# Why do people get offended when pack a pistol in their neighborhood? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 19, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299 "2012-04-19T18:02:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/1 "2012-04-19T18:02:54Z")
So yeah I’m now armed, most of the time. I live in KC and visit StL and Chicago often. I love my friends and family, but some of them live in the redneck boonies or straight in the hood. I’m a small woman, and I can’t defend myself with fists. The most logical thing for me to do is carry a concealed weapon. When I arrive at someones house I take it out and place it on a table. That freaks out some people. They tell me it is unnecessary to be armed. Well, I think it is. How do I smooth this issue out? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/2 "2012-04-19T18:06:19Z")
:dubious: You have got to be kidding. ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/3 "2012-04-19T18:09:17Z")
No big deal here in AZ. Just as long as when you take it out, you remove the ammunition and round from the chamber. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/4 "2012-04-19T18:11:45Z")
Don’t take firearms into someone’s house without permission. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/5 "2012-04-19T18:14:56Z")
You certainly have the right to be armed, if your local laws permit and this is your wish. However: You would absolutely not, under any circumstances, be welcome in my home with a gun. Nor would my dearest friends. A loaded gun is an amazing dangerous device. You may swear to me up, down and sideways that you have the safety on - but what if you haven’t? What if you had too much to drink, and started playing with the damned thing? What if another friend in my home did? What if you forgot the gun when you left? (Remember, I _don’t_ have a handgun license). Against these dangers, you might say that you feel you need a gun. Well, fine - but the crime statistics in my neighborhood (SW Washington, DC) strongly indicate you don’t. You’re free to indulge your fear of crime regardless - but I would consider it amazingly rude if you brought a gun to my home. And if you kept doing it after I told you I felt this way, you’d not be invited back. Bottom line: Your friends have every right to insist that their homes are firearm-free zones. Either leave the gun at your home, or don’t visit them in theirs. ---
**Author:** ![florez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9e5f3/32.png) [@florez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/florez)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/6 "2012-04-19T18:15:18Z")
Can’t you leave it in the car, when visiting? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/7 "2012-04-19T18:20:46Z")
Quit taking it out. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/8 "2012-04-19T18:25:14Z")
Since it isn’t legal to carry a firearm in Chicago, this is probably trolling. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealed\_carry\_in\_the\_United\_States#Permitting\_policies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealed_carry_in_the_United_States#Permitting_policies) ---
**Author:** ![destineal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@destineal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/destineal)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/9 "2012-04-19T18:25:45Z")
If your concealed weapon is so uncomfortable that you have to take it off when you arrive, I’d suggest A) a different mode of carry B) a smaller weapon or C) a small gunsafe bolted somewhere inconspicuous in your car. I have a carry permit, too, but I would never take out my gun in someone’s house for no good reason. It seems…in poor taste. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/10 "2012-04-19T18:28:32Z")
If this is a genuine question, which I don’t believe to be the case, it has a simple answer. You stated that the weapon is concealed. Keep it concealed. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/11 "2012-04-19T18:29:24Z")
“Pardon me while I whip this out.” _screaming ensues_ 😃 I wouldn’t have a problem with someone with a legal permit to carry. A typical CCW holder is in the upper level of responsible gun handling. I do wonder why the OP doesn’t just leave the gun where it’s usually carried. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/12 "2012-04-19T18:31:16Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > If this is a genuine question, which I don’t believe to be the case, it has a simple answer. You stated that the weapon is concealed. Keep it concealed. Although - and I think the other posters would agree with me here - if your friends don’t want you to bring a gun into their homes at all, you need to respect that. Keeping it concealed isn’t a solution if that’s the issue - though it _does_ solve the problem if they just don’t want you whipping it out. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/13 "2012-04-19T18:32:32Z")
I’ll agree with the others. Keep it concealed (maybe in your purse, they do make purse holsters) or leave it in your car. Taking it out and putting it on the table, especially without permission is all kinds of stupid. I have guns in my house, I have a concealed carry license. If you did that in my house without my permission, I’d probably ask you to put it away or take it out to your car. Guns scare people, safe or not, they do and you have to respect that or you won’t be invited to their house anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/14 "2012-04-19T18:33:12Z")
Note to OP re: Missouri CCW law - You DO need a permit to conceal a firearm on your person. You do NOT need a permit to conceal a firearm in a vehicle. Might take that into consideration. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/15 "2012-04-19T18:34:24Z")
You want to pack heat? I don’t have a problem with it. The old line of: “Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it,” has its applications. But: > [@Diamonds02](#): > > When I arrive at someones house I take it out and place it on a table. If your side arm is too cumbersome to bear as some have pointed out, you’re doing it wrong and if your intention is merely to show the blasted thing off, you’re definitely doing it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/16 "2012-04-19T18:34:59Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Since it isn’t legal to carry a firearm in Chicago, this is probably trolling. > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealed\_carry\_in\_the\_United\_States#Permitting\_policies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealed_carry_in_the_United_States#Permitting_policies) I don’t know, but considering some of the threads started by the OP, this question is pretty funny: Women keep their girlfriends away from me. Subtle signs that someone is deviant. Why treat mental illnesses that you don’t suffer from? ---
**Author:** ![destineal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@destineal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/destineal)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/17 "2012-04-19T18:37:08Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Although - and I think the other posters would agree with me here - if your friends don’t want you to bring a gun into their homes at all, you need to respect that. Keeping it concealed isn’t a solution if that’s the issue - though it _does_ solve the problem if they just don’t want you whipping it out. I absolutely agree. If I know that someone is anti-gun I won’t carry in their house. I haven’t had that conversation with many of my friends, though, and no one besides my SO knows that I carry. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/18 "2012-04-19T18:46:39Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I wouldn’t have a problem with someone with a legal permit to carry. A typical CCW holder is in the upper level of responsible gun handling. Given Diamonds02’s posting history on this board, I don’t expect her to see her anywhere near that upper level. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/19 "2012-04-19T18:53:50Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Note to OP re: Missouri CCW law - > > You DO need a permit to conceal a firearm on your person. > > You do NOT need a permit to conceal a firearm in a vehicle. > > Might take that into consideration. Interesting. In WI, you need a CCW license to even to _open_ carry in a car. Just having a (loaded, within reach) gun in a car makes in concealed. You don’t need a license to open carry in WI, but you have to unholster/unload and put the gun in a case before you get in the car. ---
**Author:** ![florez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9e5f3/32.png) [@florez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/florez)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299/20 "2012-04-19T19:01:36Z")
> [@minlokwat](#): > > and if your intention is merely to show the blasted thing off, you’re definitely doing it wrong. Where I live in Alaska, some people seem to have a love affair with firearms; many of my SO’s friends are hunters, and have genuine gun pride. Yet, even though most of these guys carry guns, never once have I seen a visitor/friend pull out a weapon in the manner the OP describes. If such a thing would have occurred in my home, I would have been very upset. It seems disrespectful, and maybe the OP is simply seeking attention…again. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-get-offended-when-pack-a-pistol-in-their-neighborhood/619299.md?page=2)