record some crimes, or downgrading the crimes when reporting them. Aggravated assault downgraded to a "domestic dispute" or equivalent.

So the people keeping the stats are essentially writing their own report card.

If you let third graders write their own report cards, don't you think it would look like they are doing better in school?

Jim1392,

Thanks for the clarification. I was not aware of that change.

Proof that signs don't work...

With the world like it is today, you just never know anymore.
If I can help it, I prefer to be able to protect me and my family at all costs.
No one else is watching your back but you
Hopefully you will never have to use it, but if a situation does arise, it's better to be prepared instead of another victim or statistic.
Good luck

I started carrying on a regular basis at age 13 in 1989, and that pattern has continued until today.

So what do you propose? Other than being the conspiracy theorist, what do you expect people to do? Increase crimes by 10% across the board to make up for government inflatio ary statistics? We can do that, the trend is the same.

The OP's post is completely understandable. I had a friend who was up a ladder painting his house and two gang bangers threatened to push over the ladder if he didn't drop his wallet down. He was unarmed but still told em to f off. One reached for his ladder and got doused with paint as the second guy also grabbed the ladder he dropped the paint can on him and slid down the ladder to confront them. Both had paint in their eyes and ran off leaving a trail for the cops to follow. This was oil based dark red paint which did not come off when the cops had the house, trailed to, searched..... Only a few blocks away.
This guys dad was a cop who made the family miserable and they moved. (renters). This was 1972.
Today he owns his dads guns but does not shoot much and only keeps them in the house. He also sold his house out of the city and lives on the great lakes 15 miles from any town. He just does not want the responsibility that goes with carrying.
Me I had no Dad. I got harassed much more then he and I carry always. J Frame in Desantis super-fly pocket holster that keeps from printing and is super fast to draw. When this is too much for what I am wearing I carry the NNA Sidewinder in Desantis x5 in the dressiest pants or lightest shorts. Where I live I don't expect much need but it's my right. Just do it. Stay safe.

Word to the wise !
Never start a trip with a 1/4 tank of gas expecting a gas station to be handy when your engine starts to cough.
Blessings

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TEXAS, by GOD

Statistics are only useful when they are specific and controlled, and with strong correlation to something. The United States is such a vast, vast, vast nation with such a large diversity of communities, cultures, and people, national crime averages are completely and utterly useless. How broad do we want to make things? Continental crime statistics, worldwide crime statistics? Once you get outside of a neighborhood or small area, the stats become worthless. Yes, perhaps crime is down overall in this vast nation, by average, but what does that mean to the individual, who is a reality unlike the statistic and idea? Nothing.

Swimmers shouldn't avoid the beaches because they might be one of the 10 out of 7,000,000,000 people this year who are eaten by sharks. On the other hand, if you do swim in dangerous waters, or worse, actually are attacked by a shark, the threat and mitigation you can pursue are of very real concern. Telling a man whose arms and legs have been knawed off by a great white to not worry because these things are rare is not helpful. The low risk and statistic is of no value to the victim. Crime is lower on national average; it still is a problem with real victims who have to defend themselves. Just because overall crime is in decline doesn't mean the threat is over, or that it is a poor time to defend yourself from crime.

Then, we have the concept of broad national statistics against regions. Even though there could be a national decline doesn't mean that crime is down in your neck of the woods. Some neighborhoods and areas will see high crime stay constant, reduce in such small statistical amounts that are of almost no value to those who live in those areas, or even increase. Hearing that the state's crime rate is down is of no comfort to the guy living in the wrong side of town in dangerous city of that state, who still has the constant threat of record high crime that never seems to abate. Lower crime in the nicer side of town, in other cities, or elsewhere in the state at large, may not mean his life is any less dangerous. His problem, like everyone's problem, is not numbers on a piece of paper, but real threats from real individuals against himself or his neighbors.

Here in North Dakota, the cursed oil boom has brought a lot of less than desirable people into the state. Crime exploded when scum bags from other state brought their scumbaggery with them. Nation average be damned, the people in the oil patch had trouble, and law enforcement there was pushed hard. I suspect many good men in this forum have had similar, if not far worse experiences like this, living in a nice part of town until it falls into the bad part of town. One day you went from clean town almost zero crime to waking up realizing it has become skid row. Good gun owning folks who never wanted to carry or see a reason for it now get to live with a taste of bit city or bad neighborhood crime and realize that the days of Leave it to Beaver style clean life is gone, unless they want to abandon what's left of the community, or a house they have invested in.

