Re: Bring something to wipe your screen off.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: maccrazy2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">These have been for sale for years. I have yet to see anyone actually carry one.</div></div>
I have seen them... they are perfectly legal. Especially popular among concealed carry activists who essentially troll for LE interaction that they can video to try and get officers to violate CCW rules. Look on YouTube... all kinds of videos from these guys. I've never run across one of them and I am sure they're few and far between. But they are out there... everyone needs a hobby. I am sure the Mall Ninja set love them, too.
IMHO, if you want one, buy it. You can get Bounty Hunter and Second Amendment badges, too. Enjoy! If it makes you feel good, own one.
But while carrying a 'CCW badge' is a First Amendment right... using one to impersonate LE is a felony in most every place that I know... so know where the line is!
And in some places having a 'badge' and a 'bulge' visible under your sports coat or "shoot-me-first vest" (as we call those CCW vests or photographers vests) sets you up as more of a target than anything else. And I don't mean a target for LE... There is a reason most LE don't wear those vests off duty! My advice is that when you carry concealed (and I am all for lawful citizens' CCW)... stealth is your best friend. Be the grey man!
For those who do CCW, I'll state something that is probably common sense... but your best action in an LE interaction is to politely identify yourself... clearly state that you are carrying a concealed weapon and have a permit or paperwork and ask "what would you like me to do?" And follow instructions. Same in a vehicle stop. Keep hands as visible as you can in either case.
BTW, as an LE, I don't put a sticker on my car and one pickup truck looks like any other. When I've been stopped (and I have been) I roll down the window, turn on interior light (if it's night) and sit with one hand on the wheel and the other on the A-Pillar in the window frame -- both clearly visible and not moving. I reach for NOTHING at any point from starting to pull over until the officer comes up to the vehicle. Not my registration, not my ID, not my DL. I just sit and wait and when the officer comes to the car, I ID myself, give my department name and radio call number and tell them whether or not I am carrying and where the firearm is located if I have one. If I am not carrying, I would state that too (though that's basically never). Then I wait for instructions. Most of the time, that will involve the officer going back to make a radio call and see if the info the 'supposed' officer has supplied is correct. I mean, why should he believe me? Then the paperwork can come out.
So by that standard... waving a badge around and going "I have a carry permit" is not likely to do anything but make an officer (especially if they have never heard of a "Carry Permit Badge") uncomfortable or nervous.
Remember, that if you do end up with some form of initial contact with LE while carrying, the officer does not know if you are an upstanding citizen (which 99.999 percent of lawful CCW are) or a potential threat with warrants or someone who just stabbed their neighbor over a broken lawnmower and is trying to escape. It's not personal... it's about everyone going home safe.
I can't speak for every officer out there... but I love CCW citizens and wish more people would take the time to get trained and assume the responsibility that goes with carrying a firearm. Because you do deter crime, IMHO.
That said, though it's not the average CCW who we have to worry about, the first few minutes it can take to separate the .001 percent of sierra-bravos from the 99.999 of great, law-abiding citizens is not fun for anyone.
Pardon the thread hijack here... but wanted to throw in my $0.02.
Cheers,
Sirhr