Concealed Carry and Worrysome Family

[Abraham]

That sort of declaration or one akin to it has to be communicated to family or others when they feel fit to cross over the line of respect.

If you are an adult your choices are just that - and they're not negotiable or have to be justified to Mom and Dad or anyone else...

[frazzled]

What? Can you clarify that?

[Purplehood]

I completely agree with Keith B and Purplehood.

I would add that if someone decides it's their duty to convince me not to carry or start to deliver the "blood in the streets" lecture, I will politely inform them it's not up for discussion.

I'm not duty bound to listen to these lectures or be harangued about my personal choices any more than someone insisting I agree with their political or religious particulars.

And, in the opposite vein, I no longer attempt to point out the wisdom of carrying. I'm not an evangelical for carrying.

Want to carry?

Great!

Don't want to carry?

Great!

I have no issue in a discussion about it. But its their house. You don't go into someone's house with a gun without permission or knowledge. Thats rude. If I found out someone came in with a gun in my house without telling me, or common knowledge (aka a fellow CHLer), I'd throw them out never to return. Same if they came in hiding a butcher knife or machete. Tell me.

Frankly if you in their house and not comfortable telling them, should you even be in the house?

I won't ask in the first place. I will not bring the subject up. If I already know that you don't accept armed-visitors I will either not visit or leave my weapon behind (unlikely). If I don't know, I won't ask in the first place and I DO NOT consider it rude in the slightest.

[frazzled]

I completely agree with Keith B and Purplehood.

I would add that if someone decides it's their duty to convince me not to carry or start to deliver the "blood in the streets" lecture, I will politely inform them it's not up for discussion.

I'm not duty bound to listen to these lectures or be harangued about my personal choices any more than someone insisting I agree with their political or religious particulars.

And, in the opposite vein, I no longer attempt to point out the wisdom of carrying. I'm not an evangelical for carrying.

Want to carry?

Great!

Don't want to carry?

Great!

I have no issue in a discussion about it. But its their house. You don't go into someone's house with a gun without permission or knowledge. Thats rude. If I found out someone came in with a gun in my house without telling me, or common knowledge (aka a fellow CHLer), I'd throw them out never to return. Same if they came in hiding a butcher knife or machete. Tell me.

Frankly if you in their house and not comfortable telling them, should you even be in the house?

I won't ask in the first place. I will not bring the subject up. If I already know that you don't accept armed-visitors I will either not visit or leave my weapon behind (unlikely). If I don't know, I won't ask in the first place and I DO NOT consider it rude in the slightest.

Come on over Purple, I have chips and queso (ok the Wife does).
There we differ. I won't ask either, but I also know who's coming over. Half the people who come over have CHLs (maybe I'm in the paranoid subset) or have weaponry for going to the range. if you're coming over I know you and could trust you enough anyway. The other half are women and as a rule the more armed the better so don't care there either.

Now that I think about it the only men who I'd care about are kids and they better not be armed. What was I saying again?

DID I MENTION ITS SNOWING IN HOUSTON?

[Abraham]

Posts were posted at cross times and created confusion.

(that's probably clear as mud...)

Both Keith B and Purplehood posted right after each other and I simply agreed with their views.

[WolfeJager]

Yes it is snowing!

Also, thanks for all the input. While my Dad is more open minded about weapons and Concealed Carry, he is just not used to it. The Last time my Dad said he carried a gun was when my grandpa gave him a Hi-Power to carry in the car when he went to Laredo, he never fired it, took it out of the case, or even thought about it. I guess he just doesn't see the reasoning behind why I carry. He asked me Why i would carry...I said, "Why would you need a seat belt?"(credit goes to someone on this board), he kinda just stared at me. Then I proceeded to give him other reasons, I dress nice, I have nice things, a nice car, I often Walk around town to restaurants , I go out alot, I am driving alot...etc.

What made sense to him the most was, I am Alone here and have no one to help in a situation, and he understands that, so after that I get a..."Well, You be careful with that thing...". I wish My dad would get his license, i know he has needed it several times but never had it and always managed to avoid bad situations using words, and that really really nice Browning Hi-Power needs to get out of its case.

