The good and the bad of revealing you carry.

[walvord]

The good part is that you might be able to change some peoples' minds. My wife is an RN and she was discussing with her co-workers about the murders that happened lately in Kirkwood and throughout the nation. It came up that she carries (not in the hospital though - that's a no-no) and some of them were surprised that she did but did become interested as they talked further. So, she may have converted a few that were on the fence about the subject. I think at my work I'm getting one young man to come to his senses about CCW. The bad, well, people now know you carry which can have a downside.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[LenS]

Back when I got my first LTC in MA, you were REQUIRED to get a letter from your employer! That was fun . . . NOT! I worked at Stone & Webster Engineering back then and nobody wanted to sign such a letter. Finally an upper manager asked me "what do you wanna be, a cop?" I said no (although I joined the PD a few years later when my chief asked me to become a PT PO), I wanted to learn to target shoot . . . that struck a cord with him as he told me that he had competed when he was in the US Army, so he gave me the letter.

Only one other person I worked with was told by me about CCW and he did too. We sometimes used to grab a conference room and do show and tell! [One other co-worker eventually was told, but it may have been after I left there. She's still a very close friend to this day (30 years later). She was living where and when the Boston Strangler was killing women and was terrified.]

Luckily we became personal friends with our police chief so when I convinced my Wife to get her LTC, he waived the employer letter (she was a school teacher . . . enough said) . . . he said he knew us well enough by then (he had lots of shooting trophies in his office and was a staunch pro-2A chief).

When I worked for Yankee Atomic Electric, two other engineers in the office grew up hunting and one came into work with turkey blood on his shirt having bagged one on his way into the office. We never really discussed guns however, but everyone knew I was a PT PO. Everyone at Yankee Rowe seemed to be a hunter, so it was discussed some when I was up there on business.

But when I joined the late DEC, I was one of the founding members of the Firearms Notesfile (the 1980s equivalent of forums) and thus everyone on it was "exposed" (all computer usernames were your real name . . . company policy). Some guys had "ventilated" B-27 targets hanging in their office. Firearms on the property were a no-no, but discussion (and a couple of shoots) was common. I didn't learn until later, but my former boss was "nervous" about me when he laid me off. Turns out almost everyone in the group had a LTC. When business put me in that area, I used to drop by and go out to lunch with the folks . . . even invited my former boss. I think that was when he realized that I had "moved on" and that I never was looking for revenge . . . the company was spiraling into the toilet bowl and I was actually glad to get out with a decent "package" when I did.

In general however, it is wisest that the smallest number of folks know if you CCW or not. I agree with "need to know" only and almost nobody needs to know.

[jframe38]

When I took my CCW course, I had to request time off. My Supervisor wanted to know why I needed the time off.

I have worked in corporate america for over 35 yrs and never once did any boss or supervisor, which I called Stupidvisor, ask why I needed to take time off. They had to assign someone to cover my work for that time frame. That should fall under their job description.
I worked with a guy that had at least "4 grandmothers" that died and he had to attend their funerals. But that's going too far..ya think?
I know you are in the medical field (and I have two sons in the medical field) but it is not your problem that your dept is understaffed. There probably is no good time to take off. People need to take time off for "personal reasons" and that should be it.

[Stirling XD]

I have to admit that being able to have a discussion about guns and self-defense is always an opportunity to convert a few antis. However, cow-orkers knowing you carry has some substantial downsides. If someone doesn't like you at work and knows you carry, they may now have some leverage to create problems for you. I can see someone running into an HR office yelling, "Stirling has a gun and he looks disgruntled!" When I'm focusing on a project I often appear disgruntled and occasionally act it if someone is giving me the run around.

If management falls in the anti-gun category, they will probably ask you to not carry on the premises, which may include the parking lot. They may also move you closer to the top of the layoff list the next time business takes a plunge. If you have a conflict with a cow-orker that most people would consider heated but civil, they may make a big deal out of it with your boss since you are now considered "armed and dangerous".

In most companies, when one person knows, everybody knows. If a cow-orker asked me if I carried, I would lie and say, “No”. If my boss wanted to know why I needed time off, I would most likely give him a made up reason that is unlikely to lead to follow-up questions. (Colonoscopy) If I felt that I did need to be honest and that I could trust him, I would emphasize that I am telling him this in the strictest of confidence. Plus, I don’t want bosses asking me to be a temporary security guard.

[Thumper]

For me it was a lesson learned the hard way to "NEVER tell".

I'll spare the boring details about how one day at work my world was turned upside down.

I never thought that just talking about a legal activity could or would cause any problems but I was very wrong.

It will never happen again!

Hence my signature...

[youngda9]

I'll spare the boring details about how one day at work my world was turned upside down.

I never thought that just talking about a legal activity could or would cause any problems but I was very wrong.

You're not really going to leave us hanging like that, are you?

[Thumper]

You're not really going to leave us hanging like that, are you?

