Carry No More

[PrideAndJoy54]

I came to the realization this morning that before I had my CHL I was only afraid of BG's. But now, after reading up on the perils of legal concealed carry, I realize that I am more afraid of my own government (police, prosecutors, judges) than I am of armed criminals. So I will not be carrying any longer. I will keep my guns for home protection but that is as far as they will go. I will also keep my NRA membership so that maybe someday the BG's will be the only fear a legal gun owner has. Good luck to all.

[74novaman]

I came to the realization this morning that before I had my CHL I was only afraid of BG's. But now, after reading up on the perils of legal concealed carry, I realize that I am more afraid of my own government (police, prosecutors, judges) than I am of armed criminals. So I will not be carrying any longer. I will keep my guns for home protection but that is as far as they will go. I will also keep my NRA membership so that maybe someday the BG's will be the only fear a legal gun owner has. Good luck to all.

What specifically worries you about carrying legally? There are a lot of CHL holders in Texas who carry legally every day and are not harrassed by the government.

Can you be more specific?

[Heartland Patriot]

I came to the realization this morning that before I had my CHL I was only afraid of BG's. But now, after reading up on the perils of legal concealed carry, I realize that I am more afraid of my own government (police, prosecutors, judges) than I am of armed criminals. So I will not be carrying any longer. I will keep my guns for home protection but that is as far as they will go. I will also keep my NRA membership so that maybe someday the BG's will be the only fear a legal gun owner has. Good luck to all.

Seems a little drastic. When I first started carrying, I was worried quite a bit about being busted for not properly concealing...that somebody was going to figure out that I had it and call LEOs on me...but that subsided the more I discussed things on here. I also attended one of Mr. Cotton's self-defense and the law seminar and that helped me a lot, as well. Now, if you read any of my postings, I'm pretty hard-core on some topics and I tend to get spun up...but I still think that (due to a lot of hard work on the part of some fine folks, Mr. Cotton amongst them) we have laws that are generally on the side of the law-abiding citizen. Its better than it used to be and I think (hope) it will get better. You have to do what is right for you and yours, but for now, I'll follow the law and carry for defense of myself and loved ones, and take my chances.

[bayouhazard]

I came to the realization this morning that before I had my CHL I was only afraid of BG's. But now, after reading up on the perils of legal concealed carry, I realize that I am more afraid of my own government (police, prosecutors, judges) than I am of armed criminals. So I will not be carrying any longer. I will keep my guns for home protection but that is as far as they will go. I will also keep my NRA membership so that maybe someday the BG's will be the only fear a legal gun owner has. Good luck to all.

Good luck.

[74novaman]

From the OPs earlier posts, it looks like what prompted this may be his realization that he may have illegally carried on COE land.

From a quick google search, I can't find a single instance where someone has been prosecuted for carrying a firearm on COE land....

Just food for thought.

[old farmer]

1. The government will protect my family. Check
2. My lawyer will sue the person that killed me. Check.
3. The criminals will respect my family and their rights. Check.
4. You should protect your family. check.
One of the statement is true.

[Kadelic]

...after reading up on the perils of legal concealed carry, I realize that I am more afraid of my own government...

What exactly have you been reading? Sounds like propaganda to me. Shades of Alex Jones?

[RPBrown]

Because of the government is why our fonders created the 2nd ammendment. There are many reasons I carry and can think of none why I wouldn't as I don't go places that are off limits by law.

[ac-mech]

My first priority is staying alive...I worry about the rest later...

[rcasady]

i wish you could be more specific about the " perils " before i assume something and make a colorful statement , heck you may even talk me into not carrying if theres something we are all missing . either way good luck with your decision

[RPB]

From the OPs earlier posts, it looks like what prompted this may be his realization that he may have illegally carried on COE land.

From a quick google search, I can't find a single instance where someone has been prosecuted for carrying a firearm on COE land....

Just food for thought.

