when i was but a young man, just barely 21, and sent as 'senior' staff to Atlanta to facilitate an office opening up, i checked with Fulton sheriff about carrying and told i needed to be blessed as 'special deputy' so i could carry a firearm, OC/CC in the city and surrounding counties. cost $75, check made out to the sheriff, no training or fingerprints, nada...my 'badge' and id was given to me that very night. carried everywhere, GA/Ohio with the firearm on the seat of my vehicle or right hip. naive young fool thinking back on it, but was a FFL and never gave it another thought.
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then went to Tacoma when i first open carried father's 1911 in shoulder holster everywhere in the area without any incident whatsoever ~ yes i had WA CCW as well as functioned as a FFL but truly ignorant to the laws of the land.
was only early '90s when i OC/CC as whim struck me in a rural South Western state where carry of a firearm was but a traffic ticket - at best!! then gaggles of California folk started infiltrating the state screaming, "OMG ppl are carrying guns!!" & "we won't stand for it!!" and convinced legislatures there was a profit center there and the concept went down hill quite quickly. under CA folks guidance they screwed with the CCW concept which is still a quagmire of disjointed statutes which are impossible to enforce and the DPS has turned the system into quite different that was was initially set up.
i was one of the first to qualify and get a CCW but still consistently OC'd due to the heat as well it is still a misdemeanor at best!
i believe, like others, citizens see me and presume i am LE which i suppose has worked to my advantage as i have not worried about OC'g whatsoever.
ipse