[Bwompuss]

I hope this is the correct forum for this. If not please move it.

My opinion and questions.

I am all about the 2nd Amendment first and foremost and I've been CCDW for a loooong time and believe in the Constitution.

I don't see the reason to go out in public wearing T-shirts, hats, etc., stating that you are carrying a firearm along with a message stating on some level that you are ready for a gunfight. Some of the shirts are funny and I own some. But I NEVER wear them outside the house. To me it just seems to be inviting conflict of some sort. The same with open carrying a sidearm when you go shopping, running around town. It just draws attention. Seems to me that it takes away your advantage if a situation arises.

What do y'all think on this subject?
What do LEOs on the forum think of this?

Thank you for your opinions.

 

[matrosov]

I prefer the life of invisibility. I don't mind debating politics and belief systems with some not all family members or anonymously on the forums such as this one. Other than that I wear neutral tone and highly functional clothing, my truck has no stickers my kids are not allowed to wear clothing with anything other than dragons, unicorns or clothing company logos. My beliefs are mine and I am not going to make myself a target of potential violent attention by advertising them. USA is still a semi functioning democracy and I do my part to affect change when I head to the voting booth.

 

[Bwompuss]

I agree 100%. Best defense is staying under the radar.

 

[SteedGun]

+3 Don't give up the key advantage of surprise. I am always concealed carry unless I am out in the wilderness where I carry a 44 Mag revolver OWB. Also, I do not talk about guns with people I don't know and hesitate to talk about guns period unless with friends that I know are safe. I will talk about policy and politics but never just about guns or whether or not I have any guns.

By the way, I don't have any guns.

 

[japsco113]

I hope this is the correct forum for this. If not please move it.

My opinion and questions.

I am all about the 2nd Amendment first and foremost and I've been CCDW for a loooong time and believe in the Constitution.

I don't see the reason to go out in public wearing T-shirts, hats, etc., stating that you are carrying a firearm along with a message stating on some level that you are ready for a gunfight. Some of the shirts are funny and I own some. But I NEVER wear them outside the house. To me it just seems to be inviting conflict of some sort. The same with open carrying a sidearm when you go shopping, running around town. It just draws attention. Seems to me that it takes away your advantage if a situation arises.

What do y'all think on this subject?
What do LEOs on the forum think of this?

Thank you for your opinions.

There was a big discussion on this a few days back, it got kind of hot and heavy back and forth. People are going to do what makes them feel protected. When you see BLM street people with there faces covered wearing body armor and carrying AR’s that’s not good in anyway shape or form. Doing that to bully people is wrong.

 

[EasyVeeZee]

I wear a Rugged Suppressors hat with a belt-fed on it. Sometimes my HK hat. Occasionally I wear my Slim Fit Holsters hoody.
Truthfully, I think most people you will pass by in, say, a grocery store or wherever you go won't even notice. You're just another shmuck in the crowd.
Open carry is another story. A gun on the hip in the open is more likely to draw SOME kind of attention, even if it's just a look from a stranger, because not everybody has a large object hanging from their belt.
Clothing is another story. Pretty much everybody wears shirts. It is unlikely that some rando will cause a ruckus over a shirt. It's happened, but I would not lose any sleep over it.

Wear what you want, carry how you want, and deal with the consequences if/when they happen.

 

[Bwompuss]

There was a big discussion on this a few days back, it got kind of hot and heavy back and forth. People are going to do what makes them feel protected. When you see BLM street people with there faces covered wearing body armor and carrying AR’s that’s not good in anyway shape or form. Doing that to bully people is wrong.

It is not my intention to create a rift. I did search for the topic but didn't see it specific to my question. I was curious to see if anyone else subscribed to my line of thinking.

 

[LimaCharlie]

I normally only wear garments or hats with gun logos to the gun club. One day I was on my way home from the gun club when my wife called and asked me to stop at Walmart for a prescription. I thought about going home and changing clothes, but decided to just stop at Walmart.

