Concealed handgun license boom in Portland (Oakland: fit in, transplants, layoffs)

[Barleysoda]

Seems a lot of people here are legally packing a firearm now, even transplants. that's been kind of a shocker to me. I was at a gas station yesterday and got talking to this other guy on a motorcycle who happened to be a transplant from Wisconsin, we got chatting about bikes and different things and handguns came up and he told me about his experience with getting his CHL. he told me that there was a 4 to 6 week wait just to get an appointment to go in and get printed and mugshot, then wait again another 2 weeks for it to come in the mail, and the reasons for that is the volume of people now getting their CHL. The last 2 months I've had the same conversation with 4 other people who all happened to be transplants, and all have had similar stories about getting their CHL, along with some people they know doing the same thing.
Portland is a liberal city filled with liberal transplants, but there's a good number of them getting guns and CHL's now and that really suprises me since most liberals are gun haters.
what's going on around Portland that is making these transplants think they need to pack something, and get a CHL.
I'm at a loss here....any transplant posters doing the same thing? and any good explaination for this new trend?

[Sarcastic_Twit]

Based on your evidence, either they are all too paranoid, or not paranoid enough, but without factoring in the number of people moving into the state (increasing the number of applicants, not the percentage), it's hard to say. The gun toters I know do not have CHLs because they don't want to register their firearms. They are afraid of the government more than blasting bad guys.

[PNW-type-gal]

Licenses are issued by the county - all counties are in the process of cutting back on services. That there is a longer wait (and I'm not sure that IS a longer wait than normal ) isn't evidence of anything.

[Leisesturm]

People hiking in the Adirondacks are carrying. Liberal, tree-hugging, granola eating, hemp and tie-dye wearing, vegans are carrying firearms for self-defense. The decision to carry or not is a personal one and often influenced by family associations rather than political ones. As I write this the newly married long time liberal gun hater mother of the friend of a friend is at the shooting range. She hates it, but her new husband has insisted she carry and learn to shoot. That's over in New Jersey so technically outside the scope of this article but... my point is the o.p.'s sample is simply way too small to make any conclusions and even the additional sample size of the PDX forum is unlikely to change that. I'd be more interested to learn what is driving the o.p.'s concern. Is it the thought that PDX will soon be overrun with transplants packing heat? Are transplants somehow less trustworthy with concealed weapons than natives? Why a distinction?

H

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by Barleysoda

Portland is a liberal city filled with liberal transplants, but there's a good number of them getting guns and CHL's now and that really suprises me since most liberals are gun haters.
what's going on around Portland that is making these transplants think they need to pack something, and get a CHL.

I guess you didn't hear, concealed firearms are the in-thing among the hipster transplants these days. It's all the rage---you can't even step into a coffee shop in SE Portland without bumping into someone packing a Glock. Once fixie bikes, asymmetrical haircuts, messenger bags, porn-star moustaches and the 80s new wave revival got played out and discovered by the masses the trendsters needed some new cultural touchstones to co-opt. Guns will give you the ultimate hipster cachet these days. The real trendy ones are carrying .44 magnums in shoulder holsters ala Dirty Harry...

[classicanne]

Well, this transplant isn't packing heat, nor will she. I'm not vegan (but I am vegetarian), I wouldn't be caught dead in tie-dye, and granola is a little rough on the system, but I am in favor of very strict gun control (perhaps I should have moved to Chicago?) laws and ultimately wish guns could be eliminated altogether (Japan has it right on this, IMHO). I think Deezus has it right, that toting is the in thing with hipsters. If there's a reason transplants feel unsafe here, I'm sure I don't know what that is. I don't feel unsafe at all, except for the knowledge that so many folks are carrying guns. The saying is always that guns don't kill people, people kill people, but with so many unbalanced folks who have access, it's dangerous almost anywhere in the U.S. these days. Pity.

[TalkingShoes]

As cities and states cut law enforcement positions (see Oakland, St. Louis, Illinois) it makes sense that people will begin to take more responsibility for their own defense and safety. Just a crazy theory of mine. But then again, here's what a judge in Ashtabula County, Ohio said in April. link

Asked what residents should do for protection, Common Pleas Judge Alfred Mackey replied, " Arm themselves," and added, "We're going to have to look after each other."

[philwithbeard]

A candidate for the US Senate gave an interview to a magazine and is reported to have been quoted as saying in effect: if the congress continues to support the President of the United States' political agenda (an agenda he campaigned he would carry out as President) then the conservatives would resort to "2nd amendment" remedies.
The Plum Line - Sharron Angle floated possibility of armed insurrection

Some liberals and Democratic Party loyalist, not necessarily myself, are taking this warning very seriously. Very much to heart. Given the lead time for a firearm license carry license, now is the time to begin the process.

[iamscott]

Originally Posted by classicanne

Well, this transplant isn't packing heat, nor will she. I'm not vegan (but I am vegetarian), I wouldn't be caught dead in tie-dye, and granola is a little rough on the system, but I am in favor of very strict gun control (perhaps I should have moved to Chicago?) laws and ultimately wish guns could be eliminated altogether (Japan has it right on this, IMHO). I think Deezus has it right, that toting is the in thing with hipsters. If there's a reason transplants feel unsafe here, I'm sure I don't know what that is. I don't feel unsafe at all, except for the knowledge that so many folks are carrying guns. The saying is always that guns don't kill people, people kill people, but with so many unbalanced folks who have access, it's dangerous almost anywhere in the U.S. these days. Pity.

I am sorry but I live in the real world. Strict gun control is a bad idea, you should always have a way to defend yourself, your family and your home. If you don't like guns, don't buy one. Most gun owners are very responsible, and not crazy. It think the fed rules that Chicago's gun law was unconstitutional and for Chicago having such strict gun controls, It is one of the most violent cities in America.

[1200RT]

Originally Posted by classicanne

The saying is always that [guns] don't kill people, people kill people, but with so many unbalanced folks who have access, it's dangerous almost anywhere in the U.S. these days. Pity.

I could substitute many things in there ... and that would still make sense. Just as many (if not way way more) idiots behind the wheels of cars, but states still issue DL's like its a "right".

Just curious ... how many gun owners do you know? How many fit into your mold?