In my neck of the woods, literally, out in the country there is still about zero real crime. Yes, there have been a few homicides, where before we had zero for decades, but since they were out of state drifters, the crimes felt foreign. But, I still carry a gun every day. Not out of fear, not for any particular reason. I will protect myself, from man or beast, who tries to attack me. I also live in the country where killing nuisance animals is, in some years, a constant thing to be ready for. In any case, I carry responsibly with purpose, not fear, not reaction. One should not feel bad about carrying a weapon. Carrying a gun does not mean you have any evil intent, the same way wearing a seatbelt is no indication of an aggressive or dangerous driver.

That's why you can't just look at one statistic. Obviously it's an average and you should use it as a baseline against the statistics more endemic to your area to get a better understanding.

As free Americans, we have the right to decide who can and who can not come on our property. Your right to decide ends where my rights begin. Your right to carry means you get to decide to disarm and enter or remain armed and go elsewhere. 1-It's the law, 2-it's common courtesy. Why would you trespass, when the rules for access are posted on the door. The trespass message, when being delivered in person, can include a notice to remain off the property forever, with a copy to the local cop shop.

Historically, the 2A only effected the Feds. States were allowed to decide their own interpretation of "right to self defense". The idea that the right to self defense is God given and undeniable ignores the fact that many nations don't acknowledge any individual right to self defense or the right to go armed.

Those signs are put up because the corporate LAWYERS and the INSURANCE COMPANIES demand it!! It allows them to have deniability if something goes down!!

They really don't care about your lives!!! Just DOLLARS

The overall crime rate is down. Overall rates have no relation to specific areas, it is based on all crime and all population. Local rates are more relevant. For instance, though property crime has gone down nationwide, it has about doubled in King County.

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Even older, even crankier....

I'm not sure what your point is. Over time, I think the government's tendency to "cook the books" increases. A little cooking at first, and when no one calls them on it, a bit more the next year and so on.

I'm not sure this is happening in the case of crime stats, but I'm skeptical.

Unemployment stats are another case of this. I believe the numbers released by the government understate the problem. For example, people are dropped from the list of unemployed after some time as they are considered to have "given up" looking. Likewise a person that made $40 /hr for full time work 10 years ago may make $15 per hour now for part time -- and be counted as "employed".

Another example is inflation stats. The government can juggle the factors on the list of prices they analyze and change the weights of rent vs food vs energy vs insurance etc.

As for what I suggest, I suggest you don't believe everything the government statisticians tell you.

But as A10 commented, national averages really don't matter much to any of us. What really matters is what is happening around where we live and work.

National averages do matter as it is a baseline, but it should be compared against your local average. You cant just use one stat.

God given / natural rights are not the product of government consultation. These rights existed well before government.

I like the way AWR Hawkins PH.D explains it.

We don’t have the right to keep and bear arms because the Bill of Rights says so; rather, the Bill of Rights says so because the right to keep and bear arms is intrinsic to our very being: it is a right with which we were endowed by our Creator.

There really is nothing wrong with carrying your gun! If you want to, why wouldn't you? The notion that carrying a firearm is somehow goofy or devious is what is wrong and abnormal, IMO. I've tried to teach my kids to understand that, and to understand that government and certain factions in our society like to foster the "feeling" that carrying a gun is somehow wrong - in their own interests, not yours.

I am like Gator Farmer. I like guns and am very comfortable around them. I don't take one everywhere I go but to me carrying a gun is no different than carrying your pocketknife, pen, cash, cellphone, reading glasses, etc. The people who worry about people like Gator and me are the ones I am most concerned about. They are much more dangerous to my interests than an ordinary street thug.

In El Paso, Texas the murder rate was virtually the lowest in the U.S., yet just across the bridge in Juarez Chihuahua, there was one of the highest *murder rates, highest kidnapping, carjacking and rape rates in the known world...just across a bridge. Think about it.

*1400+ dead bodies in the street (photographed) in 2010

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Halfway and one more step

Only time i am not is when in shower ,or Zzzing. But even then one is very close by

I've carried concealed every day for over eighteen years, since very soon after it became legal in Kentucky. Don't usually have the gun on me when I'm at home, but it or my house gun is always within reach. It's simply a habit I've cultivated for a number of good reasons, and have continued even now in retirement when I live very quietly and only go out after dark to walk my dog. It seems like simple prudence--I'm elderly, can't run or fight, and I live alone. Just makes me feel safer, though like most here I pray I never have to use my gun.

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Oh well, what the hell.