I was wearing a Ruger t-shirt and a Colt hat. The government model 1911 on my hip was printing badly through the tight t-shirt.

I walked through the parking lot, through the store, and waited in line for the prescription. I walked back through the store and the parking lot.

Nobody seemed to notice. Nobody got the vapors. Nobody called the police with a "man with a gun" report. I was almost disappointed that dire internet predictions didn't happen.

 

[kje54]

I normally only wear garments or hats with gun logos to the gun club. One day I was on my way home from the gun club when my wife called and asked me to stop at Walmart for a prescription. I thought about doing home and changing clothes, but decided to just stop at Walmart.

I was wearing a Ruger t-shirt and a Colt hat. The government model 1911 on my hip was printing badly through the tight t-shirt.

I walked through the parking lot, through the store, and waited in line for the prescription. I walked back through the store and the parking lot.

Nobody seemed to notice. Nobody got the vapors. Nobody called the police with a "man with a gun" report. I was almost disappointed that dire internet predictions didn't happen.

Yup, correct. People for the most part are so wrapped up in what they are doing they tend not to notice anyone else around them, they're lost in their own little worlds. We always complain about what we see as rude people (say in the Walmart aisles) but the vast majority of time they're simply self focused and not paying attention to what's around them. It's why crooks look for people not paying attention, they're easy marks and most people don't pay attention.

 

[2Malamutes]

I'm not sure but perhaps it was the OWB vs. IWB thread that is being referred to? I didn't stay long there, so don't know how it progressed, it seemed ripe for drift.

I pretty much only carry IWB, and do try to hide it. I enjoy the 2A bumper stickers, shirts, etc., but I don't rock them personally. I have a few brand shirts I wear around house, maybe a run to hardware store or quick dinner with long time friends. My situation is I walk my 6 year old daughter and 10 year old son to school every morning, I walk to get them every afternoon and I then am a coaching assistant for my son's 5th grade basketball at school and the dance dad of my little ballerina at least twice a week. So I gotta admit I do not carry often, and I don't wear my Bushmaster AR shirt into school. I volunteer frequently for school functions, so a lot of the staff know me and stop me to talk in the halls. So I follow the rules, and carrying would be difficult logistically for me most school days. Now if I am running errands, IWB, and if I need to blow my 2A horn, I head to the big local gun store where if you aren't carrying OWB you are an outlier lol.

 

[lonerider1013]

I honestly think some days a person could open carry a giant sword like Highlander and not get noticed. The other day at the supermarket I was nearly run over by a woman looking down at her phone pushing a shopping cart. On the way out of the store saw two grown men nearly walk into posts cause they were looking at iphones. I am amazed how such inattentive people survived puberty.

On the subject of stickers, etc: I enjoy seeing 2a themed stickers on cars it makes me feel like I am surrounded by normal responsible people But, I recall when I lived in NJ I had, in my youth, such a sticker. It said "when guns are outlawed only the outlaws who work for the gov;t will have them". I got pulled over by a cop one night, cant even remember what for, this was the late 90s, but they saw the bumper sticker and said "the outlaws who work for the gov't? Hey that's us." They were not amused. That said, no one pulls over a 40-year old in a station wagon like they do college kids, i no longer worry about that.

Aside from a few mt. bike themed stickers, my vehicle is bare, save one tiny "do not tread on me" flag. I do not want any gun brand stickers on it as i fear it might encourage break ins and I could do without a busted window.

 

[Shark1007]

Be the gray man!

 

[Michael W Cuber]

“Sly as Foxes.”

 

[DarkLord]

I have a Yamaha sticker on my car, that's as tribal as I get. Putting gun stickers on your car screams "break into me, you can probably score a gun". I live in a small mining town, so its white trash tweakers who will be breaking into cars, and the possibility of getting a gun is probably irresistible to those tweakers; and I'm not looking to help them out.
Political things on your car only serves to piss off 50% of the population, those are the cars that tend to get keyed. I hate both political parties, so I'd have a hard time deciding who to piss off anyhow.

