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radioflyer wrote:I can't think of an instance where any individual would approach someone they assume to be armed ans ask them if they are carrying. Even a fellow CHL holder would probably either not bother, or find some subtle way to suggest they need to cover up.

Ha! I can't think of many people in mine or my husband's family who wouldn't feel completely at ease in asking and then with giving their lengthy opinion on the subject, pro or con.

I've been thinking about this over and over since it was first brought up. While a man, well, any man but particularly a man who is the past head of the TSRA, on the NRA board, a firearms instructor, etc, etc could very easily respond with, "My firearm" because he's surrounded by people who know he carries in advance and approve of that and has established a successful life and career in which those who don't approve can either deal or move on, or even if they don't know that they are more willing to accept that from a guy, not everyone has the circumstances to make that approach the most prudent, especially in these economic times. I don't at all begrudge those who have worked hard, taken risks, and probably sacrificed some jobs or friendships along the way to get to a place where that have that luxury; I simply recognize that not everyone is in that place.

In my own situation, if I were in that position of being publicly "made" (and I don't have a CHL), I would not identify as being a firearms owner or a 2A advocate or an ambassador for the cause or any other of these mindsets. I don't have a problem with them at all, just don't personally identify with them. For me, other things take precedence. Surrounding myself with a community of people who share those values I identify with means that many of them do not have the same views on other divergent ideas, like gun ownership. I would not want to risk those communities by placing the theory of gun carrying as a value over the experience of having a community of people I identify with in those areas I value most. I could carry either way, but saying something about it moves us out of the realm of experience and into the realm of theory. Why would I sacrifice what I have for a theoretical exercise?

I think my answer would then be something that would hopefully deflect the issue completely. "I've taken to carrying the entire purse in my pockets--you know how it is being a mom." Something like that which would be honest, but would hopefully say, even if they knew what it was, that this is a non-issue and not something I want to take a stand on. I would hope such an answer would allow someone who didn't have concerns to not develop them, or to diffuse any suspicious concerns someone had, or to establish a "we'll pretend that didn't happen" agreement of don't ask/don't tell if the person had no doubts.

I think my answer is likely to change over time and with greater reflection, but the premise of not risking what I have in unknown circumstances to the theory of concealed carry is one that I believe will be consistent with time.