Carry Where
When I juice up the gun administratively, I check the chamber. When I pick up a pistol that has been out of my control or observation, such as when I get dressed in the morning, I check the chamber. Now, does that mean that I think that gremlins have sneaked in and unloaded my heater overnight? No it means I check because I always check
Indeed. And she notes:
This is tied in to another thing I often read on the internet “You carry a gun to the (grocery store/restaurant/nice neighborhood/sewing circle/whatever)?” No, I don’t. As Kathy Jackson phrased it so well, I don’t carry a gun “to” anyplace; I just carry a gun.
I will say that Tam’s philosophy on carrying is also an adequate component of gun safety. Minimizing handling of the weapon lessens risk. If I put the gun on and leave it there, it will stay there quite safely until I take it off at night. But this is complicated by local carry laws. For instance, a place that serves alcohol or a school is a no-go for carry. And this increases the likelihood of a negligent discharge.
I have to pick the kids up from school. So, I have to be careful to park in the street and not on their property. I then have to remove my firearm and secure it in my vehicle. What I’ve done here is increased the chance of a negligent discharge from zero to more than zero. To comply with the law. The preference is to just not take it off but if I have to, I re-check the weapon when I put it back on. If I just leave it on, the chance of ND remains zero but the likelihood of going to jail increases.
February 4th, 2010 at 10:53 am
You don’t have to disarm when picking up the kids. There’s an exception in the “no guns on campus” law that says if you’re there picking up or dropping off a student, you can be armed as long as you don’t handle the weapon. I’ll try to get the TCA to you later on today (got a meeting in 5 minutes).
February 4th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
What remains of the gun free school zone laws says that a permit holder can carry in a school zone in their state. What defines premesis for parking lot and school grounds is defined by the state. Here in Texas a premesis is defined as a building (for a school the fenced in yard would probably count as well). I can carry right up to the door but not through them. However this is in Texas the definition of premesis vary’s state to state. I am not a lawyer and do not play one on TV. Do your own research and consult a local lawyer for legal advice.
February 4th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
39-17-1309(c)(1) …It is not an offense under this subsection (c) for a nonstudent adult to possess a firearm, if the firearm is contained within a private vehicle operated by the adult and is not handled by the adult, or by any other person acting with the expressed or implied consent of the adult, while the vehicle is on school property.
So as long as you don’t get out of the car, and don’t “handle” it, you don’t have to disarm when picking up the kids. They would have to come to you, though.
February 4th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
I don’t see the need to check my pistol each time I put it on or take it off.
My pistol is loaded at all times, unless I’m cleaning it or I’m handling it on the range line, and I treat it that way (safe direction, finger off the trigger if it’s out of the holster for a moment).
February 4th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Yeah but a press check only takes a second, so why not do it every time?
February 4th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
Yes, for safety the gun is always treated as if loaded.
But since I carry mine for the other type of safety, the type of safety where I may have to use that gun, a check to ensure it is loaded is prudent.
Remember – trust, but verify.
February 4th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
When I worked in a university library, I would sometimes want to go to the office after hours on weekends. But since I carried everywhere, I would have to drive home, disarm, then head to campus. I couldn’t drop by my office while out doing other things. It had to be a separate trip, just to stay squeeky legal clean.
It was a pain in the ass.
February 5th, 2010 at 12:25 am
Sorry your math is wrong regarding risk Uncle, you’re making the Gambler’s fallacy.
Every time you pick up a gun, it’s a new event. The probability of an ND is the same every time you pick up a gun, keeping other variables constant (alertness, drugs, stress, etc..) And as time goes by and people become more confident with firearm safety, their skill level increases and their probability of an ND actually decreases.
People – It’s concealed, no one is going to bother you. If you keep leaving it at home it’s like why have it?
If you only have it for situations where you’re going somewhere ‘more risky,’ the best way to reduce that is to avoid it.
So actually to decrease NDs, people should increase their skill and carry their guns more.
February 5th, 2010 at 4:10 am
Modlcitizen,
I’m not sure how the gambler’s fallacy applies. The concern isn’t that handling the gun more increases the overall risk of an ND, it’s that even if the risk per occurance remains the same, more occurences are more chances for that individual chance to occur.
You might only have one chance per roll to get a six. But if rolling a six is bad, why roll the die more times than you have to. To misquote Gretzky, you can’t miss any shots you don’t take.
There are places for some people where leaving the gun on is an unacceptable risk. Even “concealed” is not a guarantee of non-discovery, one chance occurance beyond your control in the wrong place and, conceivably, you risk loss of your right to carry forever.
It is true that the chance of needing the gun resets everytime you carry, but so does the chance of discovery. Statistically, it is almost certainly more likely in any given carry period that you might be discovered, given the number of ways that can happen, given any reasonable carry method, than you might actually need the gun (given the rate of violent crime).
Therefore, it is rational to not carry on those few occasions when the risk of discovery carries permanent consequences than to give greater weight to the lower likelihood of actually needing the gun for that brief period.
The decision rests on the perceived math, the perceived percentage chance of discovery vice the perceived percentage chance of need of use in a prohibited environment with permanent loss as a risk (with the added factor of one’s willingness to break the law based on higher principles).
February 5th, 2010 at 10:07 am
No, it’s not. A holstered gun has exactly zero chance of being involved in a negligent discharge. A handled gun has a greater than zero chance of being involved in a negligent discharge.