Oh, public service announcement...
Don't forget to spay and neuter your tweakers.

 

[tractor]

No one, outside of dear friends and immediate family, needs to know my political beliefs, religious affiliation, the size of my family or the breed of my dog. They especially do not need to know that I prefer 1911s to other firearms……
I do not ask these questions of other people and require the same of them…….

 

[lonerider1013]

I hate both political parties, so I'd have a hard time deciding who to piss off anyhow.

I can understand that!

 

[Old Grumpy]

I own several T-shirts with advertisements for weapons companies (Wilson Combat and such) that I wear a lot, but as T-shirts not outer wear. I have a couple WC sweatshirts and a hoodie, but they just contain the Company logo. Like many of the others, I don't like to advertise I'm a gun owner or that I might even be carrying a weapon. I once owned an Alice Cooper T-shirt, and I don't even know how to play a guitar.

Grumpy

 

[SteedGun]

I am guilty of having a bit of a hint on the back of my Jeep. Hard to see in the pic but lower left is my blue stripe flag with Molon Labe and Spartan. A few times I have had people ask me "what does Molon Labe mean?" Honestly, I look at them hard first to try to read their position. If I think they are a liberal loon I will tell them it is Latin for I Love Jeeps. The rest I just tell them the truth. The post above mentioning that the vast majority of folks do not notice even a very visible printing 1911 is spot on. The only time I really had an issue was right after the Sandy Hook mess one day when I walked into the salon for a haircut. I had on my NRA Lifetime jacket. As I was putting it down an older woman launched into me about why do you need those assault rifles? I didn't back down and just told her my honest opinion and mentioned that it was a real shame that no one at the school was carrying as they could have stalled or stopped the shooter. So, I said "The NRA has it right. Only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun." She shut up after that but I am sure she was still fuming.

 

[magazineman]

Yep, I keep gun stuff on the Down Low too. I also don't have political car decals because nobody ever changes their mind based on someone else's sticker. It's a pointless endeavor.

And other motorists don't care about whether I love my Labrador or would rather be skating. And I sure don't give a poop about the pets , religious affiliations , or hobbies of strangers. Again, that stuff serves no purpose.

Now, when I was 16 I was the proud owner of a beat-up '72 Datsun 510. I really dug that car so my girlfriend gifted me with a large DATSUN windshield tint decal that spanned across the top of the whole windscreen. Within a week of having that on my car I decided it was stupid. The car was already clearly a Datsun.

So this banner was pointless & redundant. You don't need to write RAKE on a rake. -------- But I left it on to be considerate to the girl. Then, the day she went off to college I removed it and have never boasted a car-manufacturer decal or badge ever since. Only the stock, factory badging. .

 

[SdAufKla]

It's really all about situational awareness. Know your surroundings and the kinds of people that are all around you.

Don't be one of the people who wears their pajamas in Walmart or flip flops into formal business meeting. On the other hand, if you want to wear a "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out" tee shirt to the range or while you're plinking tin cans on your home range, why not? You live in a place where there're a lot of hunters driving around early morning before work and late afternoon afterwork, your "Real Tree" camo fits right in. Walking around downtown in Starbucks, maybe not so much.

Consider what your bumper stickers and "Guarded by Smith and Wesson" yard sign are telling other folks who might have some criminal agenda. An "NRA Member" sticker in the rear window is a pretty good indicator that a "smash and grab" might reward the robber with a handgun or that if they burglarize your home they'll be able to replenish the trunk gun store.

Yea, it's a free country and you have your 1st Amendment right to offend anyone you want. But just because you have the right to do something doesn't mean it's the "right" thing to do. If you really do intend to be gratuitously provocative, that's one thing. You can plan and prepare for the potential consequences (which still doesn't mean it's the smart thing to do).

The real danger, though, lies in walking around in the world with your head up your a** and not paying any attention to who or what is around you.