Drinking and Carrying - something you should consider before you do!

[Caribou]

Thanks for arguing like an adult Navy. I love it when someone makes me think. I would think that the comparison is closer to having the keys to your car in your pocket while you sit in the drivers seat. With a .08 BA this will get you in jail, suspension of license, and a bunch of other unpleasantness.

Alcohol is a depressant, it depresses everything, thinking, vision, reaction time, inhibitions. It also depresses your ability to concentrate and stay alert. After two beers I can't draw as fast and my aim is not as good as it is when I have had nothing to drink. I am also less likely to notice someone evaluating me as a victim. I love to drive and I love to carry. I only like to drink. I volunteer as the designated driver. Most of my friends don't carry so everyone is happy. I can get all the alcohol I want at home.

Do I think you will get drunk and fondle your gun? No. Do I think you will go out and get into a fight just because of the alcohol? No, but not everyone is in as much control. The big problem is that if, in the unlikely event, you are attacked while you are drinking, you will be less able to respond and your legal problems will be complicated.

When I was working the ambulance we were not allowed to respond to a call if we had one sip of wine or one swallow of beer. It was not that we lost all our skill. It was not that our captain did not trust us. It was that just the smell could cost us out license and the department a law suit even if we did everything right.
I don't think the OP was trying to tell anyone how to live their life. I think he was trying to give some good advice as to how to avoid or minimize trouble in your life. I'm not going to tell you not to drink and carry. At one time in my life I might have presented the same argument. Today, I don't do it and I don't recommend it. Good luck.

[Axeanda45]

The big problem is that if, in the unlikely event, you are attacked while you are drinking, you will be less able to respond and your legal problems will be complicated.

Right there is what the problem is with all this "Advice" on not to drink while armed.... Is the "drinks while armed" persons life less valuable or less worthy to defend just because he/she had a drink or two?

NO!

Worrying, and being (in my eyes) a wimp and bowing down to social pressure just because you MIGHT have a harder time of it from the prosecutor in a case of self defense (again, MIGHT, it is NOT a given that you WILL) is not near enough of a risk as going unarmed is....

Many on here need to grow a pair and STOP worrying their little heads about what others may THINK about them, my goodness, are all of you who insist that everyone who drinks be disarmed... in the 3rd grade still? MAN UP!!!
If you personally dont want to be armed when you drink then DONT! See? Very simple!! NOW JUST SHUT THE HE!! UP and quit whining about someones elses decision!

[rrman12280]

Walt, YOU singled me out by quoting my post..... So why in the he!! are you now trying to say you werent talking to/about me?

Macho bull5hit? I see, according to you (and those like you) defending myself (or saying I will, or calling you on it) is not acceptable... Well, same as before walt, my answer is SCREW YOU and those like you who INSIST on controlling others when YOU cant even control yourself....

By your very post claiming that people should NOT ever drink if they are armed, You are actually saying they cannot be trusted to think for themselves, and that YOU think they should act ONLY IN THE WAY YOU WOULD in that situation... How can you not see how Hypocritical you are? Wake up and STOP trying to force YOUR morality onto everyone else!

I suppose now you are going to try and say I am doing the exact same thing..., nope, I am saying leave others alone to make their own decisions, BIG difference.

Are you gonna debate or argue?

I myself would tend to disarm while having a drink, especially in public places. I don't think anyone was intended on telling you what you can and can't do. It was their opinion, the same as anyone else on here. You read these forums and they are absolutely full of opinions. Some I agree with, some not. Either way, no one is telling me what to do and what not to do, and I enjoy getting other points of view since mine may not always be right.

[rrman12280]

Right there is what the problem is with all this "Advice" on not to drink while armed.... Is the "drinks while armed" persons life less valuable or less worthy to defend just because he/she had a drink or two?

NO!

Worrying, and being (in my eyes) a wimp and bowing down to social pressure just because you MIGHT have a harder time of it from the prosecutor in a case of self defense (again, MIGHT, it is NOT a given that you WILL) is not near enough of a risk as going unarmed is....

