Who knows, maybe the device could stop a bullet. But hey, if Steven Jobs makes concealed carry wear fashionable because people need a way to carry around iPad’s, that’s fine by me.
Category: Carrying / Self-Defense
No Charges for Lehigh County Sheriff
It is actually a crime in Pennsylvania overcharge for a License to Carry, but the District Attorney for Lehigh County isn’t going to charge the Sheriff. It would appear that the Sheriff is going to make clear the state mandated $25 dollar license is available, but will still issue the credit card sized $38 dollar license. To me this is preferred. We are required to carry the licenses with us while carrying, and an oversized piece of paper isn’t going to last five years in a wallet. But it looks like some jurisdictions that issue cards are going to stop because of the controversy, and go back to just the state prescribed paper.
Serious Question
My question is to Colin Goddard, who’s testimony before the Congressional Panel on banning private gun transfers can be found here. It’s quite a chilling story. Given the circumstances described, if he had to go back in relive that day, would he have preferred to have a gun with him or not? It’s very difficult for me to understand how the answer could be no. Putting aside for a second the burdens of carrying a gun, it seems difficult for me to believe anyone would say no. I’m not sure what it says about your own belief in yourself, your abilities, and your self-image.
Perhaps it is pacifism. There are some people who simply could not bring themselves to do violence on another, even if the other person were trying to kill them and everyone else around them. I can accept that is a personal choice, but it seems to me to be a personal choice — not something to be imposed on others through force of law.
Run Its Course?
This is the first news article I’ve seen about a drop in concealed carry permit applications from anywhere, but I guess like you eventually run out of other people’s money, you also eventually run out of gun nuts. Of course, this means we need to make more. Don’t forget, our opponents tell us we stand for a gun for every hand, everywhere, anywhere, no questions asked.
I would note …
… that Pizza Hut does not allow its drivers to protect their own lives. One thing I’ve never been able to understand is why anyone would put their own safety as risk for a minimum wage job.
Reciprocity Under Attack Again
For those of you in Pennsylvania, today the anti-gunners are coming after concealed carry reciprocity once again. They have put off the vote over and over again since they can’t quite scrape together enough. If this really comes up, it likely means they have the votes or they are close enough that they think they can swing it.
You know what to do. Contact information is here.
Pro-Tip for Dan Onorato: Research
Sebastian noted that our Democratic nominee for governor is blaming the Republican candidate for a non-loophole that he declares to independently be a loophole – reciprocity. Unfortunately, he kind of got some big freakin’ facts wrong – but as any internet commentator knows, that won’t stop a blowhard from beating his chest indignantly.
First, there’s the fact that Onorato is specifically blaming Corbett for the Florida reciprocity agreement. Which is funny because the Florida reciprocity agreement was signed in 2001 – before Corbett took office in 2005.
Second, there’s the fact that under the law, the Attorney General actually has an affirmative duty to sign the agreements. So it doesn’t matter who is in the Attorney General’s office, they are supposed to seek out reciprocity opportunities with other states. The laws for issuance of the other states are all at least as strict as ours – and Florida actually has more requirements to obtain a license than Pennsylvania. So if they can do away with the Florida agreement, the anti-gun folks will just pick another state to target. And it won’t be long before all of our concealed carry agreements are gone.
He’s Got a Point
The Knoxville Gun Rights Examiner takes notice of a product being sold by NRA which is an extraordinarily bad idea. I hope NRA will reconsider this. I don’t think they really want to sell anything that puts their members in danger.
What’s In Your Pocket?
I mentioned yesterday Uncle’s review of an interesting holster. There are a number of problems I have with pocket carry, based on all the equipment I prefer to carry. First, here’s some of the gear I’m carrying:
The Apple chicklet keyboard is for scale. I’m not carrying that with me. But starring from left to right is a Kimber Pepper Blaster II, a Kel-Tec P3-AT, Fenix LD10 Flashlight, Sabre Red OC, and a spare loaded mag for the Kel-Tec. Not featured is the SOG Aegis, car keys, wallet, nor the iPhone and MultiTool I carry everywhere.
I’m not carrying all these things all the time. I either carry the OC canister, or the Pepper Blaster. Not both. If you look at the pocket holster I carry the Kel-Tec in, I have the flashlight laid out exactly how I prefer to carry it in pocket. Why? Because it breaks up the outline. You’ll see what I mean:
The camera didn’t do it justice, but these are an older pair of jeans that have a gun shape worn in them. Those got worn before I figured out I needed something to break up the outline. Even if I carry a wallet in my front pocket, at least I feel the wear pattern looks kind of obvious. In this picture, the Kel-Tec and holster are in the pocket, so you can see it’s obvious to someone observant that I’m carrying.
The purpose of a pocket holster is to protect the trigger, and to keep the gun upright in the pocket. It does an excellent job of that. But after a while, it doesn’t break up the outline effectively, and needs help. I’m not sure a holster that helps something else ride there is the answer, even thought I said yesterday it might be cool.
First, if I’m carrying a flashlight in that pocket, I go fetch that several times a day. There can’t be a holster getting in the way of that. Secondly, I need to be able to place it back in a pocket, and secure it in place without man handling anything, and definitely without having to remove the holster from the pocket to redo straps or get things in the right position.
Everything’s really a trade off. If we were all cops we could just keep everything on a duty belt, but we’re not. We have to make choices. In summer time, for me that means a pocket rocket instead of a Glock 19. That means a smaller OC canister. After more thought, I think the main piece of gear that would be helpful in this setup is a pocket holster for the Pepper Blaster II, for when I opt to carry that in circumstances I can’t carry a pistol. The original Pepper Blaster had a clip, but for some reason Kimber didn’t do that with the second version. I feel uncomfortable carrying the PB II in a pocket without the trigger guarded. The safety that comes with it is feeble.
If anyone has any suggestions or good stories from their own experience, feel free to chime in.
Interesting Holster
SayUncle is reviewing a combination pocket and in-waist-band holster from The Holster Site. One thing I’d like to see is a pocket holster that can carry a small canister of OC spray or flash light along side it, or a holster for this. I got the Kimber Pepper Blaster II because one thing I hate about OC is it’s difficult to fumble for the right orientation with a round canister. The problem with the pepper blaster is that it’s more bulky, and only gives you two shots. Not sure yet whether it makes sense or not, but I do like the pistol like grip, and if there were a holster for it, it would be quick to get into action. In summer I do a lot of pocket carry, but it’s problematic. I’ll do a follow-up post about this when I get home and can take pictures of the rig.