Graicie your comment:
"For those that do...it seems to be a form of showing off."

May be appropriate for the miniscule number that behave as you allege.
I will venture to say those who behave in such a manner they probably do not have a permit.

And for those of us who do have permits there is no way any would behave as you inappropriately paint those who carry with a very inaccurate picture of who they are and how they behave.

It is OK to not be for guns and what ever else comes with the belief. It is quite another to to speak negatively about a segment of the population that most of you know nothing about.

The so called "need" to own and or carry a gun is, as I have stated many, MANY times on TOTV, no different than carrying insurance (of any kind). Insurance is nothing more than a just in case situation....is it not?
People who feel differently about guns than you and many like you need to understand that those of us who do carry do so for the VERY SAME REASON, just in case.

I never attempt to change an anti gun's person views. I do however, take exception when well meaning folks like yourself, characterize us in a totally incorrect and negative way.

Gun owners are not what you see on the permitted violence called entertainment in the movies and television. They also are not the character painted by the media. They are your neighbors!!!

A real plus for many of you folks is that unlike the just in case insurance you have to pay for.....you get the benefit of us being in your midst....for free. We do what is right, under the law, and just in case, to protect ourselves or YOU!!!!

btk

What I'd do
 

Well, I’ve probably got more training with firearms than most folks. I was an Air Force Combat Controller for seven years. During that time I had quite a bit of firearms training and experience. Then I went through a police academy and was a cop for two years.

I didn’t purchase a gun, though, until an incident in the panhandle of Florida 15 or 20 years ago. A couple from the United Kingdom were traveling and stopped in a rest area west of Tallahassee and were gunned down by some young punks.

We traveled a lot and I told my wife that if we’d been there I would have had to try to help but without a gun, and against numerous young thugs with guns, I don’t know what I could have done.

So, I purchased a S&W .357 revolver. It’ what I had as a cop and I knew the gun and wouldn’t have to worry about how to take the safety off. LOL!

Since I purchased it I’ve only fired it, maybe, 20 times. I keep five chambers loaded and nothing in the chamber aligned with the muzzle in case of a fire in the house or car. Why would you need more than two or three loaded chambers anyway unless you are a pathetic marksman?

My wife travels alone to visit her family in NC so we recently purchased a S&W Bodygurard .38 for her. We both have Conceal/Carry permits.

We don’t carry unless we’re traveling but if we we’re stopped by law enforcement for any reason we would hand our conceal/carry permit with our drivers license to the officer to let him know we are carrying and are legal. I’d never just tell them I have a firearm.

And, if someone is harassing you and you want to warn them you have a firearm you could simply show them your conceal/carry permit. That is legal…, showing them your gun is not!

Gracie, I know you don't get why people carry in a place like TV but, as you know, there are reasons. Everyone has a story. Some stories are pretty, some are not. Some carry just in case they need it. Some have had experiences that have let them know they need it. Some are truly in danger from another and carry for protection. Some do it just because they can. As safe as TV is, it does have its elements. So, we carry and most of us pray that the only place we will ever have to fire our weapons is at a shooting range. Regardless, we carry.

The majority who carry are very careful of their weapons. They don't flash them. They rarely even announce they have a weapon on or near them. They try to be law-abiding. Many really do know the gun laws of the state they are in and fully abide by them. Many of us take every gun-safety class we can. We know our weapons and their limitations. Hopefully, we know our own limitations as well.

You really need to re-read the Florida Statute on banishing. Rules are a little different for CWL holders, you can be charge even if you don't have the firearm on you. So be careful of what you display to someone.

Ahhh 73 not 2012
 

Good question. Took two Deer. One with a Smith and Wesson 8/3/ inch 41 Magnum. One with a Thompson Contender 35 Remington Mag!

Hate Shot Guns with Slugs, Rather use a Bow or Pistol. Southern Tier Shot Gun is correct except for legal pistol rounds
At the time only conceled permits were issued. Were talking 1973 before screaming liberal NYS judges took the bench and tried to take away your right to carry.

True Story
 

My sister was a single mom, living next to my Dad raising a young son. Nameless animal broke in to her house. Held her at knife point. Cut off her hair, tied the boy up in the closed, rapped and beat my sister for 12 hours. The pictures of her bruised body after than night still stay in my mind.

