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Why would you feel the need to carry to a friend’s house? What are you worried about?
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Actually, pax, the question from Ammosphere has a connection to my problem of getting permission. Within the past few weeks I’ve hung out with assorted folks, including a preacher, teacher and drug dealer. I’m not very concerned about the preacher, because generally they are a trustworthy bunch, choosing to fleece folks only by persuasion and passing the plate. I know where I stand with the teacher from the far left side because I heard her say many times, “A handgun is only for shooting PEOPLE!” But, hey, I can’t just dump my relationship with her; I wouldn’t even be here if she hadn’t carried me for nine months and gone through the pain of labor to land me on planet earth. The drug dealer is a different story. (In case you are wondering, as a Bible thumper, I was “selling” not buying.)
I can backtrack to last November to answer Ammosphere’s question. My wife and I were visiting a good friend, when in comes her 18 year old daughter with three boys in tow. All four of the young folks were users, appeared to have partaken of substances prior to their arrival, and the gal’s dealer boy friend is strongly suspected of breaking into vehicles to support his life style (making the “leave handgun in the car” a poor choice). I was never worried as nothing happened at that time to cause worry; however, the potential existed for a problem (side note: About six months ago, the daughter and drug dealer were involved in an encounter in which the other “team” had brought baseball equipment. The dealer was in the hospital a few days. The 18 year old daughter, who was also beat up, made a poor choice in responding to that conflict. She was recently booked for DWI, drug possession along with being a minor carrying a concealed weapon (handgun) in a federal park. That will certainly ruin a camping trip! Pax, I hope you don’t string me up for the long winded answer, but the brief history lays a little background for the original question of –
“How to ask permission?”
The mom is one of our best friends; therefore, we will be in her home and I will need to get permission if I’m to carry while visiting.
While I understand some folks choose to only hang with those of like mind, I won’t be going that route - conformity can be boring, too many minds like my mind might be scary and I choose to be engaged in society because I believe society can be changed one person at a time. That belief leads me to associate with all types of folks, some of whom may vehemently disagree with me in the subject of firearms in general. If I’m going to carry habitually, then AR law indicates I must have permission to enter their private residence while carrying. There appear to be a few recommendations that I conceal and say nothing; however, I can’t stay within the law by following a “don’t ask, don’t tell” mode of operation.
Perhaps my original question was to general or maybe I should have given a few more details.
1. I’ve never carried concealed, so this is uncharted territory for me. The State of Arkansas is not making it easy to transition to concealed carry given my current lifestyle, which I happen to enjoy.
2. To the best of my knowledge, none of my friends or acquaintances carries concealed, so it might be uncharted for them also. How will they react? And are there ways to mitigate a negative reaction from them?
3. Few folks would even suspect I could shoot a handgun, much less actually own one. Surprise! For extra affect I now get to ask them, “Can I come in and sit on your couch with my hidden handgun?”
4. I’m not liking the mental picture of asking my conservative cohorts, but I’m really in a quandary about the more liberal clan. Perhaps my question should have zeroed in on asking permission of an antigun person or one with unknown leanings. Is it a waste of time or worth the effort in those cases?
It seems like I’ve got a heap of homework to take care of before the permit arrives.