Badges.....

[nodaywithout]

Would you get a CCW badge to readily show thate you are legal?

look at this website and then make a comment.

http://www.popguns.com/badge_cwp.htm

[VegasGeorge]

Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!

(Sorry, I just had to say that. :twisted: )

Actually, it might not be such a bad idea to carry a badge like that. In the winter, I often carry concealed in a outside holster covered by a coat, shirt jacket, or vest. It wouldn't be a bad idea to hang one of those badges in a leather holder off the belt next to the holster. Then, in case someone gets a glimpse of the gun, they would also see the badge. Even though it's legally meaningless, it might have a calming or reassuring effect on a gun shy person.

[Bill of Rights]

Steenkin' bodges, George! :)

Seriously, this debate circulates on every gun BB I've ever seen. Some say, as you did, that the calming effect on the frightened sheeple is worth it, but I can't agree with that. Raccoon will probably back me up on this, but my understanding is that a badge is a shiny target for the BGs to aim at. There is also the issue of a DA accusing you of attempting to impersonate a LEO, for whom the badge is a symbol of authority. Bottom line, the 2A should be enough, but until it's recognized as the ultimate LTC, I'll stick with the pepto-bismol-pink paper in my wallet. If the state wanted me to show a badge to prove my legal status, I'd have gotten one with my LTC.

This is my opinion only. Your milage may vary.

Blessings,
M

[Genghis77]

My thought is if the badge is worn, what's the point of a concealed weapon. Tell a police officer you are armed, it might not be such a good idea reaching for the badge. I have also known a number of security guards. Many have the attitude they are real police. Bad thing with many security guards I have known is they have fake or inert guns. And that is a really bad idea.

[Stubob]

I can see both sides of the argument. One that a badge could stop a situation from escalating, and the other is that it would pour gasoline on a fire.

I have been stopped several times over the last several years and the police and state police were all very professional and asked for my permit. As I stated in other postings when I am talking to a LEO I let them know that I have a CCW Permit and keep my hands in the open. The reaction from most is to tell me to keep my hands in the open and what am I carrying. Some of them even get into talks about why I carry a Springfield instead of a Glock.

I do not carry a badge, just the CCW permit and a lot of respect for the LEO's that I interact with.

[youtube:a65219df88]http://youtube.com/v/-lj056ao6GE[/youtube:a65219df88]

[Genghis77]

Much depends on where you live. Pretty much guarantee an LA police will draw down on you if you announce you are armed or have a CCW. In the past, Phoenix police would also (pre CCW but legal carry). There it was better to play dumb and simply let them find and secure it. In either place I think a person made a major mistake actually having the gun on them. Flip to back seat or something before the pullover. I could be wrong about both places now. It has been 15 years and things do change. They're so used to things happening in both places, they simply dont take chances.

By the way. I had a Anaheim cop draw down on me just after I got out of the army. The reason he stopped me is my car looked suspicious. It had been a squad car in Baltimore. But painted solid blue and no insignia showed through. Only things that were reminescent of a squad car was lack of chrome and a single passenger side spotlight. Inside you could see where a police radio once existed and the car had a massive generator in the engine compartment. But I was at gun point more than 20 minutes and thoroughly searched the car. He found 5 .38 cartridge cases in the trunk and was determined to find the non existant gun. Had I actually had a gun in this situation I think it likely I could have been shot. Definitely the jumpiest police officer I ever saw. Even worse when he received information on military record on the radio. In all, I was detained almost an hour and released without any citations.

[VegasGeorge]

After reading these posts, I've come to a conclusion.

Here is my conclusion:

Badges? We don't need no stinking badges! :twisted:

[nodaywithout]

LOL george if you are ever in tulsa let me know i would love to go shooting

[DAN]

In California I must sign a " I will not carry a badge" statement when I renew my permit. They keep the form on file so I do not have a copy but it says that such a badge may be mistaken as a LE badge and that would not mix with a CCW permit. This would be FResno County. Each county is different for additional stuff like this.

DAN

[VegasGeorge]

In California I must sign a " I will not carry a badge" statement when I renew my permit.

Whoa! Now, that's really interesting. Are you allowed to wear blue, and eat donuts?

[DAN]

I can wear blue but I don't know about the donuts!!!!

I will try and get a copy of the statement. there is a reference to the state penal code about impersonation but I don't do the badge thing so I did not pay attention.
Only in Calif....

DAN

[Bill of Rights]

As I said, I think the badges are generally a bad idea, but I think it's going too far to force you to sign a statement like that as a condition of the permit.

