To decal or not to decal?
I recently attended a CCW class. One of the topics of discussion was the application of NRA and similar decals to our cars. The consensus was, having such decals, while driving through anti-gun states, could cause one to receive additional attention from Law enforcement if one were stopped for speeding and so forth. Other class members were concerned that parking one's car in a city, going out on the town and so forth, with such stickers/decals might be an indicator to others that you have a gun with you or in the car (here in Missouri, a 21 year old may maintain a concealed firearm in the car as long as they don't take it with them unless they have a CCW permit). I was wondering what you all thought about the wisdom of having such decals on your car. Thanks.
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I used to have a few decals on my car till I had a great revelation one day. It was when I hit some water coming out of a parking lot and my tires began to spin but instead of backing off I kept into the gas for a real nice burn out. At the next light another gun owner pulled up to me and said "don't advertise gun rights if your going to act like a idiot, people will think all gun owners are just like you." I went home and took them off that night. 0 -
I don't advertise. 0 -
I don't advertise either, I like having the element of surprise in my favor!!![:0][:0] 0 -
Unless you never look in your rear view mirror, you should KNOW if someone is following you home...
It may be situation dependant as some have suggested... but honestly, as I said, in my personal opinion; I'm more concerned about tail gaters and road rage than I am thieves...0 -
I have a small NRA sticker, a LIFE MEMBER license plate up front and through the Delaware Sportsman's Assc an NRA vanity tag on my truck. The only attention I have gotten so far is a honk from fellow members[:)] 0 -
quote:Originally posted by goldeneagle76
I have a small NRA sticker, a LIFE MEMBER license plate up front and through the Delaware Sportsman's Assc an NRA vanity tag on my truck. The only attention I have gotten so far is a honk from fellow members[:)]
I hear Delaware is only gun friendly to the politically connected... Last I was told, sarah "moron" brady lives there. She moved there because she liked the gun laws... and wanted to make them worse.0 -
quote:Originally posted by 1911a1fan
bad ideal to display one on your vehicle in the city, grd don't you live in the country?
if some a hole saw the sticker, and then accused you of displaying a firearms, guess whats going to happen?
and the 911 is just plain crazy, it could really ruin you even in a justifiable shooting, proving your eagerness to shoot someone
edit: think of your region, some places you may invite trouble, while it may amount to nothing, i myself don't have the time to waste
Yes I do live in the country. And in an area that much of the population is armed.
I do go into Charlotte alot but I really don't go to down town or any areas that I would have to worry about anything being done to my viechle.
I also have a good alarm system on my Bronco (I do have a nice stereo, CB, and XM satellite) so if anyone messes with it they will set it off which is a bit of a deturant.
The only time I leave a gun in there is when I go to the post office to check my PO box and I'm comming right out, or at the VA medical facilities.
I will not go into a buisness that will not let me bring my gun in, but out here were I live I have never found one with the 30-06 sign up. At the bank I use the ATM or the drive thru, and I never have had a need to go into any other government type places.
So I never worry about any trouble with my viechle.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Clarentavious
Unless you never look in your rear view mirror, you should KNOW if someone is following you home...
It may be situation dependant as some have suggested... but honestly, as I said, in my personal opinion; I'm more concerned about tail gaters and road rage than I am thieves...
The other issue is someone can drive by the house, see the vehicle parked there with the sticker and make a good guess there are guns in the house.0 -
Spaniel..Nope, can't guard 'er 24/7, and nope again I ain't rich. I have two pos's, a '96 Ram 1500, and a 2006 Chrysler 300C. The thing is, they are mine. So is my house. My front door has a sign on it that states,"ATTENTION THIEVES..Please carry your ID so next of kin can be notified." I'm not a rash 22 year old, I'll be 69 the 22nd of this month, but I do NOT allow any piece of crap to control me. If I cater to them by keeping my belongings in perfect configuration to please them, or not attract their attention, as you seemingly do..Who owns my car, my house, who owns me??
I live very close to meth dealers. My second cousin has been, and probably still is. I sometimes leave my door unlocked when I leave. Inside my house I have close to a hundred guns and I don't own a safe. Everyone in the neighborhood knows me. They are extremely careful to leave me alone. I don't know why, I have made no threats, but I am not bothered.
If it comes to being bothered, I would prefer that to feeling out of control and giving up control to some slice of garbage who is attracted to my belongings. They will just have to look out for themselves, not my problem..0 -
Oldgunner,.......you remind me of my departed great-uncle! I loved that old man,.......he never took crap![;)] 0 -
For eboydell: Thanks. This is what I was hoping for, to get a chance to hear what you all think in order to make a decision. It isn't that I care what others think, after all, I am a conservative high school teacher in a very liberal socialist studies department, I was concerned with the comments other members of the class made that such stickers/decals invited trouble for the car. I support your view and appreciate it. 0 -
For git_r_done: that is fantastic. I want to get one to wear at our school meetings but would get fired. Still.......... 0 -
Spanielsells: What you posted was the opinion of several people in the ccw class. I know that around here, in the years I've had an NRA Life Member sticker on my car, no problem. But, I do know that some folks with bumper stickers, especially for Bush/Cheney, got trashed. I'll check your bog as soon as I get a chance. 0 -
For Oldgunner: Please don't get me wrong, I agree with you and wish you were my neighbor (when I grew up, my mom always taught me to mind my own business and it works). My concern remains this, I would love to put some of the stickers/decals I own on my car but I don't want my car trashed by the kind of cowards that would vandalize a car rather than confront you or me. 0 -
I used to put NRA decals on my pickups, but then I started trading off the vehicles quicker than I could get new NRA stickers, so I just quit.
