Another gun topic.Specifically handguns.

[JDog]

Hello fellow chrome domes..(TM Warhawk)...As I know we have quite a few people on SBG who enjoy firearms(myself included) however as I have not lived in the USA for a few years and have plans of returning in the next few, I was wondering if anyone could fill me in how to purchase a legal  handgun.

I know it varies from state to state, but I am interested in purchasing a handgun and getting a Concealment Carry license?What are the proper procedures for aquiring this? Does one need to have a handgun license?

Any info or help would be appreciated.

[tomgallagher]

Some states are pretty easy as far as buying handguns but as far as a concealed carry permit is concerned that might be a little tough.

[StogieStang]

Go to this site.  http://www.nraila.org/gunlaws/

Click on the state you are interested in and it will give you the gun laws for that state.  Gun laws can vary greatly for each state.

I have my concealed weapons permit in Florida.  Florida has very good gun laws.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[StogieStang]

Jdog,

I just remembered what you posted on the other gun thread.

Pretty offensive thing to say Stang, not everyone in the world has a deep maddening desire to arm themselves to the teeth.

Did you have a change of heart?  I hope you did, I think every good citizen who is mentally and physically capable of defending themselves should. 

[JDog]

Jdog,

I just remembered what you posted on the other gun thread.

Pretty offensive thing to say Stang, not everyone in the world has a deep maddening desire to arm themselves to the teeth.

Did you have a change of heart?  I hope you did, I think every good citizen who is mentally and physically capable of defending themselves should. 

Stang you make a very valid point, and I should have explained myself better. I am 100% supportive of people being able to own and carry guns. It is a right granted by the US Constitution, however I also support peoples decision not to have them as well. Some countries,like England and Australia, have pretty strict gun control laws and dont allow their citizens to own them, thus people feel differently than you and I about the use and rights of gun ownership. I was just acknowledging it thats all. I apologize if I offended.


Thanks for the information too Stang. This helps out immensley. Looks like in my home state there is no license or permit required to purchase a handgun. Concealment Carry licenses,while a still a serious matter, not to be taken lightly, are reasonably easy to get as I am a law abiding citizen with no criminal record. Seems in the State of Ohio it is illegal to carry your handgun in any place of worship. I will PM you if I have any specific questions. Thanks again.

[Sgt. Pate]

JDog,

Here's another site to look at: http://www.handgunlaw.us/

Many states don't consider you a resident for 6 month after which you can legally purchase a firearm.

Once you settle on the state you'll be residing in, I can hook you up with a few places to get specific CCW information relevant to that state. 

[StogieStang]

Jdog,

I just remembered what you posted on the other gun thread.

Pretty offensive thing to say Stang, not everyone in the world has a deep maddening desire to arm themselves to the teeth.

Did you have a change of heart?  I hope you did, I think every good citizen who is mentally and physically capable of defending themselves should. 

Stang you make a very valid point, and I should have explained myself better. I am 100% supportive of people being able to own and carry guns. It is a right granted by the US Constitution, however I also support peoples decision not to have them as well. Some countries,like England and Australia, have pretty strict gun control laws and dont allow their citizens to own them, thus people feel differently than you and I about the use and rights of gun ownership. I was just acknowledging it thats all. I apologize if I offended.


Thanks for the information too Stang. This helps out immensley. Looks like in my home state there is no license or permit required to purchase a handgun. Concealment Carry licenses,while a still a serious matter, not to be taken lightly, are reasonably easy to get as I am a law abiding citizen with no criminal record. Seems in the State of Ohio it is illegal to carry your handgun in any place of worship. I will PM you if I have any specific questions. Thanks again.

I was never offended, I just was unsure of your position on the topic.  You're welcome to PM me if you have any questions.

[StogieStang]

Let me give you an example.  In Kennesaw, GA back in 1982 they passed a law requiring every head of household to own a firearm with ammo (some exceptions exist).  The year after it passed crime dropped 89% and it has stayed that low from then on. 

Murderers, robbers, rapists, etc. all have one thing in common.  They don't want to be shot.  The residence of Kennesaw never went out in the streets shooting to get the crime rate to drop.  It's the law breakers knowing that their potential victim has the means to defend themselves that prevented the crimes. 

If you notice on the news the public shootings that occur the most are in gun free zones.  Why? because the shooters like to go where the government gives them a gurantee their victims won't shoot back. 

You mentioned what about innocent people getting shot by accident.  That is a possability.  This is something the victim has to take into account before drawing their weapon and before pulling the trigger.  Having a concealed weapon doesn't mean I have to use it in every situation, but I sure like to have that option available to me when some nut is shooting people one at a time in point blank range. 

You brought up the example of the church shooting.  If the victim had not shot the attacker there would have been more innocent people killed in that situation.  I don't know how anyone could criticize that.  I know the people who were not attacked that would have been are very grateful.   

[tomgallagher]

LOL...in a fight or flight situation most people couldn't hit the side of a barn from inside the barn and if the bad guy gets the jump on you your brand new expensive hand gun is going away with him and into the blackmarket.

[PigPen]

LOL...in a fight or flight situation most people couldn't hit the side of a barn from inside the barn and if the bad guy gets the jump on you your brand new expensive hand gun is going away with him and into the blackmarket.

