1 Jan 12

Recently, a tourist from TN was in NYC visiting the 911 Memorial. She, of course, couldn’t help but notice all the “No Weapons Allowed” signs. She was carrying a concealed pistol at the time, being appropriately licensed to do so in her home state of TN.

She naively approached a security guard and asked him if there was some place she could “check her pistol,” so she could proceed into the Memorial Site while being complaint with the sign. He referred her to a nearby uniformed NYPD Patrolman, and she politely repeated her request to him.

He asked her if she had her pistol on her, and she replied in the affirmative.

She was immediately arrested and subsequently charged with a violation of one of NYC’s multitudinous, incomprehensible gun laws and now faces criminal sanctions, including fines and even jail-time. The Case is still pending.

The lesson for all of us is this, and it doesn’t just apply to NYC:

1) Don’t approach police officers other than to report a crime or an emergency.

2) When you do talk with police, be brief and get to the point immediately. Don’t chit-chat. Don’t volunteer irrelevant, personal information about yourself. Don’t answer questions that weren’t asked!

3) When you’re near police officers, don’t talk about guns!

4) When carrying, be always discreet, polite, inconspicuous, invisible! Keep that aspect of your life a closely-guarded secret.

5) “No Guns/Weapons allowed” signs are best ignored! Unless, in order go get into a place you want to go, you’re required to pass through airport-style screening, there is no good reason to pay any attention to them.

The hodgepodge “permit” system now in place is impossible for anyone to keep track of, and many mayors (such as in NYC) have anti-gun agendas anyway, and instruct their police to enforce them, even when there is no basis in law. None of this confusion/mendacity is likely to be settled, in any comprehensible way, during our lifetimes!

In the interim, the “Stealth Existence” still represents the best personal policy, unless of course, you relish the thought of being the central figure in a “test case!”

There are risks associated with carrying guns, whether the practice is technically “legal,” or not. There are also risks associated with not carrying guns!

You don’t get a risk-free world, nor a risk-free life. Using sound logic, and the best information available, make decisions, and then don’t look back!

When you do elect to go armed, take heedful note of the foregoing!

/John