Speaking of Concealed Carry

So I've been on a road trip for the past week. We left about a week ago and headed down to Utah to visit some relatives.

I always carry my P3AT in my back pocket (pocket holster, of course) and do so especially when traveling. I always was very suspicious of people at rest stops etc. when traveling - probably because I'm out of my element.

What I do like about my WA permit is that I can carry in many other western states I visit. My WA permit is good ID, UT and MT, which is where I spend 90% of my time.

But what really pisses me off is reciprocity is fickle and hard to track. For example, on my trip to Utah, I had to disarm thru Oregon. About 4 hours later, I could arm again. Oh, and I can't pump my own gas either, but that isn't a huge deal.

Utah was great, and I carried the entire time there. Now we took a side trip down to the Four Corners area and I can't carry my pistol again in Colorado. Not sure about AZ. Or NM. What a freaking pain in the rear.

Now I know that many libertarians and conservatives chafe at any sort of federal control beyond the military (which is a big exception in my mind, but they never seem to care), but this state-by-state approach is just silly.

Sometimes federal oversight is better than having to arm/disarm a bunch of times in a single day depending on what state you're passing thru.

And each state has different laws on where I can/can't carry. Restaurants that serve alcohol? I don't partake (ahem) but in some places I can/can't carry there. Not that I'd ever want to eat at, say Applebees, but I never know without spending 10 min on my iphone if I can or can't. And no, I'd never willingly eat at Applebees or most other chain restaurants in that vein.

Grr.

Personally, I'd like to see federal oversight over the mess so I can just learn once and forget about it. And I could get my permit once and be done.

Maybe there is something I'm not thinking of? I'm sure my loyal readers will let me know all about it ;-)

So, anyhow, greetings from southern Colorado. Its beautiful down here and I'm just happy to be alive and to share this with my kids.