A Year After Implementation, Illinois Concealed Carry Declared “Non-Event” By Cops

Well, the anti-gun types got that one wrong. What a surprise.

I can say that in my part of Wisconsin, probably 80% of homes have a firearm in it. Locally, I would bet that one out of five adults legally carry. Crime is nil.

 

In general, police officers in Texas appreciate CHL carriers. It relaxes them.

They know that they are dealing with an individual who has passed a DPS and FBI background check and is, in all likelyhood, a solid law abiding citizen.

 

When I was carrying, I only had one "professional" interaction with law enforcement.

I was deep in the Piney Woods of East Texas and was pulled over by a Texas Highway Patrolman who clocked me going 6 mph over the speed limit on a rural road that was not well marked (I told him I didn't know what the speed limit was and he said he wasn't surprised - it was not well marked and the way I had been traveling, I had not passed a speed limit sign yet). He said he had not seen me in that area before and he asked if I was from out of town (profiling? - I'm a white guy).

I immediately presented my license and CHL ID (as required by law) and he asked me the location of my firearm. I told him (it was on my person) and he seemed satisfied and handed back the CHL card. My brother - a fanatical anti-gun guy - assumed there was going to be a big production with both of us cuffed an face down on the highway since I was armed.

A moment later he returned with my license, thanked me for my courtesy and for pulling over to an ideal place well off of the roadway. He advised me of the speed limit on that road for my reference and wished me well.

My brother was shocked by how relaxed the Highway Patrolman was and how I didn't even get a written warning.

 

A couple of weeks ago, I took a job as a consultant for a regional chain hardware store. One of the stores is in liquidation and is going out of business. Had a big sale, looked like Black Friday x10.

The manager and assistant manager are both from New York, so they don't know any better and, the manager called me over in an agitated manner and asked said, "That guy over there has a gun on his hip! He's wearing a gun in the store! You're from here. What's the law on that? Is he allowed to do that?"

I told him that as long as you're not a felon, in a bar, or in a state park (which is currently being challenged in court), you can carry openly with little to no restrictions. I explained to him that, although the guy was within his legal rights and didn't appear to be bothering anybody, that if it made the store manager that nervous, that the store was private property and he was free to ask the guy to leave.

He then told me, "I'm not against guns but I've never seen anybody do that. Is that OK? What's he up to?"

He was smiling and talking to one of the associates and his body language seemed normal so I just told the manager, "He's fine. If he pulls the gun out and points it at you, then call me. Until then, I'm going to go back and finish this audit."

I came back out just as the guy had checked out and he and the manager were talking and getting along just fine.

I'm not sure there's a moral here, but it was funny to me that the whole incident didn't come from anything the guy with the gun did wrong, but with the manager's unfamiliarity with guns.

I think that says a lot about what we're up against.