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seamusTX wrote:In any case, 98% of the population does not go around trying to figure out whether other people are carrying weapons. Quite the opposite. They are so wrapped up in their cell phones, iPods, or general mental fog that they walk into glass doors or in front of buses.

You know, you are right on with this. In fact this reminded me of an article I read a couple of weeks ago. There was a study done on a college campus where a guy was in a clown costume riding a unicycle on the campus.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/2 ... straction/

Among pedestrians who were listening to music or walking alone, one in three mentioned that they had just seen a clown on a unicycle. Nearly 60 percent of people who were walking with a friend mentioned the clown. But among people who had been talking on the cellphone, only 8 percent spontaneously remembered the clown.

I must say this forum has really made me feel so much more at ease in regards to carrying. :)

marksiwel wrote: What to say if someone makes you? Depends on what they say I guess?

Screams "HE's GOT A GUN!"
I wouldnt know what to say

Yeah, crowds of homo sapiens don't deal well with one or two people panicking. Its infectious and once it sets in, logic and reason are the first to go.

I'm referring more to the situation in the grocery store aisle, where you're reaching up and show a little and there's the classic little kid tugging on a parent's arm saying "daddy that man has a gun under his shirt".

seamusTX wrote: The difference is intent. You carry a handgun to defend yourself against illegal attacks. A bad guy carries a weapon to commit crimes.

100% true. But the general public has no way of discerning intent and all their lives (heck, all MY life) they've been taught that guns are bad and people that carry them in public must be bad unless they're police officers or military.

seamusTX wrote: The main thing to remember is you have every right to carry a concealed handgun (in places that are not prohibited). Even if your shirt blows up or something, it's not a crime.

I think the shirt blowing up thing is overemphasized. It has never happened to me.

I've been carrying less than a week and I'm still wondering what I would say if I were "made". "It's ok, I have a license"?

The sad thing is, if you see someone open carrying, you assume they're law enforcement. It's almost more calming to see someone open carry.
But with most people, if you have a gun under your shirt, you must have something to hide, ergo you must be a bad guy.

So it seems like the only difference between us and the bad guys is a thin piece of plastic that protects us from going directly to jail if a LEO learns we're concealing.

Just doesn't seem right.