n9viw
New member
imported post
Greetings all! I found this site through a link on a friend's Facebook page - if NewZealandAmerican, aka Kiwi is on here, he's the culprit. I've read with a good deal of interest the CC/OC discussions in "Why Open Carry", and have become quite convinced that, until CC becomes legal without a permit, OC is the way to go. My trouble is the 'spotty coverage' OC gets in MO.
First, a little back-history: I've been handling and hunting with shotguns, rifles and pistols (following the four Coopers as taught to us by my old man) since I was 7, so as far as I'm concerned, firearms have always been around, and I was taught the proper 'healthy fear' and respect for the power. I passed the NRA's Hunter Safety course in 2003 (required for those born after Jan. 1973, lucky me), which served as a refresher course of my early training.
Shortly after my wife and I moved here last fall - last fall being a VERY tense time for firearms aficionados everywhere - we picked up a couple semis for PD. We also enrolled in and took the MO CCW course (to the tune of $125 each), and each passed with flying colors.
We then enquired as to the rest of the process, and found out about the background checks, the additional $100 fee, the waiting period, the being-on-file-with-the-feds, etc. Being a Claire Wolfe fan, I balked bigtime. Claire herself advocates AGAINST the CCW permit, simply on the grounds that it's a PERMIT, and you're begging for permission to do what should be a right. But, I'm preaching to the choir here.
Since then, I've been torn. I know that, since there's no preeminence law, it's up to the individual jurisdiction (and sometimes even up to the individual cop) as to whether or not to let OC 'fly'. That said, I could OC all week long and never get a sideways look (except from some sheeple, or maybe being asked to leave a store), but there's always going to be the one-bullet Barney Bad@$$ who decides he's gonna make a big case out of it to justify his tin star (no offense to LEOs here, my cousin is one up in St Paul, MN and astounds me with his tales of Barneys he's met). I also know that, even up here in the 'tall grass' away from the cities, some sheep will bleat "MWAG!" and be all afraid, and that's just nonsense and heat I don't need.
On the other hand, I just can't sit right with the whole 'permit' thing. I mean, I'm sure I'm already on someone's watch list just for having come to this site, but there's no sense in GIVING my rights away, only to have to RENT them back on a 3-year basis, unless they decide I've done something wrong and they rescind it completely, never to return.
On this last point, my wife seems to think that we've gone to enough conservative/ Constitutionalist / Homesteading / SHTF websites and bought books and stuff from them that we're already on some list somewhere, so what's the big deal about getting a permit? They already know about our sidearms because of the electronic rape we got when we picked them up (FBI background check, which for some reason doesn't apply for a CCW app), so having a CCW on file is nothing. We disagree on this point so far. She maintains that she will NOT carry unless she has a CCW, I won't carry WITH one. So far, I've been stretching the 'castle doctrine as pertains to one's motor vehicle' a bit, and rehearsing the phrase, "Oh, sorry, I must have forgotten to leave it in the truck," but I know that'll only work once.
What's a newb to do? I want to carry.. scratch that, I SHOULD carry, just on the principle that we ALL should. I think I NEED to carry, to feel I'm worth my salt as an American and as a divinely-ordained and self-determining man. I don't want the permit, don't want to freak the populace OR the local constabulary... "I'm so confused!!!"
Thanks for any guidance you can offer.
Nick
Greetings all! I found this site through a link on a friend's Facebook page - if NewZealandAmerican, aka Kiwi is on here, he's the culprit. I've read with a good deal of interest the CC/OC discussions in "Why Open Carry", and have become quite convinced that, until CC becomes legal without a permit, OC is the way to go. My trouble is the 'spotty coverage' OC gets in MO.
First, a little back-history: I've been handling and hunting with shotguns, rifles and pistols (following the four Coopers as taught to us by my old man) since I was 7, so as far as I'm concerned, firearms have always been around, and I was taught the proper 'healthy fear' and respect for the power. I passed the NRA's Hunter Safety course in 2003 (required for those born after Jan. 1973, lucky me), which served as a refresher course of my early training.
Shortly after my wife and I moved here last fall - last fall being a VERY tense time for firearms aficionados everywhere - we picked up a couple semis for PD. We also enrolled in and took the MO CCW course (to the tune of $125 each), and each passed with flying colors.
We then enquired as to the rest of the process, and found out about the background checks, the additional $100 fee, the waiting period, the being-on-file-with-the-feds, etc. Being a Claire Wolfe fan, I balked bigtime. Claire herself advocates AGAINST the CCW permit, simply on the grounds that it's a PERMIT, and you're begging for permission to do what should be a right. But, I'm preaching to the choir here.
Since then, I've been torn. I know that, since there's no preeminence law, it's up to the individual jurisdiction (and sometimes even up to the individual cop) as to whether or not to let OC 'fly'. That said, I could OC all week long and never get a sideways look (except from some sheeple, or maybe being asked to leave a store), but there's always going to be the one-bullet Barney Bad@$$ who decides he's gonna make a big case out of it to justify his tin star (no offense to LEOs here, my cousin is one up in St Paul, MN and astounds me with his tales of Barneys he's met). I also know that, even up here in the 'tall grass' away from the cities, some sheep will bleat "MWAG!" and be all afraid, and that's just nonsense and heat I don't need.
On the other hand, I just can't sit right with the whole 'permit' thing. I mean, I'm sure I'm already on someone's watch list just for having come to this site, but there's no sense in GIVING my rights away, only to have to RENT them back on a 3-year basis, unless they decide I've done something wrong and they rescind it completely, never to return.
On this last point, my wife seems to think that we've gone to enough conservative/ Constitutionalist / Homesteading / SHTF websites and bought books and stuff from them that we're already on some list somewhere, so what's the big deal about getting a permit? They already know about our sidearms because of the electronic rape we got when we picked them up (FBI background check, which for some reason doesn't apply for a CCW app), so having a CCW on file is nothing. We disagree on this point so far. She maintains that she will NOT carry unless she has a CCW, I won't carry WITH one. So far, I've been stretching the 'castle doctrine as pertains to one's motor vehicle' a bit, and rehearsing the phrase, "Oh, sorry, I must have forgotten to leave it in the truck," but I know that'll only work once.
What's a newb to do? I want to carry.. scratch that, I SHOULD carry, just on the principle that we ALL should. I think I NEED to carry, to feel I'm worth my salt as an American and as a divinely-ordained and self-determining man. I don't want the permit, don't want to freak the populace OR the local constabulary... "I'm so confused!!!"
Thanks for any guidance you can offer.
Nick