A Warning: Do You Have An NRA Decal On Your Vehicles?

[Watchdog]

With the Draconian gun laws of the People Republic of Maryland, the MD state police are targeting out of state vehicles with pro-gun stickers in hopes of catching those with a legal concealed carry hand gun from another state. Having a handgun in the vehicle is a violation of MD gun laws. The gun is confiscated and much time and money are spent avoiding jail time.

I'd like to know more about this. Can you furnish some links to reports about that happening? Like newspaper or other media stories? Police reports, or whatever?

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

With the Draconian gun laws of the People Republic of Maryland, the MD state police are targeting out of state vehicles with pro-gun stickers in hopes of catching those with a legal concealed carry hand gun from another state. Having a handgun in the vehicle is a violation of MD gun laws. The gun is confiscated and much time and money are spent avoiding jail time.

That's why I will never visit the East coast. Here in AZ you can assume just about every car on the road has a loaded gun somewhere. Years ago my wife was stopped for a minor infraction and the officer complimented her on her choice of a weapon (M&P9c), told her to make a better stop at stop signs and let her go with a warning.

It's just common to be out in public and see a few open carry weapons...most, like myself carry concealed. Seldom see any open carry in the big cities like Phoenix or Tucson, but you can bet there are many weapons being concealed.

Decals?? I don't like anything stuck on my shiny paint or chrome....but like I said before I have an NRA hitch cover that shines bright when I step on the brake. I did get a thumbs up from an Officer who happened to be behind me at a red light....made my day.

 

[mike from st pete]

Stickers on the Car

Am curious to know how the numbers come out for those who openly display NRA and those who don't-does that go hand in hand with those who open carry and those that carry concealed?

No open carry off private property in Florida, so I don't do it.
NRA stickers front and back. Also a Florida state flag sticker.

 

[Filo McShoe]

my step brother use to think it was important to show what great brand stereo he had in his car by putting the decals on his rear window. there were some nice car stereos picked up for free thanks to him advertising for Alpine or whoever.
I've had a couple of convertibles over the years I never even lock the doors because I don't leave anything in the car worth more than the top, take whatever you want just don't cut the top.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Only thing I have on old blue is an "LSU Dad" window sticker-problem is it gets you pulled over a lot in Alabama

 

[BC38]

I'm so impressed with you brave souls displaying your stickers and calling the rest of us cowards because we don't see that as a great idea.

I look forward to your posts screaming about how your car got keyed, or window broken, or tires slashed, or God forbid, your gun got stolen from your vehicle.

I suspect just one such incident will change your minds - not because you're askeered to "take a stand" (by putting a piece of plastic film on your car) but because the symbolic gesture isn't worth the hassle and expense.

Have fun.

 

[labworm]

No advertisements on my vehicle ever since my first.

I do have Veteran Plates.

 

[Ozark Marine]

I'm so impressed with you brave souls displaying your stickers and calling the rest of us cowards because we don't see that as a great idea.

I look forward to your posts screaming about how your car got keyed, or window broken, or tires slashed, or God forbid, your gun got stolen from your vehicle.

I suspect just one such incident will change your minds - not because you're askeered to "take a stand" (by putting a piece of plastic film on your car) but because the symbolic gesture isn't worth the hassle and expense.

Have fun.

I'm not brave .
But I won't be bullied by brain washed socialist.
It's your choice, live openly without fear and free speech.
Or hide and be fearful of your expressing belief's.

 

[BC38]

I'm not brave .
But I won't be bullied by brain washed socialist.
It's your choice, live openly without fear and free speech.
Or hide and be fearful of your expressing belief's.

Thanks so much for so clearly illustrating my point.

Just in case you missed it, that point was that there is a HUGE difference between HIDING or being FEARFUL versus choosing not to OVERTLY advertise in the interest of avoiding hassle and trouble.

