A CCW question for those who carry

[Bubblehead]

A question for those that carry 24x7.

When you go into a private residence (family member, friend, or simply an acquaintance), do you carry or leave your firearm in your vehicle (for example)? If you continue to carry, do you notify the home owner of that fact?

Not many people, with the exception of family, know that I have a CCW. And not all family members know either. Is it ethical to carry while in another's residence without their knowledge? I would want to know if someone were armed in my home. This is just a question that came to mind when I went to a friends house for Thanksgiving this year. He doesn't know that I carry, I left my firearm in the car, but the question did come to mind so I thought I'd ask it here on the TFF.

John

[Helix_FR]

Out of respect I always disarm, especially if children are around. But this is only within my own family or friends. If I don't know the person, what they don't know wont hurt them. Still if kids are around, I'm hesitant.

[Carne Frio]

In Alaska, it is illegal, (while carrying concealed ), to enter private
residence without permission.

[oscarmayer]

i too out of respect always leave it locked in the car

[pickenup]

When outside my home, I carry.....all the time.
Isn't the reason you carry........just in case?
Are there crime free zones (private residences) that I don't know about?
Hope somebody tells the criminals.

Honestly, I forget that I am carrying. There have been times, when I have gone to the courthouse, get through the door and see the metal detector before I remember, and have to turn around and go back to the car to leave it/them there.

I don't feel disrespectful if I carry, I feel irresponsible if I don't.

[Gun Geezer]

After all, concealed is concealed!

[45nut]

Anyone that knows me, knows I am a 2A fanatic. However, not everyone knows I carry 24/7, but they may suspect.

My pistol, which by Col Cooper's definition, is strictly a defensive weapon, will do me not one bit of good locked in my vehicle.

Only if someone has posted a properly worded (per Texas law) 30-06 on all the entrances to their house would I even reconsider it.

I have been to friends of friends and since I didn't brandish it, they were none the wiser and probably much safer. Damn their respect and feelings, it's my life I"m worried about.

[Toolmanroberts]

Unless I am asked not to or it is against the law like one post said I carry every where permitted (usually) I have forgotten in the bank a few times but I was wise enough not to anounce my mistake and no one was the wiser. I am still looking for that crime free zone to reside in but I still haven't found one so I carry every where.

[johnlives4christ]

unless it is against the law where im going, i carry.

i have family that does not approve of me carrying. since i dont get along with them anyways i rarely go to their homes. however i would carry if i did visit them. if they asked me specifically not to carry i would leave the gun in the car. but i would not announce if i was carrying though.

i dont feel that its wrong to carry a gun into another persons house without telling them. even if their is kids around. it would be wrong if i was to pull my gun out and start clicking the buttons in someone elses house though

[johnlives4christ]

ps. in kentucky you dont have to inform others when entering a house while armed and you can carry in a bank unless it's got a no firearms sign.

[armedandsafe]

When I lived in California, I always asked permission, as it was illegal not to. Outside the SRC, I don't ask.

I have one acquaintence who is anti-gun. I will not enter their house and have told him why.

Pops

[carver]

I just carry, all the time. If I'm asked, I'll leave it in the car, other wise it's concealed, and no one but me, God, and the wife knows I'm armed. My bank has a properly posted 30-06 sign, but I pretend I can't read! I'm only in there for a minute or two, and then I'm gone. They don't know!

[rentalguy1]

It stays on my side unless there is a metal detector to be passed through. If someone sees the lump (I don't particularly care how well it's concealed - just short of OC), I tell them it's my adrenaline pump. I walk with a cane, and most people are so ignorant of medical jargon they let it go at that. If someone does have a problem with me carrying in their residence, I leave and don't go to that residence any more...family and friends included.

[Old Guy]

Unless the law says that you have to identify or that it is not legal, then I would carry regardless of who is around (children, etc.). The only time that this would be a challenge is if there were children and I was sleeping over, but that is what lock boxes are made for. Bad guys don't respect any laws or signs so I would rather be ready at all times.

[TheGunClinger]

I usually just carry the bug (LCP) in my pocket and leave primary in the truck.

