"yellowsport. I second the put in your papers for your CPL. Couple reasons, since Lowry, you oc you have to unload when you are in a vehicle. Unnecessary with a CPL. When you decide to add to your growing collection, you won't have to wait if you have a CPL, and last, but not least these months,,,if you are wearing a coat, you don't need to be concerned if you just happen to cover your carry. Oh yes, and they will give you a pamphlet with the laws in it (not just 9.41, but all of them) Read it until you are confident you understand the law.
Now, in over 40 year of mostly OC, many of those years without a license...two small hints. Never act like a nervous Nelly. If you feel the need to check your carry, use your elbow. Confidence, like carrying a pistol is no different than carrying a cell phone or a wallet...If you look at your carry in that manner, you will exude the confidence that will have people who actually notice your carry, will just assume you are supposed the be carrying.
In over 40 years I have had one, two word, encounter with a sheriff's deputy. It as much how you carry yourself as your carry itself."
this is EXCELLENT advice. cheers!
not just from the practical side vis a vis the CPL, but the stuff about confidence. if there is one thing i have learned in my years, attitude determines a lot, whether dealing with LEO's, or ANYBODY else. being cocky, arrogant, etc. is RARELY beneficial, and in many cases where stuff goes wrong in life... having a better attitude and a little civility could have eliminated any problems
as OPEN CARRIERS, imo, we have a DUTY to be better than the average person when conducting ourselves in public. that means being the BIGGER man (or woman), not being a bully, arrogant, defensive, brash, reckless, unaware of our surroundings, etc.
not just because we are armed and thus should act that way out safety and responsibility, but because we are going to be judged as representative of OC'ers in general. fair or not, people will judge OC'ers by the OCer they interact with. ONE jerk (and they are out there) can poison some minds that might be swayed to come over to our side if the guy they met OC"ing wasn't such a jerk
kind of like marijuana legalization advocates (i support legalization). guys acting like stoned, ******* fools at some rally don't benefit the cause. people who are well dressed, respectful and look like a soccer mom, or professional man make people REASSESS their stereotypes.
the stereotype many have of OCer's and even gun carriers in general is that they are reckless, or bullies and stuff like that.
also, the right to carry concealed (as well as OC) is something that is quite unique IN THE WORLD. even if one never plans on carrying concealed, it's pretty simple to get a permit, and it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it
furthermore, every responsible person who gets a permit and acts RESPONSIBLY helps push the stats towards bettering our cause
iow, it lowers the ratio of criminality PER CCW'ers which is already much lower than the population at large
that's why it's colossolly stupid for anybody to fear RKBA'ers whether it's cops or average joes being apprehensive.
EVERY stat shows overwhelmingly that we are amongst THE MOST LAW ABIDING demographic there is