Your verbiage implies that you are braver or more upstanding than those of us who choose not to invite trouble. This is the exact same type of statements that open carriers use to disparage those who choose to carry their weapon concealed rather than openly displaying it.

Your statements explicitly imply some kind of upstanding virtue in putting a BUMPER STICKER on your car - and that anyone who doesn't is a coward (fearful) or less principled (brainwashed & bullied) then those of you who do.

All I can add is that I stand up for my rights in other more costly, significant, and impactful ways that require actual effort - I just don't advertise and grandstand it or delude myself into thinking I'm making some kind of big brave principled stand by putting a piece of plastic film on my bumper.

 

[Absalom]

You all may be familiar with that old joke:

Somewhere in Kansas, a woman steps out onto her front porch every morning and yells “TIGERS, BE GONE!”

Finally, a neighbor goes over to talk to her:

“Lady, this is the middle of America. There isn’t a wild tiger within thousands of miles!”

Says the woman: “See, it works!”

None of you have any idea whether not having a gun-related sticker on your car reduces your risk of a break-in. If you have a sticker and your car is broken into, you’re unlikely to find out whether it was because of the sticker or not; lots of sticker-less cars get broken into every day.

So: Personal choice, consequences unknown. The same, by the way, applies to any propaganda value of having the stickers. Doesn’t seem to justify getting too worked up.

 

[mrmike7189]

I'd like to know more about this. Can you furnish some links to reports about that happening? Like newspaper or other media stories? Police reports, or whatever?

I doubt that they are targetting out of staters, but....if they get pulled over for a driving offense, that sticker would definitely make them curious!

 

[Rastoff]

This whole thread bothers me. You're not wrong Watchdog, but what has our world become?

Mailbox? Ugh. We have not gotten mail at a house in so long that I can't recall how long. Anything that has to come to a physical location comes to my office. I don't give my street address to anyone without a legal obligation to do so, or unless I need for them to come the house. The property is fenced and the gates are padlocked, so anyone who needs to get in has to call first.

Anyone remember the days when we used to put our names on our mailboxes so people could easily find our house? Now we live in fortresses that are camouflaged so no one even knows anyone lives there.

No, I choose not to live in fear. If I want a sticker on my vehicle, I'll put it there. If I want to wear an NRA t-shirt or hat, I'll wear it.

I teach a class called Refuse To Be A Victim. We talk about this stuff and there is a lot of sense to it. It makes sense to be wise about how you present yourself to the world around you. But you have to balance your safety with your life.

It's possible to make it so no criminal could ever harm you. Just brick yourself up in your castle and never open the door. Do you really want to live like that? Personally, I prefer dangerous liberty over secure oppression.

So, thanks for the warning, but I choose not to live in fear. I accept that risk.

 

[500SNW]

People, this mentality of fear of persecution for your personal beliefs is the reason why our American society is slowly swirling down the toilet. This is why the voice of conservatives are so quiet and the left is becoming louder & louder. Unless you people SPEAK UP AND SHOW YOUR PRIDE, we can all slowly kiss our rights goodby.

You are correct. Everybody on both sides has a right to speak up. But we also have the right to NOT speak up. What does it say about the Pro-2A and NRA crowd if some of them criticize me for exercising my right to remain silent, to not flamboyantly advertise? To me it shows division. If you wanna go all "Norma Rae" about gun rights and hit the streets waving your banner...go for it. Just refrain from accusing me of being part of the problem because I choose to keep to myself and not advertise my political beliefs and gun ownership.

 

[PALADIN85020]

In years gone by, I had stickers on my car for both the NRA and the NHRA. No problem then in the '50s and '60s. I even had an NRA sticker on my '65 Corvette.

Things have changed. No sticker of any sort on any of my cars. The only stickers on my home windows represent the fact that I have an active alarm system. I also have security doors and bars on all the windows. Both cars have alarms with blinking warning lights when they are locked. I remember when I was kid the days when no one even locked their house doors...