Now I don't put any decals on. Never know when I"m going to want to trade it off...0 -
For 180A: I think I understand what you mean. For example, I want to wear to a teacher's meeting, a shirt that reads:
168 grn bthp, when it absolutely positively has to
be there in 2650 fps
My colleagues in the socialist studies department are overwhelmingly anti-gun but wouldn't know what the above means (for my AR-10). I have worn shirts that say Sturm-Ruger and they think its a German sausage company. Sometimes I wonder, when I wear a polo shirt that reads "Remington" do they think that is the name of my butler?0 -
For Clarentavious:
I have never been concerned before here in the Kansas City area. I did, however, suffer vandalism when I lived in California. Can you believe this, but, one day in the "wonderful" city of Palo Alto, in the Bay area next to Stanford University, I was driving my 66 Plymouth Sport Fury (440 4 barrel) I had a license plate frame that read "Thank God I'm From Dixie," and NRA sticker, and another I don't quite remember. Anyway, these teens came out of no where on Alma Street and started throwing small rocks and a bottle at me...not for the stickers but because I was driving a V-8 that is destroying the planet...that is what they were yelling. Of course I chased the punks...in my car too...onto the sidewalk... and then they disappreared. Very minor damage. What a world. I can't believe how cs some people are.
Oh yeah, your magnetized sticker idea is an excellent one, thanks.0 -
For drobs, I'm glad you mentioned being followed home. I completely forgot that this concern came up during the class as well. Again, I hope everyone understands that if I decide not to put on a decal, I am not being critical of your choice to have them on your car. I like to give folks with stickers like git_r_done the thumbs up when I see them to show support. We shouldn't have to worry about this question. 0 -
For Odawgp: You make a heck of a lot of sense! 0 -
For USAR1: Those are classic. I am not concerned so much with someone messing with my car when I am in it, its the anti-gun weenies who see what I have when I am parked somewhere. To date, I have not had any problems in this area. Great post by the way. 0 -
1911A1Fan: You raise some interesting points. I live due east of Kansas City and don't feel any concern here. But, if parked in the city... 0 -
For PC800, tsavo303, and cartod: That is what concerned a lot of people in the class. Weighing our right to display what we want, knowing Missouri allows concealed carry in a car without a license, and would that attract people or is it better to maintian a low profile. These are the questions I am weighing with this post. 0 -
For Oldgunner: Now why didn't I end up with you as a neighbor. Instead, I live where they harass me about my old plymouth in the drive. I got to get further out to the country! 0 -
Well, as for people driving past the house... Either
A: Don't leave your car in the driveway, park it in the garage.
B: Turn it around so the hood faces towards the street, and the rear faces the house. That is, if the stickers are on the rear.
Again, I think this is all situation dependant. While some of my neighbors might be idiots, they aren't thieves or hardcore criminals. If I lived in the ghetto, I might reconsider stickers.0 -
I know I did this exact question some time ago but I can't find the right search term to locate the thread. I distinctly remember the response from PaBooger, who posted a picture of a his pickup truck plastered with pro-gun decals.
I don't put pro-gun decals on my truck, but that's because I don't put any decals or bumper stickers on my vehicles. In fact, I generally even remove the car dealer stickers if they will come off easily.0 -
Only thing about such signs and stickers is, they can come back to haunt you if you are ever involved in a critical incident.
Say you arouse the ire of a road rage idiot who forces your vehicle into the ditch, then gets out of his car with a jack handle to correct your ill manners. He is 20 years your junior and outweighs you by 80 pounds. You pull your pistol, for which you have a license, but he does not stop. In fear of your life, you fire, and the idiot dies.
The crime scene photos show, among other things, your "Insured By Smith & Wesson" bumper sticker on the back of your vehicle. In the mind of a liberal prosecutor, this can indicate a predisposition to commit violence, even a desire to.
No decals or stickers for me.0 -
quote:Originally posted by nunn
Only thing about such signs and stickers is, they can come back to haunt you if you are ever involved in a critical incident.
Say you arouse the ire of a road rage idiot who forces your vehicle into the ditch, then gets out of his car with a jack handle to correct your ill manners. He is 20 years your junior and outweighs you by 80 pounds. You pull your pistol, for which you have a license, but he does not stop. In fear of your life, you fire, and the idiot dies.
The crime scene photos show, among other things, your "Insured By Smith & Wesson" bumper sticker on the back of your vehicle. In the mind of a liberal prosecutor, this can indicate a predisposition to commit violence, even a desire to.
No decals or stickers for me.
I've heard similar stories about people being prosecuted for loading hollow point ammunition in their guns.
Bottom line is... if what you did was legal, a damn prosecutor should not be looking a crime scene photos... your case should never go to court - you shouldn't be charged with anything - or even arrested.
If everyone wants to get so worked about this type of crap, may as well stop carrying and let the criminal kill you. Tell me, would you rather wind up dead, or spend 50 years in jail for defending yourself from a violent nut job?
If what you did was legal... you need to defend yourself in court (if you wind up there) - regardless of bumper stickers. And after the trial, get a facual finding of innocence, and sue the living daylights out of the prosecutor for filing charges.0 -
Notpars, it's kind of easy for me to say because I live way the heck back in the woods. Wouldn't be so easy in the city.
As for decals, Nunn has a super valid point. Considering my age and disposition, I just don't give a rat's a**, but for you younger lads, you might want to exercise a bit of restraint, and it would be understandable.0 -
I can supply expert testimony to support the use of hollow point ammunition, but not for the use of smart-alecky semi-threatening stickers. 0 -
three decals all in the rear window of my pickup
NRA
SAVE 100 ELK
Kill A WOLF
WOLVES
GOVERMENT SPONSORED TERRORISTS0
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