Voting While Armed

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Well, folks....

I think I have found a fun battle to fight.

I am an Indiana resident. I live in Michigan City, Indiana. My local polling place is a school.

In Indiana, one must obtain a license to carry, in order to possess a handgun while off of their property. One of the restrictions to this license is that you may not carry on school property.

Secondly, Indiana sets forth certain requirements to vote absentee, either in person or by mail. I do not meet any of the requirements to vote absentee.

Now, the fun question becomes:

How do I exercise my right to vote, without having to give up my right to bear arms?


I currently have placed a call into the County Clerk's office, asking this question. The Clerk replied that she has never had that question, and is seeking info from the State Election Board.

Any suggestions, ideas, precedent from other states?

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Is it legal to carry in a polling place if it's not a school?

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Why live where your rights are so restricted, for one thing. And why vote?

Right War, Wrong Battlefield http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/08/09/08/bennett.htm
By Kyle Bennett

I'm not interested in changing the system.

It is futile. The country has the system wanted by the majority of voters, and I don't have the skills to change that many people's minds. Few people do, and an individualist, market and freedom-oriented mindset is incompatible with that ability. The system operates collectively, only collective action within it can be effective, but a message of individual freedom cannot be effectively forwarded by collective means.

The country has the system the majority of voters want, and I don't want to try to force them to change what they want. Even so, this system can't work for much longer anyway, the best way to convince people to stop wanting it would be to stop trying to make it work.

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You know ML, Wyoming's not that far from Montana. You really should make a trip up there for GCM VI next summer, if not Snowdown II in Feb. I'd Love to meet you in person!

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JimmyD8681 wrote:

Is it legal to carry in a polling place if it's not a school?

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Yes.

For example, if your polling place is a church, there is no restriction on carrying there.

The polling place in and of itself is not a prohibited area.

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MamaLiberty wrote:

Why live where your rights are so restricted, for one thing. And why vote?

Right War, Wrong Battlefield http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/08/09/08/bennett.htm
By Kyle Bennett

I'm not interested in changing the system.

It is futile. The country has the system wanted by the majority of voters, and I don't have the skills to change that many people's minds. Few people do, and an individualist, market and freedom-oriented mindset is incompatible with that ability. The system operates collectively, only collective action within it can be effective, but a message of individual freedom cannot be effectively forwarded by collective means.

The country has the system the majority of voters want, and I don't want to try to force them to change what they want. Even so, this system can't work for much longer anyway, the best way to convince people to stop wanting it would be to stop trying to make it work.

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I think Winston Churchill said it best: "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried."

I do want to change the system. And I agree that one person alone can't do it. So, get 10 others who agree with you, and make the change. If that isn't enough, then find 10 more, and have the first 10 find their own 10.

I disagree that the country has what the majority of voters want. Congress and the President are at historical lows. The problem is that people, in general, are apathetic.
As long as they can go to work, come home, watch TV, and take a vacation twice a year, they don't give a damn.

Apathy is dangerous. I suggest one stand and fight. If you don't do it, who will?

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Your own words serve to support my statement.
You admit you've applied for a license to carry, hence it's not a right you're exercising, but a privilege.
Rights need no license, only privileges.
A privileged activity can be regulated/limited at the whim of the state.

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mark edward marchiafava wrote:

Your own words serve to support my statement.
You admit you've applied for a license to carry, hence it's not a right you're exercising, but a privilege.
Rights need no license, only privileges.
A privileged activity can be regulated/limited at the whim of the state.

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Jesus Christ...

You moved over from the Mississippi section to the general section now?

Why are you preaching to the choir, over and over again?
Contact your senator, your representative, on both the state and federal level.
Go set up an information booth at the library or a park.

Quit trying to convince us who already agree with you.

The reason I have a license to carry is because I live in the real world. In the real world, law is enforced with force. Since I can not consolidate enough force to assert my rights outside of the law, I then must choose to violate the law (unconstitutional or not) or work within the law.

Since I have a job that requires compliance with the law, do not have the financial assets to make myself a test case, or the willingness to risk years of prison and a lifetime of a "criminal" record, I choose to work within the law.

This consists of openly carrying everywhere I can, within the confines of the law. It consists of making myself well known to my legistators, law enforcement, and community leaders. It consists of passing out information at local events.

It does not consist of my trolling the OpenCarry.org forum, looking for people that I can harass because they have "conceded their rights".

Now, go do something constructive, instead of making an ass of yourself.

