My childs interpretation of the open carry laws

[wayne]

My 8 1/2 yr old daughter and I were out and about with some friends today (most of them older gentlemen) and discussion of open carry came up.  I tried explaining to them the great latitude a CPL affords someone to OC, not too many belivers.  The school situation came up and as we were leaving, my daughter begged me not to try OC at her school    I told her I would not likely test the length of the law in that regard, but later this evening we were looking at the OC carry chart we downloaded from this forum.  She instantly went to the line about OC in schools and then proceeded to argue that I could not carry at her school because it says K-12 and she thinks that does not cover the preschool.  I have high hopes for her as an attorney one day 

This is the same 8 1/2 yr old that scolded me because we were out flying the other night and on inital ATC contact, I asked for "touch-and-goes" at MBS Intl.  She said the regulations prohibit that maneuver at night...  Well, she picked that up just listening into me tell one of my students touch and goes do not count toward night currency according to the FAA regs.  So, she didn't quite get it exactly right, but I was thrilled at her level of engagement and it made a GRAND story for all my other pilot friends and students!

I digress...but the point is, KIDS GET IT!  Speak straight with them and don't worry if they get every tiny little detail the first time through.  They will retain a whole lot more than you think and I can just about guarantee you next time we engage a discussion, she will be the one doing the educating.  Only 9 1/2 more years and she will be OC with me!  By then, she will be able to shred (in a friendly manner) any LEO with her mastery of the laws.

[wardog6t]

Excellent!

[devine plumbing]

Bay City is a beautiful area to fly in.  Glad to see there are other pilots on this board.  I have been doing quite a bit of reading but have yet to open carry.  Although I see the benefits of it from a safety standpoint, I think there are too many loopholes to get caught up in without first having your CPL. 

[TheQ]

Bay City is a beautiful area to fly in.  Glad to see there are other pilots on this board.  I have been doing quite a bit of reading but have yet to open carry.  Although I see the benefits of it from a safety standpoint, I think there are too many loopholes to get caught up in without first having your CPL.

I agree.  If you don't have a CPL you must be VERY VERY careful and know the law in and out.

[gryphon]

You are correct. Kids get more than we realize.

[yance]

Bay City is a beautiful area to fly in.  Glad to see there are other pilots on this board.  I have been doing quite a bit of reading but have yet to open carry.  Although I see the benefits of it from a safety standpoint, I think there are too many loopholes to get caught up in without first having your CPL.

As someone without a CPL I can say that yes there are a lot of things that can trip you up that you do need to be aware of.  Understanding what applies is not difficult as I deal with it every day, but you have to make sure you are paying attention.  I always tell people to get their CPL if they want to OC as well as making sure they fully understand the laws.  Its certainly possible to OC w/out a CPL but unless youre good at remembering a lot of things it can be difficult.

[wayne]

I also always suggest that everyone get a CPL before open carrying.  Yes, there are a lot of things you can get messed up by, but just the fact of getting in and out of a car alone makes it not worth trying to OC in my opinion.  The only OC I am going to consider for someone without the CPL will be for my daughter when she is 18 and not yet 21.  Maybe by then the CPL will be avail for her, but who knows.  In that situation, as of today, I will have to take possession of her weapon before we enter the car, then I can give it back to her after we exit.  I'm sure it is a bit more complex than that, but I have many years until then to figure it out.

[bagz013]

Congrats on a smart kid!!

[Setenos]

Haha that's an incredible story. It must be awesome being able to fly around here 

[wayne]

Yes, it is incredible to fly anywhere, but this is home and it is unmistakable.  I would come back from east coast or south coast and there was just something special, almost magical about descent into the bay region.

Now, the only bad thing about her firearms education is that apparently she has been starting to educate her 4th grade friends.  I am expecting another letter from school / visit from CPS    We went through that back when I got her the pink cricket .22 for her 5th birthday.  I almost laughed when they showed up.  I told them they might just want to run a background check on me if they are concerned.  All they would find is that I am an ex LEO and several very high security clearances for working extended periods of time at some of this countries most sensative nuclear facilities (Not as an LEO). 

[scot623]

I've OC 'd for a few years now. Now that I have 17 month old daughter and a boy to be born any day...I look forward these types of interactions with my kids. You are a lucky man to have such an inquisitive child.

On a totally seperate issue...my wife and I were talking about the recent news story about the school liaison/police officer who as arrested for molesting kids. He was even pulling them out of class to abuse them. I told my wife one of our toughest jobs as parents will be giving our kids the strength to tell us if anyone ever touches them inappropriately. Teach them that we won't be hurt(molesters often threaten to kill the parents of the child so they are too afraid to report the incident). I told my wife it will be easier to combat that fear because daddy carries a gun on his hip everyday. I think this is one more benefit of OC/carrying a gun everyday. Teaching our kids we will protect them probably means a bit more to them when we actively carry the tools for the job. 

Sorry for the derail...

[wayne]

Those are some good points.  I don't believe for one moment my daughter would buy into any threat against me being valid.  She knows we ride through the roughest parts of Sagnasty on a regular basis and hasn't a worry in the world.  She goes to the range with me and watches me drill out the center of 8.5 x 11 targets at 50' and asks me why everyone else needs such large targets and never puts them at the end