Concealed Carry at Public Events? (Moved from Legal)

ReggiesFree

ReggiesFree

Member
Joined
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Location
Alabama
Hey Studs,

I have become so accustomed to concealed carry, I feel a little awkward at public events like professional sports, concerts, and huge gatherings without my heat!!

I do my best to park strategically and close to entrances and utilize my handicap status. I do have friends that habitually sneak guns & knives under the radar so to speak, yet that's not something I'm interested in attempting.

Any experience or advice on this? Whats you guys self-defense methods at such events?

Thanks,

Reg
 
ReggiesFree said:
Hey Studs,

I have become so accustomed to concealed carry, I feel a little awkward at public events like professional sports, concerts, and huge gatherings without my heat!!

I do my best to park strategically and close to entrances and utilize my handicap status. I do have friends that habitually sneak guns & knives under the radar so to speak, yet that's not something I'm interested in attempting.

Any experience or advice on this? Whats you guys self-defense methods at such events?

Thanks,

Reg
Click to expand...

It's simple for me. There is nothing I want to do so badly that I'm willing to go places that impede my entry either by law or by enforcement of policies with metal detectors and searches. I also abhor crowds, especially in enclosed places like arenas or stadiums, so I have no interest in attending most events anyway, even if no security theater is in place.
 
Like previous comments, I tend to avoid places which insist (in their view) that my life is so worthless, that I shouldn't even be allowed to protect myself. In my opinion, if such a venue devalues my life so much, then they don't want my money either. With that said, there are times when the wife drags me along to opera shows (happy wife, happy life, I have no choice but to go), which have metal detectors. In those instances, I carry one of those little Saber Red pepper pens, in my front shirt pocket. It's small enough to not pick up on their 'smart' metal detectors (designed to not register on small metal items, like belt buckles, but will register on dense metal like a gun), and will at least give me some leverage (better than just bare fists) in the event of a close 1 on 1 type conflict on our way to, or from the car. Of course in the event of a more violent encounter, I'm just out of luck... but I take my chances.
 
Ethan Verity said:
I tend to avoid places which insist (in their view) that my life is so worthless, that I shouldn't even be allowed to protect myself
Click to expand...
To me, that is not rally the issue, except between my car and the gate.

Inside with the crowd, a concealed firearm wiil, realistically speaking, be of very little practical value for safe, lawful, and effective self defense.
 
Kleanbore said:
To me, that is not rally the issue, except between my car and the gate.

Inside with the crowd, a concealed firearm wiil, realistically speaking, be of very little practical value for safe, lawful, and effective self defense.
Click to expand...
OK. So, what venues do you attend where you can deposit your sidearm at the door, and pick it up afterwards?
 
I go to smaller local events in Texas which still have down home values. I’ve been able to spot several other people carrying. Everybody’s fine with it. Everybody is as nice, respectful and helpful as anyone in the world. The big events don’t usually agree with my values and they will not be getting my money.
 
ReggiesFree said:
Hey Studs,

I have become so accustomed to concealed carry, I feel a little awkward at public events like professional sports, concerts, and huge gatherings without my heat!!

I do my best to park strategically and close to entrances and utilize my handicap status. I do have friends that habitually sneak guns & knives under the radar so to speak, yet that's not something I'm interested in attempting.

Any experience or advice on this? Whats you guys self-defense methods at such events?

Thanks,

Reg
Click to expand...
I've spent many weeks at professional, college and high school sports stadiums, arenas and various other kinds of venues of a similar nature. I was there to build them though, I have zero interest in attending as a customer, although it has happened on a few occasions. Best "self defense" method, speaking within the confines of the rules of this forum, is physical fitness and paying attention to what's going on around you. Proficiency in a practical martial art wouldn't hurt either.
 
A firearm is of very little value in a crowded venue where using it is almost guaranteed to result in collateral damage.

I tend to avoid large crowds for the most part because I don't care for them but on the occasional time where I'm surrounded by people I don't worry too much about it. Statistics are on my side and if they fail me I'm not defenseless. A gun is just one of many ways to defend oneself and in some cases its not the best option.
 
Attendance at non gun friendly events and locations is a part of my daily life and one I'm unwilling to surrender at this time plus I consider it good practice for my situational awareness and observation skills. A can of pepper spray and a small "Stop the Bleed " kit in my pocket and I'm ready for any school or sporting event my grandchildren throw at me.
 
Safety is never absolute. It's always relative.

Our job is to assess the relative risks of everything we do and make decisions accordingly.

When we judge the risks to be small when compared to other risks we take in our lives, then we see them as acceptable.

The relative risks of attending any given venue that does not allow firearms are probably less than that of many other activities we literally think nothing of.

Like driving an automobile. Working in industrial environments. Surgeries. Smoking. Roofing.

While being armed is certainly a very important aspect of self-defense, it's not the be-all. And there are alternatives to firearms.

However, ultimately YOU are the one who must make the decision in these matters.

How important are these venues to you?

How strongly do you feel about being armed?

How do you assess the relative risks?
 
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shafter said:
A firearm is of very little value in a crowded venue where using it is almost guaranteed to result in collateral damage.

I tend to avoid large crowds for the most part because I don't care for them but on the occasional time where I'm surrounded by people I don't worry too much about it. Statistics are on my side and if they fail me I'm not defenseless. A gun is just one of many ways to defend oneself and in some cases its not the best option.
Click to expand...

If that's the case, then why bother carrying at all or even having firearms at home for defense? If you're going to cite statistics (which I assume you mean the probability of being attacked), then it's likely the probability is also quite low when you're not attending such events.