Valid point, but most people I know who have a CCW are very experienced with firearms. Some of them are even former law enforcement. They won't draw their weapon unless they are absolutely sure the situation warrants it, and they can make a difference by doing so.

[tomgallagher]

Then group of whom you speak represent a very small percentage of the whole.

[buddha]

LOL...in a fight or flight situation most people couldn't hit the side of a barn from inside the barn and if the bad guy gets the jump on you your brand new expensive hand gun is going away with him and into the blackmarket.

Valid point, but most people I know who have a CCW are very experienced with firearms. Some of them are even former law enforcement. They won't draw their weapon unless they are absolutely sure the situation warrants it, and they can make a difference by doing so.

I'm with Tom Gallagher!

When I was a cop I remember reading about a national police shotgun champion who responded to a call of an armed robbery in progress. Upon arrival he exchanged shots with the offenders and fired at their getaway car, with the shotgun. Not only did he not hit any of the offenders but he missed the car as well. WITH A SHOTGUN!

Point is, to be proficient with a handgun, a person must make practice an obsession. Any shooting situation, whether shots are fired or not, creates tremendous stress in the mind and body which results in things like shaking hands, tunnel vision, and others.....all of which affect the ability to place shots on target. If you look at the amount of practicing that people in the military or law enforcement do to become and remain proficient with firearms, the average person doesn't have the time, money, or desire to achieve that level of proficiency. As an ex-cop, IMO, if a person does not have the ability or the desire to make themselves into that type of shooter there's no way that they will be anything but trouble in a hot situation. He/she is just one more person with a gun that the cops have to deal with. This is particularly true in urban settings, like what I come from, where there are always other unintended targets in the background and lots of unfortunate places for errant shots to make impact. This is something that is real easy to remember when it's time to test for a CCW because it makes sense. But when a mofo is trying to shoot you or slash you because you, as a CCW holder, have made a decision to intercede in someone else's troubles, and your whole world comes down to you and that person and their desire to make you become dead all your classroom bu!!sh*t goes right out the window because the situation that you now find yourself embroiled in doesn't make sense.

Most of the time in shooting situations the biggest difference that an honest, upright, taxpayer-type person will make, even when they are 100% right in what they've done, is to find themselves on the receiving end of a Violation of Due Process lawsuit. What this means is when the no account, dope dealing, drive-by shooting gang-banger makes it "necessary" for the civilian holder of a CCW (or a cop, for that matter) to put the required punch in his ticket, that the alienated family of the aforementioned scumbag will now sue your a$$ for depriving their baby of his Constitutional right to a fair trial with a jury of his peers. And the legal fees incurred will be the only thing that you have to show for your well intentioned efforts when it is all over. That, and the memory of what it felt like to kill somebody.

I'm not saying that people should not be allowed to own and legally cary firearms. What I AM saying is that before I get any fantasies in my head about being the subject of a movie about what a hero I am because I chose to involve myself in gunplay in public that I damn well better understand what lays in store for me once I pull the trigger. Because that's not the end of the situation, it's just the beginning.

Sorry if I offended anyone.

[PBurke]

very good points buddha. i thought about getting my concealed permit for awhile. but it just seems like it could be more of a hassle cause there is always that fear of having to use your weapon. i am all for guns and think we should all carry one (kinda like the old west days.) but noone knows how they would react in a situation until they are put into it. and that is too late to figure out what to do. maybe if there was more training before getting a concealed permit? but that would still not help much in the crisis situation. i know cops that would probably panic in a gun fight. time at the shooting range can only do so much.

[Marz]

Great points guys.

I see owning a gun as more than protection and really only in the event of someone or something threatening my family in some way would I want to use a gun for protection, and even then It would be quite a last resort. I have also checked into the CCW thing and I have no desire nor do I see any point in roaming the streets of Washington strapped.

At home however, I think a gun is a handy thing to have for the home invasion, natural disaster, or other type of large scale devastation that would require a certain amount of marshal law. The armed burglar pouncing on you in the middle of the night seems to be the scale as to which handgun ownership is judged when there are millions of scenarios that offer time to grab a weapon, load and prepare... in those cases, I will take a .45 over the Louisville Slugger any day. There is a lot to be said for the mere sound of a shotgun loading ... if you hear something downstairs and stand at the top with a shotgun and just load it, that sound alone is going to make a thief think twice about the "true" value of the DVD player.

When camping or adventuring in the outdoors a gun can be handy as well. I would prefer to have a gun than not in a survival situation. 

I do see it as my civic duty that if I am to own guns I am to know how to operate and shoot the gun(s) efficiently and to remain practiced.

[nomad]

the way I see it there should be tougher training involved with getting any sort of carry permit, I know in FL its easy any jacka$$ can sit through the class and take a test, but that doesn't teach you what to do in a real life situation. If it wasn't for the training I've had there was a time when I would have killed my best friend, its a long story but due to my training I knew not to just pull my weapon and start shooting, but to KNOW what I'm getting into first. I know some state might be a little tougher but I think before anyone carries they need major situation training and time on a range so they know how and what to shoot.

As far a carry permits go I think concealed carry permits are dangorous I think it should be open carry like, I think its AZ or NM that has open carry. If the guns are being carried out in the open(old west style) there is no guessing whos who and whats what.