Quote Originally Posted by CptnBlues63 View Post
I also believe it's better to be judged by 12.

When you say "it was more trouble than it ever got me out of" what exactly are you referring to..........if you don't mind me asking?
I really do not want to turn third into a heated discussion about concealed carry, but you've asked about my personal experiences.

until you're in a position to be judged by 12 - that seems like a very reasonable theory. Once you're in the process of being judged by 12, life goes to hell. And - usually you have a heck of a lot of media attention which just further amplifies the hell... right, wrong or draw - every situation I've seen where someone defends themselves with a concealed carry suffers some sort of fall out. Some worse than others. I think of the Sanford, FL situation is one of the defining cases of a a persons "need" to carry a weapon and that situation going awry... Did Trayvon Martin deserve to die? And does George Zimmerman deserve the treatment he's receiving now. Don't answer please - just think about the impact in both those young persons lives due to that confrontation when only one of the two was carrying a firearm.

I'm not quite sure how it is elsewhere, but where I live there are not many folks that carry concealed weapons.. Time and time again I had to justify for others my carrying a gun. Sometimes that experience was not very pleasant despite the fact I was a LEO. There were times I had to surrender or store my weapon when I was with family a long way from home - worry it was not going to be stolen - or give up attending some public event because I was armed.

I never tried to "sneak" my weapon anywhere and always declared if necessary. Countless times the hassle of that act alone would test my will to "sneak" the gun into events. The folks that saw my gun and called police to "check" me out. Challenges from folks who did not like the fact I was carrying a gun. I haven't carried concealed since I retired despite the fact I am lawfully able to.

We were not permitted to carry a weapon off-duty if we were drinking or in a liquor establishment by departmental policy. I believe there's a doggone good reason for that and I worked hard to comply with that policy. But think about that for a moment. Imagine you're out with friends at some event (e.g. Playing a friendly baseball game) and they spontaneously want to go out for drinks afterwards...

During the 30+ years I carried concealed I NEVER was in a situation to have to use it. Then again - I worked hard to avoid situations where I would need to use it. My thought was - if I'm truly doing my job, I'm not trying to create a situation. I can only think about a handful of total times when I was off duty and in neighborhoods where it was a good idea for me to be armed. And - those situations were related to my secondary employment (crash reconstruction consulting).

Bottom line - I guess I really never thought it was "cool" to carry a gun. I did so because it was a necessaey part of my job. Towards the end of my careers I rarely carried a weapon except while on-duty - it just did not feel to me like it was necessary...