Many on here need to grow a pair and STOP worrying their little heads about what others may THINK about them, my goodness, are all of you who insist that everyone who drinks be disarmed... in the 3rd grade still? MAN UP!!!
If you personally dont want to be armed when you drink then DONT! See? Very simple!! NOW JUST SHUT THE HE!! UP and quit whining about someones elses decision!

Ummmm.....who's also whining?

[kelcarry]

What I see here is 2 people who do not trust themselves to have a drink or two, so they are projecting their own fears onto everyone else....
If you dont think you should have any drink at all while armed, good for you, take your own advice and disarm whenever you think you may want to drink... Bravo for you and your (lack of in my eyes) self-control...

BUT.... Dont EVEN attempt (too late, you both already have) to try and tell me how I will behave or handle myself if I decide to have a drink or two while armed...... Frikking liberal thinking like this crap is one of the MAIN things wrong in this country...

Humans dont lose the right to defend themselves with whatever tool they chose to just because someone else cant trust himself in the same situation......

People have been drinking for a century (more like 1-1/2 centuries) while armed with firearms, and there hasnt been any epidemic of drunks shooting everyone... well, there have been a lot of drunk cops shooting people, but that is for another discussion....

Let us first separate drinking, and being drunk under the acceptable 08 standard (IMO if it is good enough for driving it should be good enough for walking around with a firearm--you disagree, fine). I will tell you though that if you have been drinking I will not be the one to tell you what you can do and not do as far as drinking is concerned. I can tell you, however, that should I be the unfortunate recipient of an injury from your firearm defense in some way, shape or form and you have been drinking, my attorney will be telling the court all about it and I will be happy to separate you from your possessions.

[JimPage]

Man! I hate these personal judgement debates. They are so repetitious as to be boring. I read them because I keep expecting something new to come up, but it never does. But what almost always happens is that the debate becomes heated and boils down to ad hominem attacks. Just my 2 cents.

[Axeanda45]

Then dont bring the dead horse back to beat on it anymore........

[tuts40]

I very much like going to BWW and enjoying some wings and a cold Irish Red. Yes, I'm armed. So?

As for me there are two rules in that situation:

1) Sit facing the entrance.
2) Use, primarily, my left had to hold the greasy chicken as I am right handed...

[Nightmare45]

Personal choice, the consequences are yours based on any choice you make.

[NavyLCDR]

Worrying, and being (in my eyes) a wimp and bowing down to social pressure just because you MIGHT have a harder time of it from the prosecutor in a case of self defense (again, MIGHT, it is NOT a given that you WILL) is not near enough of a risk as going unarmed is....

Many on here need to grow a pair and STOP worrying their little heads about what others may THINK about them, my goodness, are all of you who insist that everyone who drinks be disarmed... in the 3rd grade still?

To me, it's not image, or bowing down to social pressure, or anything like that. To me, it is a matter of I am not going to adjust my lifestyle around my gun. I am going to put my cell phone in one pocket, my gun on my belt on the other side and I am going to go about my life with both TOOLS treated nearly exactly alike. Yes, I will be more careful where I put my gun. Yes, I may tighten my elbow against my gun in a crowd. I will keep track of my gun a bit more carefully than my cell phone.

But, I am not going to dress around my gun. I'm not going to buy pants or shirts based on whether or not they will hide my gun. I'm not going to look in the mirror to make sure my gun is hidden and tweek here and there. I also am not going to alter my lifestyle because I am carrying a gun, unless it is required by law, because carrying a gun for self-defense is just as part of my natural life as wearing pants. It's normal for me to have a set of car keys in my pocket. Under certain circumstances I will choose to not operate a vehicle. It is normal for me to have a gun on my belt. Under certain circumstances I will choose not to fondle it.

That's the deal with me. Carrying a gun for self defense should be a NORMAL aspect, in every way, in all aspects of my normal everyday life. And if part of my normal life is having a couple beers with dinner, than my gun is going to be a normal part of that normal aspect of my life. I think the strongest way that we SUPPORT the anti-gun argument is that we, ourselves, treat the tool, the gun itself, as something entirely strange and treat the gun like some sort of magical object that is going to cause harm and distraction if you look at it the wrong way, or bring it near alcohol.

BTW, I'm not arguing with you Axeanda45, my post may sound argumentative to some, but I am not disagreeing with you.