Category: Carrying / Self-Defense

The session ended without a vote on the bill.  Gun control groups are already hailing the victory.  But look at where the front line is?   Removing the prohibitions on carry on campuses.   They won… for now.  Time to get motivated in Texas.

With this report from Uncle that several gubernatorial candidates on both sides of the aisle seem to be lining up against a major gun bill, what on earth can a gun owner do to make a difference and change this rhetoric?

There’s a problem of timing for the election.  Unlike New Jersey and Virginia which have elections this year, Tennessee gun owners are still a year and a half out from the next election.  It’s not like it’s time to start phone banking or doing precinct walks for candidates yet.  It’s hard to step up and give the manpower to sink or promote a campaign in response to these statements against concealed carry access.

The problem is that this early on, candidates have to be thinking about what the editorials will say about them if they come out against members of their own party or other political issues.  Voters aren’t paying that much attention, and even most activists haven’t quite tuned in yet.  They are fighting for donors, endorsements, and positive press to raise their name recognition.

But, this early in the game there are a few steps I would suggest:

1. Let the candidates who are coming out against the right-to-carry improvements know that you are a gun owner who is upset by this and they have not only lost your vote, but you will volunteer for pro-gun campaigns.
2. Write letters to the editor to call out these candidates for their stances.  Keep it polite, keep it short, and keep it on topic.  Take away the “benefit” of not causing a stir in the media and make one for them.  Remember that you’re writing for an audience that won’t likely know the issue, so emphasize that license holders go through multiple background checks and are the kinds of people who can be trusted to not cause problems.  Stick with a responsibility message to defeat their talking points.
3. Find the candidate(s) who support the bill and throw a little money their way if you have it.  It doesn’t have to be a huge donation.  In fact, if you can’t give a big amount, then do a pledge of small amounts that will ultimately add up.  See if they do need help with sorting mailers or other low key outreach right now and volunteer.  If they do have projects that could use a little assistance, they will definitely remember you this early on, especially if you’re specific about why you are there to help.
4. Most importantly, live up to anything you say.  Don’t tell a campaign you won’t support them and then send a check 6 months later because you forgot.  If you’re paying attention this early on, stay involved.

It’s really not a fun situation to be in.  It’s also not something most Tennessee gun owners expect.  Sure New Jersey gun owners are used to being election punching bags, but not most red state gun owners.  It’s a situation that’s going to evolve.

This weekend, reports of increasing demand for concealed carry permits came from Missouri, Ohio, Kentucky, and North Dakota.  It’s almost as if people don’t trust that the Democrats in power won’t try to crack down on gun rights.

I’m back home in Philadelphia, after my TSA ordeal. I guess at some point early at the NRA Convention, I slipped my spare magazine into my laptop bag.  Caught a cold Friday, and through the Benadryl, and being up early in the morning to pack, I didn’t remember I had the spare mag for the Kel-Tec with me.

Bitter packed all the luggage up, because she’s more systematic than I am, but I unloaded my guns, unloaded the magazines, and put them back in the locked container to be put in with the checked bag.  Got to the airport, declared the unloaded firearms to the ticket agent, got my orange ticket, checked the bag, and sniffled my way to the security checkpoint.

Shoes off, bag on the belt, laptop out, the whole drill.  For some reason, the belt stopped, and the x-ray person motioned for someone else, and I had to wait.  The guy took me aside, and told me I could watch, but not touch the bag as it was searched.  He ran the explosive residue test, so I figured maybe something in my charger, iPod or iPhone must have looked weird.  I was unconcerned as he searched the bag until he pulled the loaded magazine out of one of the pouches in my laptop bag.

“Oh shit!” I seem to recall saying.  I nearly shit myself.  I apologized to the TSA guy for my forgetfulness, and he took me over, photographed it, asked me how many rounds were in the mag, and what caliber.  Filled out a form, and called the Phoenix Police.  At this point I thought I was in a lot of trouble.  TSA guy said this kind of thing happens a lot, and it’s not really a big deal, which took the pucker factor down a bit.  Phoenix PD showed up, asked me what I was doing with the magazine, I told him I was at the NRA Convention, have a license to carry a firearm, had checked the firearms in my luggage legally, and had simple forgotten I had a spare magazine on me.

