Just curious about guns, concealed gun permits, etc?

1 Wikipedia has an article on "open carry" of firearms including a map showing state laws. It seems it is legal in many places to walk around with a pistol in a holster just like the wild west. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Carryhttp://e... .

2 An excellent question with a rather complected answer. The bottom line is that it is up to the laws of the state. In Texas, for example, it is perfectly legal for you to carry unconcealed long arms, for example a shotgun in the gun rack of your truck.

I believe the laws have changed, but at one time you could also carry a hand gun provided it was not concealed (aka. In a hip holster). In New York, on the other hand, you would probably be considered a deranged lunatic worthy of calling out the SWAT team for if you were driving down the street with your 12 gauge openly visible in your gun rack.

There is always quite a bit of gray area, and this is what the "gun grabbers" often fail to realize. The vast majority of gun owners are not deranged lunatics. They are everyday people who enjoy shooting sports.To them the firearm is sporting equipment and nothing more.

Yet, because of the irrational perception of the firearm as some sort of mystical death machine they are subjected to an inordinate amount of often confusing conditions that infringe on their perfectly lawful recreation. For example, let's say one is going to the shooting range or a gun store and has to park a couple of blocks away. Does that mean you are a criminal if you carry your firearm from your car to the ultimate destination (without a concealed carry permit or in a state that doesn't allow open carry)?

What if you don't own a car and want to use public transportation? Or, for example, let's say you are planning on going on a weekend hunting trip and in addition to your hunting rifle you carry a hand gun because you want to do a bit of target practice while there. Are you a criminal if you have said handgun in your backpack if you don't have a concealed carry permit just because it is not openly visible?

> I don't see why you'd need a concealed weapons permit unless you were an undercover policeman or one of those airplane police guys....WYTAnd herein lies the greatest problem of perception among those who do not participate in shooting sports. Exercising a right has nothing to do with need. Why does anyone other than a bus or taxi driver need a driver's license?

If I like to go hit little white balls with a club around a park it is not anybody else's business provided I don't take that club and bash somebody over the head with it. Likewise, if I like to see how accurately I can fling a small projectiles over a fairly long distance it is really not anybody else's business either. The alternate perspective is why does one need a permit at all to own a firearm and to use it for lawful purposes (the real answer here is you don't, you just need a permit to carry it from one place to another)?

Frankly, I find it a major pain in the patutti to have to renew a concealed carry permit every few years just so I won't have to deal with the potential legal trouble should I be stopped for a minor traffic violation and happen to have a firearm in my vehicle (on the way to the shooting range, for example). But, being one of the "good guys" (like the vast majority of recreational firearms owners) I am willing to do so, plus it gives me the added benefit of being able to carry it on my person (concealed) and not have to lock it in the car (where it is more likely to be stolen) should I want to go inside a restaurant or other place of business along the way.

3 I was on a farm as a child and we drove out to the field in a pickup with a rifle in the rack. We used it for snakes and perhaps other critters if we needed it and I thought of it as another farm tool. In the military and later as a civilian with paramilitary skills, guns were just part of the job.

I think I missed some of the emotional reaction I see from others. In those days people had a "gun permits" and few thought about the concealed part. Just that a person may carry cash or valuables and need a gun.

The current focus on the concealed part seems a paradigm shift to me. However, we hardly ever hear of anyone getting in trobile with a gun permit. Mostly they behave.

And in Texas you can carry a shotgun down the street legally. Just not a pistol in your pocket. Not without a permit.

I was saying undercover operatives might need to conceal them for various reasons but don't see any reason the rest of us can't just carry guns around visibly if we so choose. I didn't mean to come across as anti-gun. I am very big on the second amendment.

Where I live now (in the sticks) everybody has at least a rifle. A lot of people hunt and sometimes there's varmints that need to be eliminated. I don't think one should need a permit to own guns; just curious about why people wanted to carry them concealed.

Used to be, I didn't "get" the "guns rights" people. Then my grown daughter asked me "How would you like it if only the police and military had guns?". That's when I said "I get it now".

My husband recently bought me a pistol (from a private seller) and we've gone out twice "target" shooting. There's a farmer with a lot of land and some mounds of dirt on some of his land - he lets people do practice shooting - we took some soda bottles filled with water and placed them in front of the dirt mounds- so I am not anti-gun at all. I don't think the government should know where every gun is....isn't that the first thing they did in Nazi Germany...go around and collect all the guns?

I can see how my phrasing made me sound opposed to guns; thanks for making such a thorough and clarifying post on the DB. And I can see from your answer why the concealed part is desirable for average citizens as well as undercover cops, etc.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.