I've carried for about 15 years now in both Texas and Florida (lived there briefly). I have permits from both states. I don't have to, but I do for a very specific reason. If I get stopped for speeding the cop will likely know I have a permit when they check my plate before even getting out of their car. This is a good thing because it tells the cop I took the time to get my permit, and my background is clean.
A traffic stop is one of the most dangerous things a cop does because they don't know if that person is good or bad. Having a permit lets them know that I had a clean background at the time of the permit issuance, and am likely still a safe person.
It has also gotten me out of 2 speeding tickets and a "rolling" stop sign infraction. All 3 times I gave the cop my permit and told him where I had my gun, and we ended up talking about guns and holsters (2 of them wanted to know where I got my holster after they asked if they could see my gun). One of them thanked me for carrying - he said more responsible people should carry because it makes everyone safer (except for criminals).
When I got my Florida permit I still lived in Missouri. I did the application through the mail, but needed physical (not digital) fingerprints so I went to the county sheriff's office and asked how to do it. The sheriff was there so I went in to say hi (I helped him direct traffic around an accident once). I had talked to him then about permits, and he said I didn't need one in Missouri. This time I told him I was there to find out how to get physical fingerprints for the FL permit and he said to come with him. He took me to their fingerprint person, told them to do my prints, put them and the FL form in an envelope marked with their PD info, and mail it for me - for free. Nice guy.
Oh and…concealed carriers are statistically more law abiding than police.
I've carried for about 15 years now in both Texas and Florida (lived there briefly). I have permits from both states. I don't have to, but I do for a very specific reason. If I get stopped for speeding the cop will likely know I have a permit when they check my plate before even getting out of their car. This is a good thing because it tells the cop I took the time to get my permit, and my background is clean.
A traffic stop is one of the most dangerous things a cop does because they don't know if that person is good or bad. Having a permit lets them know that I had a clean background at the time of the permit issuance, and am likely still a safe person.
It has also gotten me out of 2 speeding tickets and a "rolling" stop sign infraction. All 3 times I gave the cop my permit and told him where I had my gun, and we ended up talking about guns and holsters (2 of them wanted to know where I got my holster after they asked if they could see my gun). One of them thanked me for carrying - he said more responsible people should carry because it makes everyone safer (except for criminals).
When I got my Florida permit I still lived in Missouri. I did the application through the mail, but needed physical (not digital) fingerprints so I went to the county sheriff's office and asked how to do it. The sheriff was there so I went in to say hi (I helped him direct traffic around an accident once). I had talked to him then about permits, and he said I didn't need one in Missouri. This time I told him I was there to find out how to get physical fingerprints for the FL permit and he said to come with him. He took me to their fingerprint person, told them to do my prints, put them and the FL form in an envelope marked with their PD info, and mail it for me - for free. Nice guy.