The Phoenix PD ran me through their system, and I must have come up clean, because he then asks me “What do you want to do with the magazine?” and I recall saying something like “Don’t you have to keep it?” he said “It would be a shame for you to lose a magazine and your ammo.  I can take you back outside and we can hook you up with an envelope, and you can mail it to yourself.”

At this point I’m wondering what foreign planet I have stepped foot on.  In Philly, I think I would be getting fingerprinted right about now.   The cop says “This kind of thing happens all the time.   It’s been happening more often with the NRA in town.”  The TSA guy says “At least you didn’t forget the gun, that we would have handled differently.  It’s really not a big deal.”   He told me my name would go into a database, not the no fly list, but a database of people who have made my type of mistake, and if they never had a problem with me again, nothing would happen, but that they would likely prosecute on a second offense.

Taking me back out of the security checkpoint, and up to the information desk to mail back my magazine and ammo, I remembered that you can’t send ammo through the USPS, so I asked him if I could turn in the ammo, and just mail the magazine back, which is all I cared about anyway.  TSA was fine with that.  Phoenix PD also said it really wasn’t a big deal.  After that I had to go through security again (passed this time) and was allowed to continue on my way.   TSA and Phoenix PD were courteous the entire time, and the reassurance that it wasn’t a big deal helped me from freaking out.

Truth be told, I’m still a little freaked out by it.  But you can bet next time I’m ripping my carry on apart beforehand to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything.  So given my experience, I offer my readers who are flying with guns a bit of advice:

1. Make a list of everything you brought with you, including how many rounds of ammunition, how many magazines, and keep it with the case.   When you go to pack back up, make sure that the numbers in the case are the same as what you brought.
2. Go through all your carry on, every compartment, pouch, etc in the bag.  Make sure nothing prohibited found its way in there.  Check before you cross into the security zone again, just to be sure.
3. Perhaps a pocket pistol isn’t the best gun to travel with.  Had it been a fully loaded Glock magazine, the weight of the bag would have been heavier than I’m used to, and I might have noticed.
4. Give yourself plenty of time.  I arrived early for the flight, and didn’t end up missing it because I had plenty of time.

You can bet next time I fly with guns, which hopefully won’t be for a while, I will follow this procedure.  I’m glad TSA is understanding and gives everyone one “Ooops!” but it still bothers me.  I’m usually very careful about these things, but after three days of light sleep, jet lag, and a nasty cold, it’s easy to forget a detail.

When flying with firearms, make sure to check your carry on bag before you fly. Definitely don’t forget a spare loaded P3AT magazine in your carry on. That might create some difficulty for you. More later.

UPDATE: In Houston waiting for connection to Philly. I have to say, Phoenix TSA and Phoenix Police Department are great. More later.

Pretty clearly, it’s best to give them what they want, lest they take your chili, and use it against you.

Looks like reciprocity, removal on some carry restrictions, and full, unambiguous preemption.  Passed 43 to 3, with one abstaining.    Now it just needs to be signed by the Governor, which seems likely.

We had just been talking about this issue a few days ago in regards to Illinois.  Nebraska’s home rule law doesn’t really allow local municipalities to regulate something like carrying firearms, but some did anyway, and were ready to take it to court.  This should throw cold water all over that, and make it unambiguous.

See this video from Seattle of a drug store robbery gone bad… for the robber.  The Pharmacist might want to take a training course or two though, as I would not approach an armed robber with the gun held one handed.  What if he hadn’t ran off? Not sure chasing after him was a wise move either, but protecting his store with a gun? Good on him.

What I really hate about this is how they say they are putting their customers at risk. Because we all know the ethical thing to do is to submit to armed robbers and give them what they want, and hope they don’t intend to make sure there are no witnesses.