analog_kidd

My wife and I are going camping at a campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway next week. We will be in North Carolina, near Brevard. I know NC will honor my permit, but does anyone know if it is legal to carry on the Parkway itself, or in the campgrounds?

I was originally attracted to the XD because of the grip safety, since I have grandkids that come over frequently. But it really came down to it just felt better in my hand. One feature of the grip safety I didn't realize till after I bought it, if you holster it by moving your thumb from the grip to the back of the slide and use your thumb to push the gun down into the holster, the grip safety automatically becomes disengaged. Use this method to reholster, and it reduced the chance of a ND. Of course as has already been mentioned, one needs to always be contientious about handling their firearm anyway, but one more piece of added safety never hurts. I will say also, that you need to practice drawing it from the holster and shooting it as if it were a real life situation. I was practicing drawing from underneath a cover shirt and firing at my range one day, and the gun did not go bang as expected. I looked at my grip, and the grip saftety was not engaged. In my haste to draw, I didn't have a good, solid grip. It was a real eye-opener for me. Not a problem now, I practice and develop muscle memory, but just be aware that in a real world situation, when you are scared and your hands are not working properly, this is the kind of thing that can happen. If you do decide to practice drawing and firing, do it at home first, with a gun that has been unloaded (twice, and by two seperate people ) and dry firing in a safe direction. Then make sure it is ok to practice with live ammo at your range, and OK with others that may be there.

DD is the only reason I'd even be going to a bar, so I definitely would not be drinking, and I definitely would want to be carrying.

I have a Ruger 22/45 and love the way it shoots. Very accurate, eats everything I feed it. The only thing I don't like about it is field stripping it. You definitely need to Google it and find step by step instructions for putting it back together, or you will be bringing it to a gun smith for re-assembly.

If you like tent camping out of your car, and having a few amenities like flush toilets, you can't get any better than Frozen Head state park between Oliver Springs and Wartburg. It's only 30 minutes from Oak Ridge, as pretty as anything in the Smokies, rarely crowded, got a creek and good hiking. Plus it's a State Park, so it's HCP-OK.

They may be going to the big house for using Weapons of Mass Consumption

So what would a basic reloading rig cost? Lets say everything you need to reload for 9mm.

Wow! That was just too funny.

Good Heavens, think of all the poaching that will go on if we allow guns in the zoo!!

I'm not talking about raising the question for a place that's already legal and there are no upcoming issues that may change that. What my point is, is that this is a new law, and these restaurant owners most certainly are aware of it. The anti's are definitely going to be speaking their mind about it, so we should too. Once they post, it'll be too late to try to convince anyone.

Well, if they are fence sitters, then they are already aware of the new law. If we show them how responsible we are and how we are just regular guys and gals, then maybe they will fall over to our side of the fence. I still think there are very few owners who are unaware of the law. Just ask around your work, or some of your non-gun owning friends if they have heard about it. I bet most of them have, and they aren't in the business. So just ignoring it and hoping for the best is nieve. Once they post, it's all over. They won't undo all that they went through to get the sign up. But if we convince them before hand to change their mind, we'll all be better off.

If they're not cool-headed and logical, then nothing you say, before or after they post, will make them change their mind. But now you know where they stand, and you can beat the July rush on boycotting their establishment by getting a head start.

Do you really think a big chain restaurant manager is unaware of this law? Or even a local mom and pop with all the media coverage? You can bet that the restaurant association is blitzing them with info and scare-tactics, so they already know and are hearing one side of the story. If we politely ask, and show ourselves as responsible citizens, then we have a chance of swaying their opinion. Besides, once they go through all the trouble of posting, trust me, you will not convince them to remove the sign.

I don't know. If they are going to post, they have already made up their mind. If they are riding the fence, then an articulate, well-mannered, cool headed HCP holder may be able to sway them over. I'd rather find out now how they feel. Why continue to support a business that I am definitely not welcome in? Once they go through the trouble of posting, you'll never convince them to remove the sign. So if you take a wait and see approach, it may become too late. Just my $.02

I thought you could keep the weapon in the car at a park, you just couldn't walk around with it. Am I wrong?

Looks to me like the Fifth Ammendment "Right" specifically doesn't apply to the military. So even if US rights did apply to enemy combatants, they don't get this one. It also looks like the Declaration of Independence only spells out the the "Inalienable Rights" we have are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. I don't think these enemy combatants have been denied any of these. It's when their pursuit of these things starts to interfere with others pursuit of them that they have a problem. If what makes them happy is killing us, well that doesn't make me happy, and it deprives me of my life.

Kevin, you say that our Constitution applies to the Terrorists we capture and they should be afforded the exact same rights that we citizens get. But let's look at that from a different perspective. If OUR constitution applies to them, then their Constitution would apply to us by your way of thinking. In some Mid-East countries, husbands have the legal right to beat their wives. So do we have that right? It's rediculous to think so. Our Constitution applies to US Citizens. Their laws apply to them. They do not get the same rights as we do. Also, you keep quoting the Declaration of Independance. While it is a great document, it really is nothing more. It has absolutely no legal standing at all.

Excellent news! Especially since my wife and I eat there once or twice a week.

Everyone should practice periodically drawing and firing from however you normally carry. So wear whatever type of cover shirt you normally would be wearing when carrying. MAKE SURE YOUR GUN IS UNLOADED. Then have someone else make sure it is unloaded, then you check it again. Practice unconcealing, drawing, presenting and firing at some point on the wall. Do it over and over to build muscle memory. If your range allows it, practice the whole thing again with live ammo. If others are on the range, ask them if it's OK with them if you do it, or just wait till you're alone.

How dare those pesky gun owners try to chill his 1st ammendment rights while he is trying to chill their 2nd ammendm,ent rights!!

So does anyone have a tally of Rep's and Sen's that have verbally said they will support the veto override?

Here's the response I got from Senator Randy McNally:

It bugs me how they have to spin it by saying "Should we be allowed to 'Pack Heat' in bars". Makes us gound like gangsters. Thay can just say "carry a firearm into places that server alcohol". Can you say "Truth in reporting"?

Just sent an email to Sen McNally and Rep Hackworth. They both supported the bill last time and I encouraged tehm both to continue their support. I was especially pleased with Jim Hackworth last time, who actually returned my call, left voicemail, and followed up a week later by calling me back again. Shows me he cares about the people.