For new concealed carrier
So no matter if you are a new concealed carrier or you've been carrying for a long time, this video is for you as I'm going to give you seven places you should never carry your firearm. Now, one thing I want to mention right off the rip is it's not my decision or my advice to tell you where you should or should not carry. This is merely a guideline and just something to think about because not only am I going to give you seven places that you shouldn't carry, but I'm also going to talk about some of the consequences that could happen if you carry in these places. But again, don't get the wrong idea. It's not that I agree with this stuff, I just want you to have the information so that way you know about it. And unfortunately, ignorance of the law is not a defense.
Gray areas
So we kind have to know these things and keep up with them. Of course, there's gray areas there as well, and I may cover some of that stuff as well. You may be thinking to yourself, I kind of already know where I can't carry, but there are some places here that I'm going to talk about in certain situations where it's okay to have your gun and it's not okay to have your gun even confined within the same space itself, so it can get quite confusing. But that's what we're going to talk about today. So if you like what I do consider subscribing, you could also join us on Patreon or join the channel right here. You get some really cool perks, it helps the channel, it helps us grow, and you get videos first and all kinds of really cool stuff. So if you want to join for as little as a dollar a month or $2 a month, it's really not a whole lot at all, but it is a big help to what we do here.
I'd love to have you join. If not, you just want to subscribe totally. Okay, let's go and get into the video.
First Place
The first one I want to talk about is schools. And this one can be a little bit confusing. And so when I talk about the consequences, I'm mainly focused on South Carolina because every state can be a little bit different as far as the penalties, but every state is going to have some kind of penalties and restrictions when it comes to schools. Now this started in 1990 with the Gun-Free Zone Act. And if you are a concealed carrier or you are a Second Amendment advocate, pro-gun advocate, whatever, however you classify yourself, you know that these things absolutely do not work, but the penalties can be stiff if you are caught with a firearm on school grounds. Now, specifically in South Carolina as a permit holder, you can have your firearm, whether you're in the car or the car is locked, you can have it on you, but it's got to be in the glove box or in the center console in the trunk compartment.
So technically it can't be on your person, but it can be a lease close by in a closed, like I said, glove box or even a locked container or something like that. Now that just applies to your vehicle though carrying on school grounds without expressive permission. And this is basically only going to be given to law enforcement or military that's doing maybe something teaching kids about gun safety or whatever they may be doing. That's really the only time that's ever going to be allowed. Now, this doesn't only apply to the school grounds, but it also applies to this thousand foot buffer that they have around schools. Now again, does this thousand foot buffer protect our kids in our schools in America? No, unfortunately not. But nonetheless, they still see this thousand foot buffer around the school as the school grounds, and you can be charged as such.
Now, this does not apply to public property that is within a thousand feet of the school. It also doesn't apply to private property. So if you live within a thousand feet of a school, you can own a firearm, you can have it on you and you can carry it on you, but I would definitely not step off of your property because again, that thousand foot buffer, they can treat it no matter if you're 900 feet away or you're on school grounds walking through the front door, they can treat it as one in the same. So you drop your kids off at school, daycares are under the same regulation. So you just want to be really careful about this and this happening to you because again, the penalties can be stiff. And specifically in South Carolina, if you are caught carrying somewhere, especially a school in some of these other places, we're going to talk about you can have your license revoked for up to five years and a thousand dollars fine and up to a year in jail.
Second Place
That leads me perfectly into our second place that we can't carry, which are polling places on election days. Now, this is an election year, so this is something that you probably want to keep in mind whenever you go to cast your vote at the ballot boxes. And again, a lot of these election polling places are inside of schools though it's almost a double whammy and something that you definitely want to keep in mind. Now, one thing you want to keep in mind about polling places too is that politics is a very highly charged conversation right now. And so while I've never had a problem at any polling place or in election days or anything, things can get heated in those kind of environments. So I don't know that it's best to even talk about politics while you're standing in line to cast your vote. I mean, you could do whatever you want, but at the same time, you just want to be really careful about what you bring up in line as you're sitting there about to cast your vote.
Because again, this stuff is so to the extreme. Heat fueled charged up conversations, they get people really riled up very quickly.
Third Place
Next place that you cannot carry your gun maybe is your mama's house or your dad's house or a friend's house close relative. Doesn't matter if you do not have expressive permission from a homeowner, you are not allowed to carry inside of their home. So if you have an anti-gun aunt or uncle or relative or whatever, yeah, technically you can get in a lot of trouble for carrying inside of a relative's home without their permission.
Fourth Place
This applies to churches as well. Now, specifically in South Carolina, if I get permission from my pastor to conceal carry inside of a church, then you're fine. Other states, they actually treat churches like school grounds where you can never carry inside of those places. So again, it's kind of knowing your laws in your state.
