Is it a good idea to "Announce" to the world that you love guns and are carrying one?

zw said:
I have a T-shirt that says "Mess with me and I will fight you. Mess with my Dachshund and they'll never find your body."
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Nice.

I only have one funny t-shirt (a silhouette of a cow and "I think your god tastes delicious") and I don't even wear it, but I do like the genre.

At the wife's gym I saw a fellow with a shirt that read, "My foot hurts from kicking so much a55". It was doubly worth the chuckle because he was a fat tub of goo.


Proclaiming anything to the whole world is rarely a good idea. So far as bumper stickers are concerned, I tend to see them as the automotive equivalent of tattoos. Some perfectly nice people have them, but that doesn't mean I need to get one.
 
The only thing on my vehicles or home that could label me a gun owner is a small sticker on the front door of the house that says...

Exodus 22:2

Which is a verse in the Bible that says, "If a thief is caught breaking in, and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed."

No shirts, no signs, nothing but that tiny sticker, and 99.9% of people wouldn't know what it means.
 
Mike38 reminded me of a time that I did advertise a gun.
We owned a vacant house down the street.
It kept getting broken into and ransacked.
After the 5th time I taped a spent .45 colt case to the door... Break-ins stopped.
 
I do have a couple of t-shirts that I enjoy wearing.
One says I Believe on the front with the 2nd amendment printed on the back. I like when people looking at me head on ask me what it is that I believe.
I have another that says Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms, should be a convenience store not a government agency. Typically wear that to the local gun shows and get some favorable comments and chuckles.
I don't really see the harm in banners like those, but I can understand where some could.
I do have a small 2A sticker on the rear window of my pick up, don't see the harm in that either, but the one that is in the top center is possibly a problem. I don't really care though, I like it.... color me bad.


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I have a few of polo shirts I wear from time to time. They are from Beretta. One says simply Beretta and the others say Beretta Armorer. On my truck I have only 2 sticker. One is Bassmasters and the other is Gander Mountain. That way when someone sees it they will think fisherman not gunman.
 
Criminals mostly target vehicle break-ins on ones that provide opportunity. Practically all car burglaries occur at night. You would be amazed at the number of people who leave hundreds of dollars of property, guns, cash and other stuff in unlocked cars.

An unlocked vehicle is the primary target of most car burglars. It makes little noise to get into and out of and proving someone even went in it all is difficult. A more discriminating burglar will break into multiple cars in a nice neighborhood, using force if needed as he is seeking a bigger payoff and nicer stuff. It is higher risk of getting caught.

In the nice neighborhood is where a burglar will find a lot of guns in a cars. I find it astonishing the number of people who keep guns in cars all the time. Some people get confused on the legality of keeping a gun in a car and then won't admit they had one in there if it does get stolen. A lot of people don't know the serial number or even the model and type of gun. :confused:

The last big car burglar we caught in the act had broken into 13 cars that night and stolen five guns. Over 1/3 of the cars in that neighborhood has guns left in them overnight. Of those only half were locked. That is crazy irresponsible when you think about it.

An NRA sticker on a car is meaningless in the South. About every other vehicle has one.
 
A couple of years back there was a thread on a forum called Democratic Underground in which the members were advocating targeting people with NRA stickers on their cars for vandalism. I've had my car vandalized because of a political bumper sticker on it. So now I don't have any bumper stickers of any kind on my car.

It's been my experience that stuff like that draws unnecessary attention to me. As I mentioned some one took a screwdriver to my car because of a bumper sticker on it. I've had people try to debate me over bumper stickers I had on my roll away when I worked in a machine shop. I even had a clown go out of his way to come into my work area and scream "Cowboys SUCK!!!!" At me one day when I wore a Dallas hoodie to work (I don't give a damn about the Cowboys it was cold at work).

Bottom line I don't wear clothes with logos, I don't put bumper stickers on my car, I don't talk about guns, politics, religion or really any of my personal life at work and I never, ever tell people I'm carrying a gun. If you're in my circle you know, if you're not you don't need to.
 
I do not advertise anything by putting stickers on my car. I got over my "sticker phase" when I threw away my 6th grade notebook that had all kinds of stickers all over it, and I've never looked back!

However, I have no concern about people knowing that I have guns, shoot guns and like collecting guns. In my circle of friends and acquaintances, I'm looked on as sort of an expert (knowledgeable folks on this board may certainly think otherwise:D) about guns and people seem to want to talk to me about them or ask advice occasionally. I enjoy this and it sometimes helps me connect with people in business settings as well.
 