Dan, do you ever feel like you need a passport to come back to the United States when you travel out of CA? (no insult to you intended)

Blessings,
M

[Raccoon]

Whoa! Now, that's really interesting. Are you allowed to wear blue, and eat donuts?

Very funny Vegas. . .

[Brian@ITC]

Alright, I think that the badges are not such a good idea. First of all, someone might think that you are trying to impersonate a police officer. NOT GOOD! You don't want any more attention than absolutely necessary!!!

Let's say that you are in a convenient store and robbers come in and you happen to have exposed your badge for some reason and the BG's see it. You have now just become a primary threat to them. Please tell me WHY these are a good idea! Just beccause you have a badge does not make you legal! ANYONE can buy these things.

Train hard, train often, and train REALISTICALLY!!!
_______________
Brian K. LaMaster
President-Innovative Tactical Concepts, LLC (www.right2defend.com)
Instructor-Counter Force (www.counterforceinternational.com)
Modern Warrior Talk (www.modernwarriortalk.com)
"High Impact Training"
“Serious tactics for serious situations!”

[tuna]

The badges seem like a good idea (as in, people see the gun and badge and are calmed down instead of calling 911) at first, but after more than 30 seconds of thought it becomes clearly not a good idea.
The point of carrying concealed is carrying concealed. If it is concealed, no one cares about the badge.
Plus the possiblity of being accused of impersonating a cop.

[snoball]

In New Mexico it is actually in the law that you cannot have a badge if you get a CCW permit.

[Raccoon]

As most of you know, I am a police officer. We are supposed to keep our badges and weapons concealed when off duty anyway. But I have not been caught carrying concealed except for once. I think. I was in a Basspro store, and was asking for the concealed holster area, and was talking to the lady about it when I think she saw the IWB holster loop, and said "oh" and then said she had to get back to work and quickly walked away. I thought I might have to talk to security, but nothing happened.

I was ready to tell them I had CCW and was off duty to keep from causing a big ruckus, but I didnt need to. Maybe they realized that there are probably a half dozen CCW people in the store everyday that they dont know about. . . . of course, I *could* have been the subject of security monitors the rest of the afternoon for all I know. I love that place, I just wish they would carry concealed stuff too.

[Sandhiller]

Sorry, but I think the badges are total BS invented by badge-makers to pad out the bottom line. Sounds like something posers and wannabes would get into. I've heard that some cops are really hard on guys who have them. Just my two cents.

[45Fan]

I think they are a bad idea. The men and women who REALLY carry them work very hard to earn them. I respect that a great deal....

I have a CCW permit, not a badge. I dont need a badge to do what I do. I dont stop crime, I dont make arrests, I dont stop two drug dealers from killing each other....and I dont want to. I just want to keep them from hurting my child, my wife, and me.

I don't carry handcuffs, pepper spray, or a Miranda card.

I dont think the people who carry a badge are better than me or less than me we are just doing two different things. I expect them to respect my CCW permit and I certainly respect their badge.

JMTC

[tuna]

Batman, Robin, Superman and Captain America don't wear badges, why sould we?


Kind of related to crimefighting, I HAVE been seen running around work in a cape a few time, though. Don't knock it, it usually ends after an hour or so with my supervisor saying "Tuna, why don't you take the rest of the day and go fishing or something?"

[DangerousDave]

To me it comes off as looking like a wannabe cop. It also seems like it's either unnecessary bulk to carry around concealed or a target for criminals if exposed. If someone has a cow because my shirt snags and exposes my handgun in the IWB holster, I can easily pull my permit out of my wallet. The police will be sufficiently satisfied with that. I don't care if the panicked doofus is any happier or not. Pulling a CCW badge to calm said panicked doofus could be construed as impersonating an officer.

[VegasGeorge]

I've had plenty of time to mull this issue over. And, here is my conclusion. Displaying a badge is a bad idea for a number of reasons, as expressed above. However, the law, here at least, requires that the CCW permit be carried on the person at all times when carrying the gun. So, why not carry it in one of those leather folders that hang from the belt? It could be hung just in front of the holster, so that if anyone happened to see the gun, they would also see the credentials hanging there too. Of course, no one could actually read it from a distance, but it would look official, which it is, and it would tend to quiet any anxieties that a concerned citizen might have. At the least, it would short stop almost all precipitous complaints to store management, etc. And, if asked about it, you cold show it and explain that it's just your State issued permit to carry the gun. That should satisfy almost anyone. This seems completely legitimate to me.