But South Carolina, if I get permission, yes, I can carry it inside a church. Other than that, without that expressive permission either from one of your relatives or friends or even your pastor at your local church that you go to, you cannot carry your gun unless you get that permission. Now, here is one of the most strictest places when it comes to carrying firearms, and that is the District of Columbia. And in DC they've actually had some rulings and some judges that have kind of deemed their no concealed carry statutes that they had for the longest time as unconstitutional and rightfully so, and you can get your permit in dc. Now, one of the first things you have to do is if you are a resident or if you have a place of business in dc, this goes for out of state as well, actually, you have to register that firearm in the District of Columbia.
You have to get certified or permission from the Chief of Metropolitan Police along with 16 hours of training. And if you don't live in DC then you must have a concealed weapons permit in the state that you reside along with your permanent application that you're applying for in DC as well. And I think the out of state regulations are actually a little bit more rigorous, a little bit more scrutinized than even their own constituents. I mean, even people that live in dc, it's already really strict, but if you come from out of state, it's even more restrictive. Now, I've got conflicting reports about how much the permit applications and fees cost. I've heard some people say three to $400, and I've seen other people say $150, I just cannot verify that. So if you live in DC or you've ever had a concealed weapons permit in the District of Columbia, let us know down below how long did it take you to get?
Because I've seen it's supposed to be 90 days, but they can extend it for as long as they want to. And how much does it cost to actually get that permit? I believe those permits are only good for two years as well. But if you know, leave that stuff down below, I'd love to hear from y'all.
Fifth Place
Now, the next place you do not want to carry your gun is on an airplane. And there are some crazy statistics about this and how many customers are actually carrying guns in their carry-ons. Now, according to TSA last year, they actually stopped 6,737 guns at TSA checkpoints. Now, when I came back from Las Vegas at a Harley Davidson event at the end of January, I came back through the A TL, that's the Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, and they are the number one airport for stopping guns getting through TSA.
They stopped 451 guns last year, and Dallas Fort Worth international was a close second with 378 guns. And that's just two airports. Even coming back from Tennessee at the Smith and Wesson event this past December, me and Ms. Shaw were going through the waiting line at TSA and they showed specific guns that were stopped at that airport. That's actually McGee Tyson Airport, which I actually, I really liked that one man. It didn't seem super crowded and I, I don't know, I like the vibe there. I really hate the Atlanta airport, but that's neither here nor there. Either way, a ton of guns are being stopped and so in no way shape, fashion, whatever, can you carry a firearm loaded or unloaded in your carry-on luggage? And this applies to parts as well, barrels, magazines, anything gun related, you have to put it in your checked bags.
And of course, if you do put it in check baggage and you have to have a TSA approved lockable case, it also has to be unloaded as well, and you have to declare it to the airline in your checked baggage. You have to declare it to them before it even gets on the roller and gets onto the plane. So while you can fly with your gun, you definitely don't want to be trying that in your carry-on. There are some really stiff penalties, one of which is a minimum $3,000 fine for first time offenders and then repeat offenders up to $14,000, over $14,000 in fines for simply getting stopped with a firearm. Not only that, your TSA pre-check is going to be revoked for five years and you could go through extra screening the next time you fly to make sure that the other passengers are safe.
And I have no idea what that means. I don't know if you got to strip down and cough a couple of times, who knows? If you know, unfortunately, let us know down below. I have no idea. Or maybe you work for TSA and maybe you've been in that situation. Not necessarily you are the offender, but either way, I'd love to know what the extra screening involves. I can take a guess, but anybody that's been there or seen this happen, love to hear from y'all as well. And just to add on to that a little bit is not only is it fines, but you can face criminal charges as well. If you are in a more restrictive state as far as gun rights goes too, it could be even worse for you. So again, just check it. TSA approved case, make sure it's unloaded. Be on the up and up for sure when you're going through an airport.
Dude, I honestly found it astonishing how many firearms were found. And I believe that is just firearms that is not firearm parts. I was talking to a guy when we were coming back from Tennessee. He was at the event with us and he said he had a $500 FN threaded barrel that got stopped at TSA checkpoint and they confiscated that thing, man. So I believe that's 6,737 guns is physical guns not including the parts themselves. Just check it and make sure you're on the up and up when you carry your gun or when you don't carry your gun and put it in check baggage when you fly with your firearm. Now, the next place you want to avoid as a concealed carrier is bars, but there is a stipulation here. Now, in some states like Texas, if the business has a, I dunno, I think it's 50% of their business is alcohol sales.
