Words are important - they convey meaning.
CCW is not a bad term, but it is in many cases inaccurate. In Va. the correct acronym would be a CHP
The weapon (handgun) itself is definitely NOT a CCW. What if I'm OCing? You are saying that it is a concealed carry weapon carried openly - I don't think so. The handgun is independent of any attributes that make it concealed or open carried.
Even in Va. It's still a CCW, but it is your CHP that allows it to be legal. And yes the weapon itself IS a CCW if its concealed. Because CCW is concealed carried weapon. If you were to openly carry it then it would be an OCW or openly carried weapon. Now weapon/handgun/whatever you want to call it is generally dropped from speech because everyone knows what's being talked about.
All that I was saying is that CC and OC are just shortened versions of CCW and OCW. Open/concealed is your adjective. Carried is your verb. Weapon is your noun.
CCing w/o a permit is NOT in and of itself a crime. There are 4 states now where permits are not required to CC. In other states a permit is not needed in your home, business or when hunting or fishing.
And just what are you CCing? A weapon. And that is what I've been saying. With OC/CC you have an adjective and a verb, but it doesn't make sense without a noun (the noun is implied, which is why it generally isn't said). Now some people prefer to be more specific about what type of weapon they OC/CC, but the fact that your carrying something to defend yourself with makes it a weapon by the very definition of what a weapon is.
Where a permit is required to legally conceal, possession of a permit does not exempt one from the law, but provides an exception to the law making in otherwise illegal.
Now I'm not that great when it comes to legalise, but how is one who has an exception and thus can't be legally tried for a crime not exempt from the law governing that crime? To me it would be an exemption that is just very limited in scope.
Oh and none of this looks at what is politically correct to say in order to not upset anyone. But as you say, words have meaning and as such I'm simply looking at the meaning of the words used. And OC/CC simply don't make sense without a noun; regardless of if that noun is implied or actually said it needs to be there for everything to make sense.