[user]

Family and close friends know I routinely carry; if they don't want me to do so in their houses, they tell me, and I comply with their wishes. Otherwise, it's "don't ask, don't tell."

[Alpo]

I'm puzzled by Carne Fio's statement. In every state it is illegal to enter someone's house without permission. Depending on how you do it, they call it "illegal entry" or "breaking and entering".

The question, however, was if I go to Bubblehead's house, and he invites me in, will I tell him I have a gun? No. None of his business. If he were to find out and demand that I not bring my gun into his house, I would solve the problem by not bringing MYSELF into his house.

[Crpdeth]

Originally Posted by Alpo

I'm puzzled by Carne Fio's statement. In every state it is illegal to enter someone's house without permission. Depending on how you do it, they call it "illegal entry" or "breaking and entering".

You beat me to it, I was going to rib him a bit, but I'm sure what he meant to say was that it's illegal to carry concealed in their dwelling without permission, unless he was just making a joke.

As for the initial question, my license is expired ATM. so I don't carry 24/7, but I personally think that were just over thinking things here... If they don't know that I'm carrying, what does it hurt? If they have me in their home, surely they know that I'm trustworthy and responsible, period. I'm not a child and I don't need any more "permission" than what was granted on my license, I've attended training classes and have handled firearms and other weapons all my life. I don't see a problem.

Crpdeth

[Carne Frio]

Originally Posted by Alpo

I'm puzzled by Carne Fio's statement. In every state it is illegal to enter someone's house without permission. Depending on how you do it, they call it "illegal entry" or "breaking and entering".

The question, however, was if I go to Bubblehead's house, and he invites me in, will I tell him I have a gun? No. None of his business. If he were to find out and demand that I not bring my gun into his house, I would solve the problem by not bringing MYSELF into his house.

Caught me !
There, I fixed my post.

[Bubblehead]

A lot of different ideas on the subject. Good food for thought as they say.

Here's my take on it for what it's worth. I live in California where permits are usually very difficult to obtain. So right off the bat, I'm going to follow the letter of the law because I don't want to have mine revoked.

There are many situations here where you cannot legally carry, either by law or by action. School grounds, court houses, court rooms, the State Capitol or State Capitol grounds, the secure area of an airport and any polling location. So right there that means in California no one can carry 24x7.

In addition you cannot carry if a business prohibits it. You are also not allowed to carry while consuming alcohol, medications or drugs. So in addition to the hard prohibitions, this is one that impacts me.

Say the family decides to go to San Francisco for the day. While not my favorite destination, sometimes you have to give into family. While spending the day/night in the city, the crew decides they want to go into "the brewery" for lunch and a beer. In that case I can either decline to drink, or with that knowledge of their behavior ahead of time, leave the gun at home. The same situation presents itself if I want to take the wife out to dinner. I always have wine with my dinner. Therefore by law, I cannot be armed when going out for a date night with the wife, or I can forgo the cabernet with my evening meal. Now if I chose to leave my weapon in the car while going to dinner so as not to be in violation of the law, once back in the car the weapon cannot be legally kept in the passenger compartment if I am "under the influence" (one, two, three glasses of wine or ??? - depends on the judgement officer and what you "blow" on the FST). It has to be kept unloaded in a locked container in the trunk of the car.

So my point to all of this chattering is that there are many "holes" in the ability to carry 24x7 in my state. Therefore it doesn't bother me to disarm myself when entering another's residence if the situation warrants it. I know that it's "possible" for something to happen in their home but the chances of that are worse than me winning the lottery...or crossing the street safely, for that matter. So in the interest of maintaining family and friendship ties, I would opt to respect their wishes, or their situation if the need were to arise. I guess I would take the risk.

Anyway, great comments all. We all have different life experiences that mold our attitudes with regards to these issues. I guess the bottom line is that we simply have to be comfortable with our decisions.

Thanks,

John

[Crpdeth]

Originally Posted by Bubblehead

I would opt to respect their wishes,

BTW, good topic John...

