A Patchwork

I traveled this weekend from Michigan to New Jersey to visit family. Six states, 600 miles one way, long trip: left Friday evening late, came back Sunday.

“Be Prepared” was something I learned a million years ago as a Boy Scout, and it is an axiom that has served me well through life. Hence, before I travel, I always check the concealed carry laws in the states through which I will travel. My primary resource is the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gunowners (MCRGO) website, the group most responsible for getting the Michigan legislature and governor to pass “Shall Issue” concealed pistol license laws.

They are also responsible for working with the Michigan AG to establish reciprocity agreements with other “Shall Issue” states such that a Michigan CPL holder can legally carry in those states, and this is primarily what I am checking before I travel. Of the states I traveled through or visited, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Delaware have signed reciprocity agreements with Michigan (although the Ohio laws are somewhat ambiguous, that is being fixed this week); West Virginia has not (although work is being done on that); and Maryland and NJ are “Restrictive Issue” states, which means there is no reciprocity agreement in place. As anyone who is a CPL holder knows, “Shall Issue” means that if you pass a certified training course (involving a certain amount of range time), pass a background check (which used your fingerprints and includes ensuring no mental health issues), and pay the appropriate fees the appropriate agency (in our case, the county) cannot deny you a CPL and shall issue you one. The “Restrictive Issue” states usually have laws which require you to show cause why you need to carry (the Second Amendment notwithstanding).

So what is a law-abiding citizen to do when traveling like this? There are three choices as I see it: 1) carry illegally in the three states where there is no reciprocity agreement; 2) determine what requirements and restrictions you must meet in order to transport a firearm across those three states and attempt to meet them (which is problematic if you drive a pickup truck); or 3) don’t carry on this trip. Obviously, 1) is a non-starter.

Not even going to go there.

With 2) you have some logistical issues surrounding what to do when you cross state borders. For number 3), you have the easiest with which to comply, but decidedly not the safest, from a personal protection standpoint.

Now, there are measures before the Senate and House to try to fix this, but with this Congress, I don’t think they will make it out of committee. Which is a shame because our citizenry is the first line of defense against terrorist attacks in our country. I know the local and state police, as well as the FBI do what they can to prevent attacks (and crime in general) from occurring, but their primary tasks involve catching the bad guys AFTER they have committed a crime or conducted an attack. I know that we have not had any attacks since 9/11/01, but until we have rooted out the most evil of the terrorists, shut down their training and indoctrination camps, and secured our borders, we must remain vigilant and be prepared.

John adds: Bull Nav’s post reminds me of a phenomenal true story from Robert Averch, titled Killing a Terrorist.

“Look,” say Larry, ” he was an Arab worker, we got along just fine. But the day I saw him wasn’t one of the days he was supposed to be here. Also he was heading into the neighborhood supermarket, a place he never ever went into. Plus he was wearing an overcoat on a very hot day. It was all wrong.”

“What did you do?”

“I was outside when I spotted him. I followed him inside and I looked at his face and he looked, I don’t know, all drugged up.”

“How did you know you weren’t shooting an innocent man?”

“He sizzled.”

“Excuse me?”

“He tried to self-detonate. There was a malfunction. I saw smoke. I didn’t want to take a chance on there being a second trigger. We were in a supermarket. Women and children all around. I drew and and shot him in the chest.”

“Shot him dead?”

Larry shrugs and half smiles: “Hey, us Bensonhurst kids had to grow up tough, right?”

“I guess.”

We posted the story before at OPFOR, and like Col P said, it’s precisely why we have a “well regulated militia.”