Non Permissive Environments

And You.

My generated image, using HiDream I1 Fast

For the purposes of this essay a “Non Permissive Environment” (hereinafter “NPE”) is any defined location where you carrying a weapon is forbidden for whatever reason.

I generally break NPEs into two broad categories:

1. Hard NPE where being discovered with a proscribed weapon will result in your arrest and criminal consequences; and

2. Soft NPE where getting caught results in non-criminal sanctions: ejected, barred, told to leave, what have you.

Before I go any further I must stress that you — personally — must research the weapons laws relevant to the State that you will be in. I am not a lawyer, and I do not know the intricacies of the pertinent penal code, or even the foibles of the local law enforcement. If you decide to stress-test weapons laws, it is incumbent upon you to do your research first.¹

So.

I do not mess around with Hard NPEs. Not only do a lot of them actually have a legitimate reason² for denying the carrying of weapons, but I have no particular desire to spend another five figures in legal fees and couple of years on bond restrictions before facing a jury of people susceptible to prosecutor theatrics and emotional manipulation³ my peers.

However, just because my pistol/ knives/ pepper spray/ sap/ Other Obvious Weapons are secured in the trunk of my car,⁴ does not mean that I am unarmed.

Canes and walking sticks are the obvious tool for this purpose, as are pens — with the caveat that you should leave the “tactical pens” on your desk at home. Not only do Minions of Officialdom know exactly what that spiky pen in your pocket is, but they also tend to have hidden features that will really get you jammed up.

As an example, one of my young jailers spotted a “tactical pen” in the pocket of a mental health counselor who was entering the jail for official purposes. The pen was gently glommed-onto, and during inspection it was discovered that the barrel concealed a handcuff key. Not something we want getting lost and wandering through the jail population.

There are any number of brass- and steel-barrelled pens out there that look totally innocuous in a pocket, but can be held in an icepick grip and cycled into the face and upper torso of your Chewtoy du Jour.

For those in the know, Embassy Pens are still being made, but be aware that while the kids won’t twig one, older grey-haired security types might cock an eyebrow at you when they see it in the metal objects tray.

As for Soft NPEs — if I know for a fact that there are no criminal penalties attached to disregarding an idiot No Weapons Policy — for the most part I just ignore them.

In the main Soft Non Permissive Environments are not staffed with people trained to spot weapon carry, the staff are too busy doing their primary job to even think about looking for weapon carry, and most of the time a minimum wage employee — given the option of either confronting an armed person, or pretending they didn’t see anything … they tend pick the option with the lowest perceived risk.

Doesn’t mean you won’t run across one who’s way too invested in being a good company man, but they tend to be few and far between these days.

Why would I ignore idiot No Weapons Policies?

Four — no, five — reasons:

1. While I may be a very, very minor Internet celebrity, I have acquired at least one stalker that I know of,⁵ and damfino how many that I don’t know of;

2. I’m not kidding about the fatwas;⁶

3. I spent about four decades introducing people to the Consequences Of Their Actions, and some of them are still annoyed about said consequences;⁷

4. My safety and Rita’s safety is my responsibility; and

5. Because I can.

So, how does one carry in a Soft NPE?

First, don’t carry AT people … just carry. There are places, and times, to make political statements, but the conventions and seminars I go to aren’t those places or times, so I don’t walk around challenging people with “Muh Second ‘Mmendment!”

Get comfortable carrying. If it’s second nature, it becomes part of you, and doesn’t create awkward body language which draws attention. Practice carry in permissive environments until you don’t notice it anymore. If you don’t notice, average observers won’t notice.

Get a quality holster, fitted for your pistol. This is the most important factor — a good quality holster, fitted to your pistol, and fitting your body, is 90% of the work done.

You’re probably going to have to carry a pistol smaller than your usual carry. Be sure to practice with it.

Dress to camouflage the weapon. Yes, I wear obnoxiously loud aloha shirts so I can be spotted across a convention floor by people who need to talk to me, but the dazzle effect is a thing.

The sound of retinas sizzling is a plus, really.

Honestly evaluate the entire situation, and accept that if it is important enough for you to be there, you may have to downsize your load-out. As Raconteur Press grows, Rita and I will probably have to attend a function in Las Vegas sooner or later. While the casinos in Nevada are Soft NPE, some of them have very well-trained security staff. If I can’t get an exemption from the function, and me not getting tossed out on my ear is important for the Press, I have to accept that I’ll probably be much less well-armed than my habit.

Lastly: Have limits, follow those limits, and prepare for those limits. One of my cardinal rules is that I will absolutely not carry a firearm if I’m drinking alcohol. If we’re headed for a bar after the normal con schedule, I’ll put my pistol in a flat, locked box which goes under the mattress in my hotel room; and replace it with a small fixed blade knife mounted horizontally on my belt.

I’m still brain-fried, so there’s something to chew on this Tuesday morning.

Ian

1. And have a tame lawyer you can call, or legal insurance, before you go playing silly buggers with idiot weapons laws.

2. Jails, prisons, cackle factories mental health facilities.

3. Don’t get me started.

4. Yes, leave your weapons in the truck of your car, or a bolted-down lockbox in the cab of your pickup. Minions of the law do not need a warrant to open a “secure storage” on a third party premises — they do need one to get into your vehicle. Plus, if your weapons are in the trunk/lockbox in your vehicle and you forget to retrieve them, once you remember you simply pull over and jock up. If they’re in the “secure storage” back where you were doing business, you have to turn around and go back to get them.

5. Thought I was going to have to shoot him in Rita’s living room.

6. Those probably expire, but that last mufti was Aneurysm-Level Pissed Off about something I said.

7. “Baby, if you see the owner of this mugshot on the front porch, call 911. If he tries to get in, shoot him until he changes shape or catches fire.”