Wife Thought I was Crazy (Again)

[Ross]

Last night, coming home with a car loaded down from a trip to Sam's Club, I'm stopped in a line of traffic at a red light. The pickup behind me decides he wants to get over in the next lane, so he turns his wheels sharply and tries to ease past me. Not enough room. I feel a slight nudge as he bumps my right rear bumper area.
I knew it wasn't much of a bump, but I also knew that it doesn't take much to damage plastic bumpers, so I started to get out to check. I threw the car into park, and turned to get out. I'm wearing a gun, like always, so I either have to put on my jacket as I get out, or take my gun off and put it on the floorboard.
As I turn and open the door with my left hand, with my right hand I pull out my gun to lay it on the floor. Mind you, this all happened pretty quickly. Poor Dawn thought that I was pulling my gun out to go confront the guy behind me! For a second I'm sure she thought, "What kind of maniac am I married to?" OK, she knows that I'm a maniac, she just doesn't know what kind.
Anyway, I get to the back of the car to look at the bumper and the guy in the truck says,"I didn't hit you." I replied, "then who knocked my car forward?"
Thankfully, no marks on the bumper, and I didn't say anything more to the guy.

[SergntMac]

Okay, like is it a requirement that you cover up, or, leave it in the car? What are the local rules? Seems to me you were headed into exactly the kind of confrontation where being armed may save your life, why did you have to leave it behind?

[RCSignals]

Good questions Mac. If one has a CCP, is it mandatory to always be concealed?

[Ross]

Good question, Sarge. Yes, in Texas it has to be concealed. I wanted to jump out quick, since the guy was trying to get into the other lane and I thought he might take off before I got out to check. So in the interest of speed (which turned out not to be necessary since he just sat there), I figured that I could drop my gun on the floor quicker than I could put on my jacket in the car, then get out.
You're definitely right, if it was a situation where there might have been a confrontation, I would definitely want to be armed. But as I turned, I could see that the guy was sitting behind the wheel, and it didn't appear that he was taking any kind of action. If he had started to try to get out, I was close enough to get back to my gun quickly since the door was open on my car.
Funny how you make those kind of determinations very quickly, knowing that there are always several options and you hope you have made the right one.
I'll bet you have had to make countless decisions over the years about whether "is the the encounter that starts out quietly, but ends up violently?"

[SergntMac]

Well, yeah, Ross, my past experience figured in my thoughts about this scenario. As a senior LEO, I've had literally hundreds of cases where a citizen defended themselves with a firearm. As long as they followed all the other rules about firearms, like owner and weapon registration, I never asked why they had a weapon when the needed it. After a few hours of checking the facts, they all went home to their families.

I'm not versed in Texas law, but in Illinois and surrounding states, it's usually the concealment of a firearm that gets lawful owners into hot water. Most of the states I have researched issue permits for concealment, not just the carry. Thanks for the update, but this does seem a bit odd to me at the same time.

I expected Texas to be more like Arizona, where strapped is the only way to dress. My word, you should have been with me the first time I visited Sedona. Went to breakfast at a local truck stop, and on the door was a sign that said "no shoes, no shirt, no gun...no service." I was as nervous as a whore in church on that vacation...

I don't want to start any "pro vs. con" discussion here, so, let me say thanks for answering my question.

[Bluerauder]

"What kind of maniac am I married to?" OK, she knows that I'm a maniac, she just doesn't know what kind.

This is a great line ..... can I use it. Oops!!!! Can my wife use it??

[Ross]

Sarge, not to get into pro or con debate, but just to talk about the differences in State laws. In Texas, a pistol is called an "illegal carrying weapon" under the Penal Code. You can own it, but not carry it, unless you have a Concealed Carry Permit. If you have a permit, you can carry the pistol, but only if it is concealed from normal observation. And believe it or not, Texas didn't even have this until George W. was governor! I know a lot of folks picture Texas as a place where everyone has carried guns all the time, but it has only been recently that we could do so. I know there are places like Vermont, and recently Alaska where you can carry openly or concealed, with or without any kind of license.

[SergntMac]

For more that one reason, Ross, I'm looking forward to meeting up with you at Marauderville II. You're coming to Indy, right?

[merc406]

Carry a gun? Why? Own a Bussiness or an Officer? Live in a crime ridden neighborhood?

[Ross]

For more that one reason, Ross, I'm looking forward to meeting up with you at Marauderville II. You're coming to Indy, right?



Right now we're not sure about Indy. Both Dawn and I want to go really bad, but I'm in a "down" year financially since I had a major client go belly up and stiff the frim for LOTS of unpaid fees. We're still trying to see where we can tighten our belts and come up with the extra cash for the trip. We haven't given up on it yet. If we make it, I'll be sure to have some more Shiner Bock beer for you!

[Ross]

Carry a gun? Why? Own a Bussiness or an Officer? Live in a crime ridden neighborhood?

Merc, different people have different feelings about this, so here is mine. I respect any opposing views, and I recognize that there are some.
To me, a gun is nothing more than an insurance policy. It's just like my collision insurance on my car. I carry the insurance, but I hope I will never need it. However, I realize that if I don't have it I may need it, so I make sure to carry the insurance all the time.
A gun is the same thing. I carry it hoping (and praying) that I will never need it. However, the one time I don't have it is the one time I may need it, so I carry it all the time.
I don't just carry it if I'm in a high crime area, because innocent people are attacked in "good" parts of time all the time.
I don't just carry it when I think I will need it, because if I really believe I will need it, I'll just stay away from where I will need it. Just like if you told me that I would be in an accident at a certain intersection at a certain time. I wouldn't need any collision insurance, because I would simply avoid that intersection at that time. Same with the gun. If I know I will be forced to use it if I go to a certain place, I'll simply avoid that place and therefore avoid the need to use the gun.
There are a lot of bad folks out there. If I could guarantee that I wouldn't run into any of them, I'd never carry a gun. But as long as the possibility exists that I will need insurance, I want to have it.
Others may look at their lives and decide just the opposite. It's their lives, and the lives of their loved ones, and their decision.

[junehhan]

Sarge, not to get into pro or con debate, but just to talk about the differences in State laws. In Texas, a pistol is called an "illegal carrying weapon" under the Penal Code. You can own it, but not carry it, unless you have a Concealed Carry Permit. If you have a permit, you can carry the pistol, but only if it is concealed from normal observation. And believe it or not, Texas didn't even have this until George W. was governor! I know a lot of folks picture Texas as a place where everyone has carried guns all the time, but it has only been recently that we could do so. I know there are places like Vermont, and recently Alaska where you can carry openly or concealed, with or without any kind of license.

At the end of this month on April 30th, you can add OH to your list there as we finally now have the right to obtain a concealed weapon permit. You have to go through 12 hours worth of courses, and then take a test I believe. I am thinking about getting a Glock semi-automatic 9mm that i'll keep in my center storage console, or the glove box since I drive through some really nasty area's on my way home late at night from work.

[rookie1]

Good questions Mac. If one has a CCP, is it mandatory to always be concealed?

Not here in Indiana. You can wear it Wyatt Earp style if you like but the local leos all prefer you wear it concealed.