You say that you'd respect their wishes... There's a dichotomy here. In your initial post you are asking if we would "notify the home owner", then here you say that you'd "respect their wishes", so two similar, yet different scenarios. If I knew that their "wishes" were that there be no firearms/knives/baseball bats, etc in the home I would certainly leave the hog leg in the vehicle, but if no mention has ever been made about it, I'd definitely continue to carry.


Crpdeth

[Bubblehead]

Crpdeth,

My aging mind "doth" drift a bit at times....sorry.

John

[pricedo]

Originally Posted by Bubblehead

A question for those that carry 24x7.

When you go into a private residence (family member, friend, or simply an acquaintance), do you carry or leave your firearm in your vehicle (for example)? If you continue to carry, do you notify the home owner of that fact?

Not many people, with the exception of family, know that I have a CCW. And not all family members know either. Is it ethical to carry while in another's residence without their knowledge? I would want to know if someone were armed in my home. This is just a question that came to mind when I went to a friends house for Thanksgiving this year. He doesn't know that I carry, I left my firearm in the car, but the question did come to mind so I thought I'd ask it here on the TFF.

John

I have 4 carry permits (UT, PA, ME, NH) which I use mostly as support ID these days.
When I was a newbie CCWer before the novelty & my patience wore off I used to carry all the time.
That lasted for about a month.
In some states you can't carry in alcohol serving establishments, on school & college campuses, in posted no-carry areas, federal building like post offices, court rooms, etc., etc.
Interstate variance on gun laws is a nightmare & if you miss a sign and wander into New York State or Jersey or goodness forbid DC you could find yourself doing a lot of hard time for an innocent mistake.
I got fed up with the no carry zones & no carry states after my arms started to bulk up bigger than Arnold Schwarzeneggers from taking the gun & shoulder holster on & off a zillion times a day.
If I have to leave my gun locked up in my car a good portion of the day I might as well leave it at home.
Some day there'll be real CCW where the law allows a law abiding citizen to carry anywhere as per the Second Amendment and a state CCW permit or license has universal reciprocity throughout the United States like a drivers license.
Eventually and I hope sooner rather than later there'll be universal permit-less CCW like Alaska & Vermont now enjoy for all law abiding Americans.
Until that happens the gun on/gun off 100 times a day CCW is just too much of a pain in the butt.

[johnlives4christ]

i rarely go places i have to remove my gun. the post office is one place. in kentucky you cannot carry in a place that gets more then 50% of its income from the sale of alcohol. since i dont drink this isnt a problem. no carry in schools or federal buildings or government buildings or courtrooms or secure airport areas. really there's not too many places i cant carry. mosty government buildings and school. colleges are private and make their own rules. and a private business's sign can be disregarded. the unspoken rule is to ignore private business signs unless of course your conscience bothers you.

i wish however like most here that there was no restriction on carry. i should be able to carry anywhere i take a notion.

[pricedo]

Another thing that has always angered and perplexed me is why is the federal government being anti 2A by not allowing us to carry in federal buildings like USPS offices and why are WE THE PEOPLE tolerating it??

The very organization (the federal government) that should be honoring & upholding the United States Constitution is obstructing it.

What's up with that?

I'll answer my own question and say that some anti gun administrations like the present one in collaboration with a bunch of unelected, appointed anti gun bureaucrats (glorified clerks) have decided that their prejudices should override & prevail over the American Constitution.

This Commie-like behavior sorely needs to be addressed by SCOTUS.

A law abiding American should be able to be armed on every square inch of American soil with no exceptions.

The more armed law abiding Americans there are on our streets & in our communities the safer & more secure the United States will be. Legally armed students &/or professors could very likely have intervened to save lives in mass shooting tragedies like Columbine had CCW been legal on campuses at the time.

Politicians, bureaucrats & community leaders need to pull their heads out of their backsides and start honoring & upholding the Second Amendment.

An armed society is a more polite society.

Logistically & strategically universal CCW is a better preventative measure against terrorism than Homeland Security, the FBI & BATF combined. A citizen army can be all places at all times while the aforementioned organizations cannot.