NRA Stickers - Theft Deterrent or Theft Invitation?

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BigMikey76

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Not sure if this is in the right place, but since it relates to concealing handguns, I chose to put it here. Feel free to move it somewhere else if necessary.

I was going through a box of stuff in my hall closet, and I found a long lost NRA sticker that I got when I joined. My first thought was to put it on my car so I can proudly support them while they proudly support my 2A rights. Before I could make it happen, though, my wife raised an interesting question...

I have a holster mounted inside the center console of my car. Because it is a locking console, I leave my gun in there when I go some place that I can't carry (post office, courthouse, etc.). Between the locked console and the locked doors, I feel comfortable doing so. The question my wife raised is this: will having the sticker on my car serve to nullify the "nobody knows I'm carrying" aspect of concealed carry, or possibly even tip off a potential thief that they may be able to get their hands on a gun if they choose to break into my car instead of the newer shinier one right next to it?

Any thoughts on this subject?
 
I can't tell you what people with criminal intent will do but the stickers make me smile.

I have seen videos and writing of peoples opinions saying it's an advertizement but also compare it to having those stick figures on the back of a car identifying how many people might be living in a house or expected to come home.

One thing in your favor is people have to be pretty dumb to break into a car parked outside a post office or courthouse. And i'm pretty sure they're more after items they can see vs locked.
 
Here is my take.
A thief does not care one way or another about that sticker.
It may be a deterrent and it may be a magnet.
I have had one on my truck for over 25 years and never had my truck broke into.
In a way I see it as a determent in the sense a thief knows or would feel less at ease since there is a 50/50 chance the person he is stealing from is armed and willing to protect his/her property with deadly force.
 
One thing in your favor is people have to be pretty dumb to break into a car parked outside a post office or courthouse.
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Unfortunately, the Omaha courthouse has no parking lot - you just have to find a spot on the street, sometimes a few blocks away, depending on the time of day. I don't go there often, but it only takes once, right... maybe I am over thinking this. I've heard that new concealed carriers often start to get all bunged up about things that they never even thought about before, and this could easily be an example of that.
 
I stopped putting any NRA ID on my car when one of the more fanatical anti-gun groups urged its followers to smash the windows and spike the tires of cars with NRA stickers. AFAIK, that gang is no longer around (and the NRA is still here), but some of those nut cases might be.

Aside from that, I don't see much to be gained, either way, by stickers of any kind.

Jim
 
I often frequent areas in Atlanta that in my opinion are more likely to have a higher than average number of anti-gun folks. So, I avoid the stickers to deter vandals who might try to make some political statement.
 
Besides being a cop magnet...pro gun stickers on cars an trucks are a theft invitation to both your vehicle and your house.
 
Besides being a cop magnet...pro gun stickers on cars an trucks are a theft invitation to both your vehicle and your house.
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That's interesting. Where I live, I would say the exact opposite about stickers, cops and thieves.
 
Besides being a cop magnet...pro gun stickers on cars an trucks are a theft invitation to both your vehicle and your house.
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A more accurate way of putting it is that they may be an invitation to theft. I'm not aware of any statistics or studies on the matter one way or another. As such, we can't really state that they do or do not create some risk.
 
I really like to fly under the radar, I don't even put my AARP membership decal on my car;)

I see no need to advertise that there may be a firearm on the car, why attract potential thief',s or as James K explained why try and attract wack-job anti's. I'd really have to go up side some poor misguided fools ass if I caught them damaging my car.
 
In the Bay Area of CA (where I live) putting gun-related stickers on your vehicle is just asking for trouble (vehicle keyed/broken into/ect).
 
I wondered the same thing a few years ago. I took them off my vehicles. Where I live its no big deal it fairly common to see them. But sometimes I drive to STL and I would think a smart thief may think there is a good chance of there being a gun in that car. But it could also go both was a thief may also think if the owner happens to come back there may be a good chance of getting shot as well.

I never though of the anti vandalizing a car because of it but if they feel the need to do something illegal to get their point across it just shows how wrong they are.
 
My vehicles are totally bland. No stickers of any kind. Same with the work truck for the company I own. Let them guess.
 
I was going through a box of stuff in my hall closet, and I found a long lost NRA sticker that I got when I joined. My first thought was to put it on my car so I can proudly support them while they proudly support my 2A rights. Before I could make it happen, though, my wife raised an interesting question...
Click to expand...

I'll stick it on my laptop, not my car. On the car would generate more attention than I care to get.
 
I have a couple stickers on my car. an NRA and a manufacturer sticker. I don't even lock my doors, but I don't keep a firearm in it either. but I work right next to the "hood-iest" apartments/houses you could imagine, and I park my car at 3:30am and vacate the premises. never had an issue.

the same car, before it had stickers, got stolen a few years ago in the parking garage of the condo we used to live in.

so I dunno, I think if I was a criminal, I may look for a dark parking lot and I would probably target an NRA car, but let's not give the average petty thief too much credit for intelligence. if they don't know who the vice president is, I highly doubt they'll know what NRA stands for
 
I put nothing political, gun-related, or identifiable on any of my vehicles. Nor do I have anything visible inside of the vehicles that would fall into the same categories.
It eliminates, or at least reduces, spontaneous acts of stupidity committed by people that disagree with my opinion(s).


...With one exception.
The license plate on my truck is a reference to my favorite cartridge. But it's an uncommon cartridge, and you have to be "in the know" to understand the reference. It's three digits, followed by a letter. To most people, it looks just like any other 'special edition' plate.
 
In my younger days playing cop, I learned to be the grey man. I wore nothing that would identify me with my occupation. That continues today and there is nothing to identify my beliefs or affiliations on either myself or my vehicle. BTW, I recall reading that Heimat Sicherheitsdienst alerted cops to be wary of folks who have pro-2A or NRA stickers on their cars. Also, you don't want one on your vehicle if you're crossing the Canadian border. Expect a lengthy delay if you do.

OK, I wear a red NRA "Women on Target" hat when I play instructor at one of those events. I wore a Ruger ballcap (backwards) whenever I worked on a lathe or milling machine. That kept the chips out of my hair (hat was straightened out when I left the machine).
 
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