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I didn't realize I was only authorized to view/comment in the Mississippi section. It was my misunderstanding. For whatever reason, I assumed anyone could read/comment in any forum here.
Many years ago, a highly respected businessman in Baton Rouge taught me one of the basic rules of advertising. Don't go for big, splashy, one-time ads, go with smaller, REPETITIVE ones. Most people are more prone to be moved by a constant message. Same philosophy works here. Even one of Hitler's henchmen preached "if you tell a big enough lie often enough, people will believe it."
When a preacher delivers his message, it's meant to be heard by both the choir and the rest of the congregation. Maybe you don't realize there are actually non-gun owners visiting this site.
The so-called elected officials are well aware of me, no need to contact them.
"In the real world, law is enforced with force." LOL, I could school you on that subject.
According to this site, in your home state a permit is required to open carry.
I'd refuse. Instead, an EMPTY holster would certainly generate a lot of questions, etc.
Try wearing an empty holster into a courtroom, state capitol, etc. If anyone questions you, tell them it's the best you can do until the state restores your right to carry.
I often do that in the few areas where I cannot openly carry in Louisiana.

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Sigh.

Yea. So, what you are saying is, I should just screw the idea of actually carrying for self-defense, and just walk around with an empty holster so I can get attention?

Maybe you missed it the first time, so I will try again.

Indiana has a License To Carry Handgun. It does not have a Conceal Carry Permit, or a Concealed Weapon License.

You must have a permit if you want to possess a handgun ANYWHERE other than your own residence or property. You can not go to a range, go hunting, or do acrobatics with a pistol off of your residence or property.

On the flip side, you can carry openly, concealed, duck taped to your forehead, whatever, but ONLY if you have been issued a permit.

If I followed your wonderful advice of refusing to get a permit, then the only place I could legally carry, in ANY manner, would be my home.

Lastly, I didn't say you could only post in the Mississippi forums. I just noticed that you are always there, saying the same thing over and over to people who already agree with you.

Now, you have decided to branch out, and find more people who agree with you, and say the same thing over and over again to them.

My point was to maybe try finding some other people who DISAGREE with you, and try to make a compelling and persuasive argument to them.

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I understood you the first time. I clearly understand Indiana is even worse than Louisiana. While no permit is required here to openly carry, "they" will hassle you about it. While my course of action isn't for everyone, I'd refuse to bow for a permit. I've realized years ago, trying to change someone's mind on this and several other topics is a waste of time.
If one were to study history, they would see how certain people have always tried to oppress others, much to their own detriment. The method to resolve that is always the same. Today, in this country, is no exception. To regain lost liberties, be prepared to implement the ultimate cure.
Good luck.

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I do want to change the system. And I agree that one person alone can't do it. So, get 10 others who agree with you, and make the change. If that isn't enough, then find 10 more, and have the first 10 find their own 10.

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I suspect you didn't even bother to read the article, but I'll try...
And, how has this worked out for YOU? I tried your way for over 30 years, having been a part of the Libertarian effort from the first, and saw no progress at all. Let's see... I started this in 1968. Are we more free now than we were then? No? Gee, I wonder why.

Asking our "representatives" to honor our rights is sort of like begging the mugger to leave us alone. If begging works, just why do you carry a gun at all?

No, withdrawing from the system is not "apathy." I have chosen other ways to deal with the situation and my life is far more free now than it ever was. Voting and political action are not the only answer. If that still works for you, bully. Just ask yourself if anything you have done that way has ever made any real difference to increase YOUR freedom.

Yea. So, what you are saying is, I should just screw the idea of actually carrying for self-defense, and just walk around with an empty holster so I can get attention?

Maybe you missed it the first time, so I will try again.

Indiana has a License To Carry Handgun. It does not have a Conceal Carry Permit, or a Concealed Weapon License.

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So, the question remains... if the exercise of your rights is important to you, why live there? No "license" is required at all in Alaska or Vermont. There is no license required to own a gun or open carry in a great many other states, mine included.

You are the only one who can decide if living there is worth getting a license to exercise a natural right, and I don't deny you the equal right to make that decision, but it is important that you understand that you are making that choice and others make different choices.

BTW, I carry the "empty holster" whenever I MUST enter the post office or other federal building. Those are the only places I can't carry here in Wyoming.

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Mama Liberty,
I've seen your pic several times on the net, have read your posts, you and I share a common understanding of current events. Like you, I, too, wear an empty holster in lots of places.
Going into a post office, federal building, courthouse, etc, gets LOTS of attention. While their "law" prevents me from openly carrying there, it does serve as a reminder I am one of "those" people who prefer to live as a free man and am not the least bit intimidated by their desire to rule over my life.
Your comparison to begging a mugger to leave us alone is spot on.
The ONLY thing those people recognize is a force greater than themselves.
Based on my reading and understanding of history, we're almost there.