Again, thanks for all the input guys, its really helping me formulate conversation and whatnot. I would like to see them keep coming.

[frazzled]

Sounds like a good resolution. Perhaps this is an entry into a father son moment (sniffle) "hey Dad want to go shooting?"

[chabouk]

I'm surprised no one has pointed this out, but since your parents' home is (presumably) not property you own or control, you violated 46.035 when you took your jacket off.

Yes, it's ridiculous, but that is the way the law reads.

[The Annoyed Man]

I'm surprised no one has pointed this out, but since your parents' home is (presumably) not property you own or control, you violated 46.035 when you took your jacket off.

Yes, it's ridiculous, but that is the way the law reads.

Frankly, it never occurred to me, but I'd guess that you're probably correct. I think it probably didn't occur to most of us because we don't think of family homes the same way we do a friend's or stranger's house. We probably should.

[Oldgringo]

I'm surprised no one has pointed this out, but since your parents' home is (presumably) not property you own or control, you violated 46.035 when you took your jacket off.

Yes, it's ridiculous, but that is the way the law reads.

Frankly, it never occurred to me, but I'd guess that you're probably correct. I think it probably didn't occur to most of us because we don't think of family homes the same way we do a friend's or stranger's house. We probably should.

Pete92FS wrote:

Concealed is concealed and it's better to let sleeping dogs lie.

AHA! The thread has come full circle.

[The Annoyed Man]

AHA! The thread has come full circle.

If it was good enough for Winnie the Pooh, it's good enough for me!

[Keith B]

I'm surprised no one has pointed this out, but since your parents' home is (presumably) not property you own or control, you violated 46.035 when you took your jacket off.

Yes, it's ridiculous, but that is the way the law reads.

Not necessarily. I intentionally unconceal all the time at my parents house and am not under control of it. But then, it is in Missouri and they have open carry in their state and it is not against the city ordinance. LOL

And, WolfeJager didn't say where his parents lived, just that he and his brother are in Houston. However, the assumption of Texas is probably right and yes, you are legally in violation of 46.035 if you intentionally unconceal.

[WolfeJager]

Yeah its Texas, we all live in texas.

So I am a criminal in my parents home....great....thats the last thing I expected to be there.....

Thanks guys.... :P

[Target1911]

When/if they ask WHY you carry..... respectfully ask them why they wear a seatbelt, have life/heath/auto insurance.

[edmart001]

WolfeJager -

It sounds to me like your Dad is neutral to slightly positive but it's your Mom that's negative and naturally your Dad wouldn't want to get cross threaded with your Mom. Is your Mom the inquisitive type? Is there any opportunity to open her eyes to the topic of having personal responsibility for one's own safety? Any chance to show her how you safely handle firearms? Any chance to take her shooting?

My wife thought I was nuts for wanting a pistol and CHL at first. Actually, she probably still thinks I'm nuts in general, but that's an entirely different subject. Anyway, she was negative to almost neutral until our older son came home on leave from the Army and we all went to the range together. She saw him "teach" me how to shoot and how safety conscious we both were with firearms. She also got shooting instructions from our son and really enjoyed shooting herself (and it turns out she's a very good shot).

Now she says she wouldn't mind having a pistol of her own and maybe getting a CHL some day, but it's just not a high priority for her - and I don't push it. She also sometimes asks (in a whisper) if I'm carrying from time to time when we are out, just to be reassured. So, she moved all the way to fairly positive on the entire concept.

I think her original concerns were really wrapped around her worrying about my safety and just being generally unfamiliar with guns. After all, it's not unusual for some folks to have some anxiety or fear about that which they don't understand. Once she gained some general knowledge and observed proper safety procedures, her comfort level went way up.

I also agree with concealed means concealed and you generally don't have to explain what others don't know. Also, as a rule, I don't bring up guns, gun ownership or gun possession in polite company. And, I don't inform my possession status one way or the other unless legally required to do so (which is the case in some states).

I don't know if any of that helps but I congratulate you on your willingness to be respectful to your parents even as an adult and I wish you good luck as your situation unfolds.