He he... well, it really is a very long involved story, but basically, security was sent to where I work, after 33 years at this company, I spent several hours certain I was going to be fired and I had no idea why. It was a really bad experience.

After the ordeal I found out that some poor pathetic frightened little sheep had reported me as a mental case with a gun at work! She had apparently overheard me talking with a co-worker about how to go about getting his permit.

Now I can't prove that I'm not a mental case but I have NEVER brought my gun to work!

[bluedaisy]

It's a shame that your supervisor "shared" information about you to others, who probably had no business knowing. I just have to shake my head. I'm a nurse, and certainly don't miss working with a bunch of women. (SAHM now) There's just no privacy. In my experience, I was never able to get around prying questions from my nursing supervisor. It's tough!

Kudos to you on turning around the situation! One taking a class and three others interested?! That is fantastic! Sounds like you have just stepped up and out of your peers into a leadership role.

Best wishes in converting the ! Maybe even your supervisor!

[Landor]

He he... well, it really is a very long involved story, but basically, security was sent to where I work, after 33 years at this company, I spent several hours certain I was going to be fired and I had no idea why. It was a really bad experience.

After the ordeal I found out that some poor pathetic frightened little sheep had reported me as a mental case with a gun at work! She had apparently overheard me talking with a co-worker about how to go about getting his permit.

Now I can't prove that I'm not a mental case but I have NEVER brought my gun to work!

That is exactly why I would not want my co-workers to know I have a CCW. Not all of them but I bet a few would look at you differently and more then likely treat you differently. I work for a small company and it would get around the office in a matter of minutes.

[havegunjoe]

As an instructor here in MN many people know I carry. It goes with the territory and I have never had a bad experience because of it.

[Jason Rogers]

Tn is an open carry state, But I have never carried in the open. I think it just makes you a target, I will stay concealed.

Seems to me a lot of info points in the direction that acting or looking like a victim plays the largest role in victim selection by bad guys. Openly carrying a handgun does not, to me, scream "I am a victim, pick me!".

There are any number of valid reasons to not open carry. I am just not convinced that increased likelyhood of BG attention is realistically one of them.-Jay

[ree]

TK, your post is interesting in a couple areas, If you do not have personal time or vacation time due I understand your boss inquireing why you want time off but if you have it comming it is no one's business why you need to use it. Personal time is personal time and your boss is very nosy and out of line. No matter why your staff is low, poor management decisions,cheap management, poor conditions which drive good workers away or you guys may be of an expertise that it hard to find qualified people too bad if you have time off coming it is yours to take at your convince not when someone "gifts" you the time off.

+1 Don't ever be afraid to invoke your right to privacy and just say "I have a personal issue to attend to." If challenged, just indicate you'd rather not talk about it. And if further challenged indicate that you're not comfortable about being grilled about your activities outside of work. If you are told that you can't get your time off without revealing your personal activities, then there are some major problems and some form of Plan B needs to be invoked.

Unless you have a habit of sharing seemingly every detail about your private life with your boss or coworkers, should likely won't get grilled about it once you express your reluctance to talk about it.

But good job on making the best of being outed.

[bluelineman]

She thought that I was PARANOID.

A wise man once said (no, not me)...

"If you carry a gun, people will call you paranoid. That's ridiculous. If I have a gun, what in the hell do I have to be paranoid about?"

Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch

[tk4878]

Actually, my supervisor is one of the converts. As for her asking me why I needed the time off, the schedule was already posted and to make changes at that point usually causes a big fuss. Think of a hen house with a cat inside and you get the impresssion. Since we had discussed shooting before, I felt comfortable telling her. And, I'm not a good poker player guys. I can't tell a lie no matter how hard I try. I give myself away every time. In her defense, she didn't know it was a secret and was proud of me for pursuing my cwp. I decided to make the best of the situation and answer questions. Yes, the whole unit knows. Yes I don't like it. But hindsight is 20/20 and it will not happen again.

[Ti Carry]

Not really. In most companies the vacation schedule is not necessarily when you want to take time off but rather if it can be worked out with the other workers. If every employee requests a days vacation on the same day the boss has every right to ask why and either grant or deny it. I have run into this before when several wanted vacation at the same time and we worked it out. If you don't want them to know why you are asking for time off you can say personal or make up some excuse but don't expect it to be granted. Every company I have ever worked for says that vacation is granted when reasonable but there is no real definition of reasonable.

Not according to my company. I agree that they can deny you certian day's off but they are not supposed to ask anything about why you need the time off. I don't have to say a word about why I am taking off and neither does anyone else in my company. Again, they can deny the request but that's as far as it goes or should go. Anybody can ask anything but it doesn't make it right just like a cop asking "can I search your car" Heck NO. Some people do have a clue that they can say NO. Same in this example. This is done due to a company trying to probe into medical conditions and such, it's against the law.

It doesn't matter anyway, forget I even said anything and continue to ask employees there personal business asking for time off or tell your boss your business. One day they will ask the wrong person and it will come back to haunt them/you.


Ti