He stole her car credit cards and money. Took off from NY headed south. Ran a road block and forced a trooper off the road in PA. Was caught escaped from the PA hospital and was later apprehended in Arizona. The criminal was on the run for over 9 months.

Red witch you summed it up. Some have been through horrific crimes. Our family is still watching the release dates if he gets out! Parole is coming up again in two years. He has stated in letters mailed out to my sister from prison he will hunt us all down and kill us.

Gracie that is not a very nice story is it. My sister has moved with her life. A grandmother/ A wonderful loving new husband and his business took them to TN.

At church the women came up to her and said . Would you like to join our Ladies Pistol Club. Women shoot free on Friday Nights! From NY where you could not get a concealed permit to TN.

It's all not good.:sad:

Billy. I respect you mightily. But I don't respect people who think it is o.k. to carry guns in a peaceful quiet community like ours. I don't know what I can learn about that particular mindset but according to my first amendment rights I can be a conservative and a person who is against laws like the one in Florida and have the right to say how I feel. I am 71 years old and none of the people that I know personally, none of my family carry guns or feel the need to. I have had three careers and in all that time working and flying across the country and moving about my world, I have never met anyone who tried to personally harm me.

I realize that others have had very dissimilar lives, but no one I know personally, including all of my huge family has had anyone try to harm them or rob them. They have never been in trouble with the law and they just aren't looking for trouble or put themselves in harms way if they can help it. I don't know why I should change my mind. I know bad stuff happens and I believe in the right to bear arms, but I don't see why people would carry firearms here in The Villages.

Now if I lived in an area or moved about in an area of high crime, I might feel differently.

AND if some gunman breaks into my home and shoots me and my loved ones and steals my good dutch oven...please do not feel you need to send flowers. Just say.. She was wrong.

Why do police carry guns in quiet respectful little towns? Ask a police officer how often they have to draw their guns let alone fire it. Statistically not very often.

The issue is not the quiet respectful little towns. As I said it is like one chooses to have insurance for a catastrophic event that is unlikely to happen.

The same reason you have a spare in the trunk. In the unlikely event you need it.

There is no conscious decision to carry a gun or any other form of defense based on living in a quiet respectful area or not. It is more akin to the thought process required to put on your watch or carry a wallet.

Each and every one has a right to believe as they see fit. And I personally do not believe one should assign respect or not or dislike another because of the choices they make.

It is very unfortunate that the majority of the populations knowledge base about guns comes from the sensationalizing by the media. And the disgustingly over dramatization of gun use in movies and television.
These represent the minority report on the illegal use of fire arms. While the majority, millions and millions of us who adhere to the laws of the land are over shadowed by the minority reporting and distorted entertainment industries.

I also know from years and years and years of defending us law abiding, safe gun owners.....it is a waste of time to present our case. However I cannot pass an opportunity to make sure the true side of gun ownership is heard as well as the distorted side.

btk

so the hated list is
1. guns
2. dog poop
3. fast golf carts
4. roundabouts
5. people driving in the left lanes
6. people that dont use their turn signals
7. people that dont repair divots
8. that guy that doesnt like people to shoot the 'bird'
have i missed anything?

:agree:

You forgot to put Snowbirds on your list. :cryin2:

All I know is I have mine and if you don't want one that's your option, and I could care less,
but don't ask me to be your cop, he'll be there whenever he gets a chance. It's only your family at risk.
Like an insurance policy. Chances are your house won't catch fire, but it can and does happen. Why not be prepared? Why not cover all possible ways to protect your family? How would you feel if you let your family be brutalized and raped and did nothing because you didn't like guns?

In addtion to fast golf carts (#3) add slow golf carts.

Is there a maximum age for obtaining a CWL? It probably varies by state, but curious as to the general age limit if they exist.

On July 24, 2007, the quiet Connecticut town of Cheshire was shocked by a brutal home invasion that left a house in flames, a wife and her two daughters dead ...
Operative word "quiet".....Just like The Villages. Gracie, I don't know you but I would bet a million dollars you would answer the door bell at 8pm with a "who's here for coffee" mentality when in fact it is two clowns on crack deciding to smash in the first door that opens. Wake up and realize the police can't be everywhere. I refuse to risk my life and the life of my wife when I don't have to. I have trained and I am ready. I pray the day never comes when I answer the door to someone I do not want to come in. By the way, my outside storm door remains locked day and night. Better safe than sorry and always remember "be sure of you surroundings at all times".