I believe Alice at TSRA told me once that she checked and could find none either.
In the city of Burnet, TX, it's illegal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk on the Courthouse Square.
I've never seen anyone get pulled over or get a ticket for doing so accidentally (or even on purpose)
I'm not advocating breaking any law, but just sayin' I wouldn't worry about accidentally breaking a law more than being robbed on purpose.

My first priority is staying alive...I worry about the rest later...

Yeah, I might ask those who I support if they'd prefer I continued to support them, or if they prefer the Government support them, if it fails to protect me should I decide to delegate the responsibility for my protection to them instead of being responsible myself.


PrideAndJoy54
I suspect (hope) most of us, when first carrying get a mental flash of lightning type revelation that :

This is an awesome responsibility, not to be taken lightly

But

That's a good thing.

[jmra]

What's the old saying;
"better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6"

[Keith B]

I believe you may be over-thinking your potential for getting in trouble by carrying. While carrying a concealed weapon does have a very large responsibility that goes along with it, and you must be aware of restrictions of where you can and can't carry, there is no one out there 'just looking to get you' for carrying. If you passed the CHL course and got the license, then you are good to go. If they were really out to get all the CHL's out there, then there would be an almost 500,000 additional people going through the court system on trial.

I liken having a CHL and carrying concealed to the responsibility of getting your drivers license and driving a car. There are rules that go along with that you must learn so you can be safe when you drive. You know from your training that you you can't drive on the sidewalk or you will get in trouble. So, just keep your car off the sidewalk (gun concealed), drive on the street (go about your regular daily business), and quit looking in your rear view mirror for the cop you think will pull you over and arrest you for driving legally (carrying a concealed weapon legally with your license.)

[steveincowtown]

From the OPs earlier posts, it looks like what prompted this may be his realization that he may have illegally carried on COE land.

From a quick google search, I can't find a single instance where someone has been prosecuted for carrying a firearm on COE land....

Just food for thought.

I believe Alice at TSRA told me once that she checked and could find none either.
In the city of Burnet, TX, it's illegal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk on the Courthouse Square.
I've never seen anyone get pulled over or get a ticket for doing so accidentally (or even on purpose)
I'm not advocating breaking any law, but just sayin' I wouldn't worry about accidentally breaking a law more than being robbed on purpose.

My first priority is staying alive...I worry about the rest later...

Yeah, I might ask those who I support if they'd prefer I continued to support them, or if the Government will if it fails to protect me should I decide to delegate the responsibility for my protection to them instead of being responsible myself.

I am also not advocating breaking the law and IANAL (and I will preface this that this is only my meager understanding of the law)....

I don't believe State Park Rangers can enforce Federal Laws. So if you were in a Texas State Park, that happened to be on ACOE land, and you somehow were caught with a concealed weapon, you would have to be very, very unlucky for a State Park Ranger to report the incident to Federal Authorities.

Once you were reported to Federal Authorities and if they felt that you blatantly disregarded the law and they had a case, they would have no way to prosecute you since prosecution for this particular crime has been defunded.

http://altmire.house.gov/index.php?opti ... &Itemid=48" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EDITED TO ADD- I can't find anywhere this actually was passed into LAW.



To the OP, as much as this forum explores "what ifs" , "run is with LEO's", etc. etc. the evidence shows that odds of any individual who is carrying legally ever having a problem are slim.

Get back on that horse...

[RPB]

Small pepper sprays for self-defense--which are otherwise legal to carry in Texas--are prohibited in certain locations. These include the secured departure areas of airports and in certain court buildings.

Read more: Pepper Spray Laws in Texas | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_6706879_pepper ... z1oeqaWY3P" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I know someone who once accidentally carried a pepper spray into a Courthouse, put it in the tray when emptying pockets at metal detector and got the tray handed back ... didn't get caught, wasn't on purpose, didn't go crazy spraying people, didn't even realize they had it until lunch, that person checks better prior to entering Courthouses now.

I'd bet some girls forget their Lipstick/Perfume spritzer (pepper spray) too if they don't think of each purse item
http://www.google.com/search?q=pepper+s ... 24&bih=609" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have heard of no arrests for it yet, if there have been any, and no one should intentionally break a law.