I live in a pretty conservative region of the U.S. Many NRA window decals and various gun rights bumper stickers. Haven't seen or experienced any vandalism or hassles, but this is also a college town, so I do keep my eyes wide open when in certain areas.
 
I pretty much hate any kind of sticker on my car. I think they look tacky.

People give me a hard time as it is for simply having a Milwaukee Brewers license plate holder.
 
I do not advertise anything by putting stickers on my car. I got over my "sticker phase" when I threw away my 6th grade notebook that had all kinds of stickers all over it, and I've never looked back!

I put all my bumper stickers on my gun safe. I figure if you haven't figured it out by then.....
 
I had two ladies show up at my shooting class. Both were in our Square Dance club and we've been dancing for about 10 years. It wasn't until they showed up at the class they found out I carry constantly.

My step daughter showed up one day asking about a pistol and laser sights. I pulled mine out of my packet and commenced to explain the value of lasers in dryfiring.

She says, "when did you start carrying that? My (then 12 year old)granddaughter chimes in Mom, he's carried that since before I could remember"

I figured I must be doing something right in the carry department.
 
This is a topic that I give a lot of thought to and the reason I do is because I’ve made the mistake. When I first started carrying a gun I joined the NRA and I got the hat and wore it everywhere I went. I found out that it drew unwanted attention as did the NRA stickers on my car.

I also made the mistake of telling people that were friends of mine. One guy dropped me and another proceeded to spread the word to everyone he knew and continued to do so after I asked him not to. He continued the behavior to the point that I had to drop him. If I can keep that kind of hassle out of my life by simply keeping my mouth shut I’m all for it. I don’t give strangers any reason to assume I might be armed.

So it’s a lesson I’ve learned the hard way but there’s more to it (IMO) than just not telling people that I have a CHP. I’ve said it before but when it comes to co-workers or acquaintances (not close friends) my personal life stays personal.

People I don’t know well don’t need to know the details of my life; there just isn’t any reason for it. My experience has been that the less most people know about me the better off I am.

Rumor has it that one of our guards was removed from a site because a client employee was offended that he could hear the guy listening to Rush Limbaugh on the radio. Obviously I have no way to substantiate that but the lesson is taken to heart. I don’t discuss politics, I don’t discuss religion (really anywhere) at work and I avoid any other controversial topic as much as possible. I don’t start conversations about guns at work and if people around me do I don’t participate.
 
I have no desire to advertise anything about my gun ownership. That, to me, is inviting theft. Not to mention the comments from the ever present anti gun crowd.
 
The only thing on any of my cars is an "I love my grandog" magnet on my wife's sedan. Nothing else regarding my possessions or my opinions is the business of strangers. It is my choice who knows what about me. If folks want to broadcast their affection for firearms, they need to be prepared for adverse reactions as well as positive reactions, and to respond to each with equal magnanimity. I don't know if the risk of burglary is significantly increased, and I have no intention of finding out.
 
I don't like stickers of any kind on my car. When I worked at Petco before college, my little brother visited one day and stuck one of Petco's "Think Adoption First" stickers on my bumper without me knowing and I have yet to remove it. Beyond that, I have nothing. I hope the old Kia sedan with chipped paint, rusted windshield wipers, missing passenger door handle, and cracked leather seats is an indication that nothing of value will be found inside the vehicle :D

I do have a gun case that's got stickers on it from Silencerco and a few others. I figure if I take it out to the range, other people there already see the guns I have and know I'm a gun owner. I also have gun stickers on my toolbox at work but I know everybody who works in my building on at least a first name basis and they all know I'm going to school for gunsmithing. Nearly everybody in the Deep South has at least one gun.
 
Some of the pro-gun activists in town, unlike my lone NRA back window decal, have all sorts of clever saying bumper stickers. Some are political ("So how's that Obama thing working out for you?"), others bragging about this or that brand of weapon ("Protected by Smith & Wesson"), etc.

I've lived in some areas of the country where those notices would attract vandalism and even altercations.
 
Sounds like I'm on my own on this topic. We are living in crazy times as far as the 2nd amendment go. Its not just changing politically but also on a cultural level. I own quite a few shirts/ hats and wear them quite a bit. My reasoning is to put it in societies face but in a positive manner. Not negatively. There's a strong push to change people's view on guns and in my opinion now is not the time to hide our love for guns or our support for the 2A. we seem to be losing a lot of political battles. Let's not lose the cultural battle.
 
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