Permission Slips

A Girl and Her Gun has a great post up on being a gunnie ambassador at Holiday parties. Go read the whole thing because its awesome, and I won’t be covering any of that here. What I wanted to talk about was this line that I hear from time-to-time.

The first one was at someone’s house and it’s the first time I have ever carried into another person’s house. I have never felt comfortable carrying into someone’s house without asking them if it is ok to bring a gun and I have never felt comfortable asking.

However, I am getting more and more uncomfortable not carrying, so I did. As you can probably guess, it was uneventful. No one knew and there was no issue.

I kinda know that feeling of partial guilt. One event was probably about a week after I started carrying. Got talking with my Neighbor, and he invited me into his house to show me something. I was carrying a gun, and I knew he had no idea, and I wondered if he’d mind.

First up I think this association is because of how stupidly this nation treats guns. First up I have to get and maintain a permission slip just to carry my guns (and in Massachusetts just to buy them) so the stigma is there and people somehow get in the habit of thinking that one piece of equipment is somehow something different.

Did I feel guilty that I also didn’t ask them about my pocket knife either? How about if I had a shirt with a lewd message on it, but it was covered by my jacket? Do you need to ask permission to bring an active cell phone with you because they might be one of those idiots who believe cellphone radiation is somehow harmful?

How about if you’re gay? There are lots of people who hate or are uncomfortable around gay people, several of them are running for President currently. Should you feel obligated to disclose your sexual orientation? What if you’re a Muslim, or a Jew? What if you may have consumed trace quantities of peanuts?

Here’s my feelings. The person invited ME into their home. I carry a gun all the time. That’s just how it is, and that’s how I roll. I also wear jeans most of the time. If you invite me over to your home I’ll likely be wearing a gun, and wearing jeans. If you don’t like either of those things, or something else you’re going to have to tell me about it. If somebody posts a “Gun Free Zone” sign on their front door, I’ll certainly ask about it, and if they’re serious I’ll leave. I might chose to disarm next time, but probably I simply won’t go back. Also while I prefer to carry concealed, and I don’t go telling everybody I shake hands with that I have a .45 under my coat, I’m also not dishonest or ashamed of it. If somebody asks if I’m carrying a gun, I’ll answer truthfully. If they express dissatisfaction about that we can discuss from there, and me leaving is a very viable option.

Now none of this changes how I carry and treat my gun. You must ALWAYS carry in a safe holster that both keeps the gun safe from tampering, and so it ALWAYS stays in your control. And control is the ONE instance where I DO feel like discussing the issue with. If I’m staying in somebody’s home overnight I will be climbing into bed at some point, and I don’t sleep with my gun on. I will ask a person if this is OK, or if they had a preferred storage method. I also like to carry my revolver on a sleepover simply because I can unload and load it several times without risk of bullet set back, and from there I can put on a trigger lock or lock it in a box or safe. Also as soon as I’m up and out of bed I’ll get dressed and put on my gun so I minimize the amount of time its out of my control.

But if the gun is going to be in my possession and control for the entire length of my stay, I just assume, unless I hear otherwise they invited me how I am, and I don’t need to ask permissions. I don’t think that’s rude at all.