Jim,
Thank you for your excellent site. I’m here every day.
My wife and I are considering getting Concealed Weapons Permits. Do you recommend getting a permit? Is it a good idea, or is it a red flag that would attract the unwanted attention of our government officials? Do you have a permit? I would appreciate your insight. – The Forester
JWR Replies: I do not have a CCW [1] permit, but I have the benefit of living in an open carry [2] state. I don’t issue any blanket advice on concealed carry. Everyone has to weigh the risks and benefits of licensure for themselves, in their own particular circumstances. Since I live in a lightly-populated region with low crime, I decided that the high profile that goes along with getting a CCW permit wasn’t justifiable. I am far more worried about being mauled by a bear when out berry picking than I am getting mugged. Street crime is virtually unheard of here in TUWS [3]. (Robert Heinlein was right: An armed society is a polite society.) Again, the decision on whether or not to get a CCW permit is personal judgment call. For many SurvivalBlog readers living in high crime areas, getting a permit would probably be advisable.
BTW, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and perhaps the Dakotas all “going Alaska” in the next few years–dropping the requirement for a CCW for carry inside city limits. This has been the case in Vermont since time immemorial, and the CCW permit requirement for inside city limits was recently dropped in Alaska [4]. (In many southern and western states it is already legal to carry conceal outside of city limits.)