I recall about a month ago seeing a car plastered with political stickers, including some that touted one of the 2016 Presidential election candidates. My thoughts on that are he/she might not know that such a thing would almost certainly infuriate about half the population of the U.S. I don't see that as a good thing.

I also don't advertise that I'm carrying, and I never carry openly unless I'm in the field. I don't wear a "shoot me first" vest, either. I see that a bad guy started to shoot up a restaurant in OK City recently, wounding two patrons in the process. An armed citizen in the restaurant promptly shot him dead. Best possible outcome. Surprise is a BIG tactical advantage. The less the bad guys know about you, the better.

John

 

[Watchdog]

This whole thread bothers me. You're not wrong Watchdog, but what has our world become?

It bothers me, too, but probably for reasons different from yours.

I started this thread as just sort of a simple heads up kind of thing. It came from a brief local news story about cops noticing a trend in area auto break-ins. Nothing more, nothing less. And it was tied into sort of a warning because of the Memorial Day weekend events in this area.

I have several good friends on the police force here. Two of them told me that it's true...arrested punks say they definitely are targeting cars with NRA and gun-related stickers on them. I doubt my friends are making this stuff up just to get on the local news.

Far as I was concerned, that was all there was to it.

But this thread took a wrong turn before it ever got started good, and it's just kept going that way, far as I'm concerned.

Now people have turned the thread into one about some sort of threat to their personal freedom. A stand-up-for-what-you-believe-in thing. Don't "live in fear". NRA members "going into hiding". Members calling other members "old women".

People are suggesting NRA members, NRA members on this forum, are some sort of un-American moral cowards because they choose not to put an NRA decal on their cars. That's pretty disgusting.

This thread didn't start out being about how patriotic anyone is, or who does or doesn't fly the flag in their yard, or who does or doesn't display a veterans-type license tag.

An NRA decal on my car doesn't do one single thing to "assure my rights" as a gun owner. What does help assure my rights are the money I give the NRA and my vote for people who support the Second Amendment.

Putting a five-cent decal on a vehicle doesn't make anyone better than I am, and it doesn't make them any more of an American. Anyone who thinks it does is sadly mistaken.

 

[BC38]

It bothers me, too, but probably for reasons different from yours.

I started this thread as just sort of a simple heads up kind of thing. It came from a brief local news story about cops noticing a trend in area auto break-ins. Nothing more, nothing less. And it was tied into sort of a warning because of the Memorial Day weekend events in this area.

I have several good friends on the police force here. Two of them told me that it's true...arrested punks say they definitely are targeting cars with NRA and gun-related stickers on them. I doubt my friends are making this stuff up just to get on the local news.

Far as I was concerned, that was all there was to it.

But this thread took a wrong turn before it ever got started good, and it's just kept going that way, far as I'm concerned.

Now people have turned the thread into one about some sort of threat to their personal freedom. A stand-up-for-what-you-believe-in thing. Don't "live in fear". NRA members "going into hiding". Members calling other members "old women".

People are suggesting NRA members, NRA members on this forum, are some sort of un-American moral cowards because they choose not to put an NRA decal on their cars. That's pretty disgusting.

This thread didn't start out being about how patriotic anyone is, or who does or doesn't fly the flag in their yard, or who does or doesn't display a veterans-type license tag.

An NRA decal on my car doesn't do one single thing to "assure my rights" as a gun owner. What does help assure my rights are the money I give the NRA and my vote for people who support the Second Amendment.

Putting a five-cent decal on a vehicle doesn't make anyone better than I am, and it doesn't make them any more of an American. Anyone who thinks it does is sadly mistaken.

Here, HERE! Well said!

 

[Telecaster]

Thieves target every vehicle. They prefer the ones where the owner was too dumb to lock the doors, but I doubt they take the time to read and process all the bumper stickers.

Car thefts are epidemic, yet people still leave valuables in them, unlocked.

 

[ditrina]

And let that be the last word.. Thank you all for your input..