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My first brush with concealed carry
I think I saw a gun today.
I can't be sure, because I didn't stop to stare, but at lunch at the Grand Avenue mall food court, I saw a pistol in a guy's pocket.
I know I just blogged about giving the mall another chance, and what I saw doesn't really have anything to do with it. Here's what happened.
On my way to Panda Express (guilty pleasure, I know) I walked past an older white man – I say "white" because some unfortunately do associate mall problems with black people. He was holding two crutches and wearing baggy sweatpants. I guess my eyes focused on his crutches, because I immediately noticed the butt of a handgun sticking out of his left pocket.
Am I sure it was a gun? No, but I've seen guns, and I've fired guns. This looked like a gun. I certainly didn't ask him if it was.
I immediately thought to myself, "Well, this is what concealed carry is all about," and I ordered my food. I felt edgy as I sat down far away from the man.
I ate very quickly, but while I did, I kept an eye on my surroundings. I noticed every security guard in the food court. I felt like they were at a heightened state of readiness. Maybe someone else saw the gun, too, and reported it.
I didn't, and I wasn't panicking because this is legal now, right? If it is, I still didn't feel very comfortable. After I tweeted the incident on my way out, someone replied that guns aren't allowed in malls.
I didn't stick around to see if he was right.
Understand that this guy was in no way threatening, yet still, I felt vaguely threatened. Why, I don't know, because for this one gun that I saw, many, many people are out there doing a much better job of concealing their weapons.
I guess that's just the new reality.
Update: In retrospect, it sure seems like this wasn't a true "concealed carry." Yes, this man was concealing (barely) and carrying a firearm, but I probably erred in thinking he was obeying the law. But this raises a good point: is it the burden of the non-gun owner to know the ins and outs of this new law? It makes sense to me that keeping an un-holstered gun in your sweatpants is not how the law was intended. In my 38 years on this planet, I've never seen a guy with a gun at the mall. Next time, however, I will surely alert security and let the professionals handle it.
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AndrewJ | Jan. 24, 2013 at 10:28 a.m. (report)
If that's how you, an honest law abiding citizen felt, imagine how a criminal thinking about committing a crime would feel. Even better... imagine you're a criminal thinking about committing a crime, and you don't see a doofus in sweatpants unsafely carrying a gun in their pocket, but instead are left to wonder who among you might be safely concealing a weapon they were trained to use. It could be anybody. Now how does that idea of robbing somebody, or holding up a store seem?
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emills81 | Jan. 23, 2013 at 5:23 p.m. (report)
Andy,
You sound like a wuss. It was probably a tablet or cell phone. Leave the race baiting for Mr. Kane.
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Roadie | Jan. 23, 2013 at 5:10 p.m. (report)
I carry concealed but willingly return my firearm to a lockbox in my car if I encounter a sign that specifies no weapons. That's the way the law works. Andy, worry more about the illegal carriers. They're the dangerous ones.
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kmervyn | Jan. 23, 2013 at 5:07 p.m. (report)
Well, here is the thing. Concealed carry and open carry are 2 different things. If you can see the guys weapon, it's not really concealed, i it? Is the mall posted "no weapons"? I always look for these signs. But there are some places that do not need to be posted, like a government building. I was not aware a mall automatically means no carry. I understand your uneasiness seeing the weapon. I have a friend who asked if he can carry to my house, and I have no problem with it, but when he took off his jacket and the holster was partially revealed until he covered it with his shirt, my granddaughter freaked out. I believe it is a persons right to carry. I also hope and continue to pray that people who exercise their right are moral and sane.
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mkelover | Jan. 23, 2013 at 3:28 p.m. (report)
Could easily have been an off-duty police officer...or someone breaking the law who didn't even possess a conceal-carry permit.
There is no way to prove that this was a result of the conceal-carry law.
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