To no one in particular: if you're not familiar with the basics of risk assessment, risk is quantified not just by the probability that something will occur or not occur, but also by the cost or benefit of whether an event occurs or does not occur. While the probability of encountering a problem is quite low for most of us, the cost (serious injury or death) can be quite high. The risk is quantified by the product of the probability and the cost (much like determining expected value when gambling), so a very high cost can result in the risk being significant even when the probability is relatively low. Some often summarize this as "it's also the stakes."

Ultimately, safety is a misnomer and it's always about risk management, assessing risk, and comparing it to personal standards of acceptable levels of risk. The problems arise when people consider only probabilities and dismiss the potential costs, often as a result of rationalization to justify choices that would otherwise be unacceptable levels of risk by the same individual's personal standards.
 
... risk is quantified not just by the probability that something will occur or not occur, but also by the cost or benefit of whether an event occurs...
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Correct. If odds were all that mattered, no one would ever play the lottery. But the payout is huge so people line up to buy tickets even though they have virtually no chance of winning the jackpot. Same thing with risk. If the negative event is getting a paper cut, people won't be overly concerned even if the probability of getting one is high. If the negative event is being tortured to death along with your family, even the fact that the probability of that happening is very small might not deter a serious attempt to prepare/prevent.

There's also the issue that people don't always assess odds accurately. Probability is often counterintuitive and people have difficulty dealing with very large or very small numbers in terms of actually having a feel for what they mean.

Next, even if everyone agrees on the probability, different people will assess the magnitude of the negative outcome differently due to their different circumstances, or perhaps just based on their chosen mindset/attitude. For example, I suspect that Bill Gates doesn't buy lottery tickets even though he has the same odds of winning as everyone else--he likely assesses the jackpot payout differently than most folks.

Then, of course, there's another very common problem with this topic. People decide what they are going to do in advance and then spend a lot of time afterwards rationalizing/justifying their choices as if they had really made the decision based on logical reasoning and facts.
 
In the past I’ve gone to a few monster truck rally’s, nascar races and such but nowadays the kids are grown and I just don’t go to that type of thing anymore.
I also remember watching the footage from the 2017 Las Vegas shooting and thinking there’s basically nothing you could do, you’re just sol. I suppose maybe stay close to something that could be cover, and exits if possible or have faster 100 yard dash time than most people.

Many such events are full of intoxicated people, that can become belligerent. So being calm enough to not get aggressive or confrontational if someone spills a beer on you or whistles at your wife would go a long way…. Being the sober one in an altercation would certainly be beneficial as well.

It really is a very long list of good reasons for avoidance. At the end of the day you either assume the risk, or you don’t.
 
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I think your interests change as you get older.

When I was in my 20's and early 30's living in the Chicago area where there was no legal CCW, I had no problems going to large events - Cubs, Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks games or concerts.

Now that I'm older - late 40's and do carry, those large events no longer interest me. I'm just not going to a Taylor Swift Concert. About the only place I go that I cant carry is the Airport past the security checkpoint. Sometimes it just makes more sense to fly than take a long road trip. I'll check in a handgun with my luggage.

I do go to local Theater Productions and carry there. It is not illegal and there are no metal detectors or armed security.
 
Kleanbore said:
Some of those are unavoidable.
Click to expand...

Risks are unavoidable. Personal actions are choices one makes, even though many of us have come to think they are not. The question is how important it is to any given individual making the choices.

Even not to choose is still a choice. (There's a Rush lyric about that somewhere.)

Such is the nature of life.
 
Kleanbore said:
Inside with the crowd, a concealed firearm will, realistically speaking, be of very little practical value for safe, lawful, and effective self defense.
Click to expand...
This. And I would add two things: The crowd itself will make an armed mugging very difficult, as the goal of the robber would be to isolate the victim. So, in this case, the crowd itself is an element of your self defense.

And secondly, the technique of muggers in crowds would be pickpocketing. If you are concealed carrying, the first thing such a pickpocket would steal would be ..... your gun.
 
rhino465 said:
If that's the case, then why bother carrying at all or even having firearms at home for defense? If you're going to cite statistics (which I assume you mean the probability of being attacked), then it's likely the probability is also quite low when you're not attending such events.

To no one in particular: if you're not familiar with the basics of risk assessment, risk is quantified not just by the probability that something will occur or not occur, but also by the cost or benefit of whether an event occurs or does not occur. While the probability of encountering a problem is quite low for most of us, the cost (serious injury or death) can be quite high. The risk is quantified by the product of the probability and the cost (much like determining expected value when gambling), so a very high cost can result in the risk being significant even when the probability is relatively low. Some often summarize this as "it's also the stakes."

Ultimately, safety is a misnomer and it's always about risk management, assessing risk, and comparing it to personal standards of acceptable levels of risk. The problems arise when people consider only probabilities and dismiss the potential costs, often as a result of rationalization to justify choices that would otherwise be unacceptable levels of risk by the same individual's personal standards.
Click to expand...
I actually don't always feel it's necessary to carry at all times. I do my best to live a reasonable life and avoid risk where I can but being killed in a violent encounter is just one of countless ways I can die.

Do I avoid unnecessary driving to reduce my chances of being killed in a crash? Of course not. I'll take that Sunday drive. Do I avoid unnecessary driving during dangerous conditions like snowstorms? Yes absolutely.

I apply the same logic to carrying a gun. There are times and places where I'll go armed but there's also places where I either cannot because I'm not allowed or choose not to because it's inconvenient and at the end of the day if statistics turn their back on me and I perish then so be it.
 
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