You cannot carry in there regardless if you're drinking or not. In other states like South Carolina, North Carolina, a lot of states, Tennessee, as long as you are not consuming alcohol, you can conceal carry inside of an establishment, whether that be a bar or a restaurant that sells alcohol. And to me, this is just kind of common sense, right? I mean, if you're going to be drinking, intoxicated, all that kind of stuff, there's a few things you don't want to be doing and that obviously is carrying a firearm or driving. These are just two things that can get you or other people hurt or worse. And so to me, it's just kind of common sense, but I do appreciate the fact that there's a lot of states, including my own, that don't restrict concealed carriers like myself. I don't drink at all, so I can go in these places and I can have a good time and talk with my friends and whatever and still have my firearm on me without any kind of consequences in case somebody happens to see it or whatever the case may be.
So you just got to know what state you're in. Again, Texas, if that place establishment, if it's over 50%, you can't carry in there at all or any kind of bars or anything like that. But Tennessee, South Carolina, it's a little bit different. Again, knowing your state laws makes a huge difference when it comes to concealed carry.
Sixth Place
And the last one I want to talk about today is going to be jails, prisons, courthouses, hospitals, doctor's offices. All of these places are restrictive, at least here in South Carolina, and I'm sure it's like that throughout the country for the most part. There might be some doctor's offices maybe, but I really doubt it. And this has been the only one that's, I've almost been close to doing that. I'll kind walk in and do my pre-check, if you will, before I walk into a doctor's office. And there's been times where I'm halfway between me and the door and getting in there, and then I just happen to do a pre-check late and I feel my firearm and I just take it back to my car and of course, lock it up.
One time I was getting a chiropractic adjustment and I didn't have my gun on me, but I still had my holster on me. And don't ask me why I did that. This was like 10 years ago when I first started carrying. So anyways, I left my gun in my center console, but I left the holster on, maybe I just didn't want to get it off. I don't even think I was carrying holster at that point, so it was probably just harder to get off than just keep it on, put the gun in the console or something. Anyways, the chiropractor, he was doing adjustments and he was like, oh, oh, alright. And he just moved on. He didn't say anything. He was very cool about it, but at the same time, it's just something you want to be careful with. I mean, you never know. Just recently anybody that knows me knows that I have a bad disc in my lower back.
So I went to go talk to a surgeon the other day and I knew I was just going to have a conversation with him. And so for a split second I was like, well, maybe I'll just carry my firearm with me today instead of leaving it in the truck. I decided against that. I left it in the truck anyways. And funny enough, I had to do new X-rays that day, so I had to obviously change into their super stylish shorts in order to do those X-rays. And so I'm really glad I left my firearm in the car because it would've been, or in the truck because it would've been a weird, Hey, oh yeah, I need to change in these shorts. Can I walk outside really quick? I think I forgot something. And then try to drop your gun off. I mean, yeah. So you just got to be really careful what you're getting into.
Seventh Place
And obviously if you're going to a courthouse or a jail, prisons, anything like that, it's just not going to end up good. And as far as I know, you can have those things on you in your vehicle as long as it's locked away in a closed compartment. But again, it is highly dependent upon the state that you live in. And that's unfortunate because we all live under the United States. We all have constitutional rights that are given to us at birth. These are not things that are granted to us by the government, but unfortunately there's just states that feel like they can restrict citizens on what they can and cannot do. And of course, that's an argument for a different day. But I just want to point it out that even in the United States of America on a state level, gun rights are either super restrictive or gun rights are seen as what they are, which are constitutional rights that should not be restrictive.
They are God-given rights at that. And so you got to be really careful about the state that you live in and some of the places that you go. This decision is up to you though sometimes you have to make the decision of what is best for you and your family. And of course, some of the more obvious ones. There's places of business, private, private businesses that will say, no conceal carry allowed. If they have their signs, they're appropriately 40 to 60 inches off the ground and they got to be a certain size and whatever, then you can abide by that. I'm not going to sit here and tell you what you can and cannot do though. Everybody has to make that decision for themselves. Sometimes the easiest thing you can do though is become a patron of maybe a competitor to one of those places that wants to restrict your gun rights or says that you can conceal, carry in their place of business, give your business to a like-minded business instead.
That may be a better option. But of course, I'd love to hear from you all because this is just my opinion. I'm just one guy on the internet. So let me know what you think about this stuff down below. And if you know of any other kind of crazy places that you should not conceal carry, leave those down below too. Maybe I'll make a part two if y'all like this video. And of course, if you like what I do, again, consider subscribing. You can also join us on Patreon or join the channel right here, gain access to some pretty cool PERTs and become a part of the shot team. Big thanks. See you in the next one. And as always, holding down now.
YouTube Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzf8xQ1c0T8
Credit: Hegshot87