Coming back to PA

[huckleberry63]

I was born and raised near Pittsburgh and moved away back in 1994. I have been living in the south all the while and was wondering how supportive the state is about civilians carrying handguns. I have been lurking here for a while and am curoius because here in Georgia, handguns are very welcome, in fact, Georgians love their guns. I ask because my family is planning on moving back to PA in May and would like to know what to look forward to or not to look forward to. I have to say, I have very much enjoyed this forum, and look forward to spending some time here, getting to know some good people. Thanks for any help.

[The_War_Wagon]

Pittsburgh is alright. It's still packed with unionized Libturds and DEMOCRAP hacks , but I'm 9 generations from NC myself, and have lived here for 8+ years now. If I can survive - NOT being from here - you'll be just fine.

Grocery list - stop in NC on the way back up: I need;

- Cheerwine
- Lexington-style BBQ, LOTSA BBQ dip, and several gallons of slaw!!!
- hotdog chili - 5 gallons is about all I can store
- Cherry-Lemon Sundrop. They JUST started carrying Sundrop & Diet Sundrop in cans at Giant Eagle!

No BBQ, no Cheerwine, NO SERVICE!!!

[Cruiser]

Welcome back,, and I agree,, pick up some bbq and slaw.. What part of atlanta??

[DonM55]

At all cost avoid Philly.

[WereWolf]

Pittsburgh is great. I've been CCing and OCing for over 6 months now and have had no problems.

[huckleberry63]

War Wagon, it's funny because I used to live in Charlotte for a few years and fell in love with some Cheerwine and some barbeque......in fact I'm bringing my southern barbeque with me, I married my wife whom is from Rock Hill SC. I live in the burbs of Atlanta, Woodstock. I was just inquinsitive to how things are back home because when I left, there wasn't many that carried, in fact to get a carry permit it took an act of congress from what I remember. Either way, I will be one that carries. Thanks for the replies, maybe we'll cross paths one day.

[Cruiser]

My sister-in-law lives in woodstock,, small world.. going back to the burg? or another part of the state?

[DMWhidden]

Huckleberry, good to have you back in PA. Oddly, no one so far seems to be answering your question, probably because those answers are mostly already found at the top of the forum. But to briefly summarize: I'm from FL, and moved to PA two years ago, and suffice to say that the attitude toward firearms, concealed or otherwise, is better even than in FL, which most people not from PA consider to be a wild-west gun-toting state. I'm not familiar with GA off-hand, but assuming you have no criminal record that disqualifies you, there are probably few or no other states in which obtaining a license to carry (concealed or otherwise) is as simple, easy and painless as in PA. Unlike FL, open carry is de facto legal in PA, but if you want full privileges of concealment, transfer, transport, in-vehicle and state-of-emergency carry, it is well worth obtaining your PA LTCF from your county sheriff's office. You can obtain a resident permit, as I did, as soon as you have a PA ID such as a driver's license. The process can take anywhere from an hour to 45 days, depending on the county, but the license is shall-issue, and costs (as I recall) around $25, sometimes with extra small fees tacked on. Also compared to most states, the list of places where carry is prohibited is pretty short, and in some cases negated by your LTCF.

There are many fiddly bits of law to contend with, as always, but a modest amount of research from the resources on this forum should serve to quite adequately inform you in 99.9% of cases. Good luck and welcome home!

P.S. As has been said, avoid Philly if you can; I have successfully carried concealed in Philly, but it was also the only place where I've been frisked outside a waterfront restaurant and turned away because of my firearm.

[Recoil]

You want to do WHAT??...come back to Pa and carry a gun??
Oh what the hell, I guess we can deal with it.

Good to have you back...

[huckleberry63]

First off thanks to all the welcomes....DMWhidden, thanks for the informative post, yeah here in Georgia, it is like the wild-wild west, a lot of gun totin people here. Getting my carry permit will be the second thing I do, until then I will use my Georgia license which is ok in PA. I have to ask though, if you never lived in PA before, what the heck possessed you to move to PA?? I lived in Florida for about 3 years outside of Orlando in Casselberry and have to admit, Florida is my most favorite state to ever have lived. Don't get me wrong, I do miss Pittsburgh at times, and I NEED to come home and help my father, but if I was moving from Florida, that would be a tough one for me. When we move back we will be moving back to the Burgh so we can be near the family and truthfully, I am looking forward to being there, especially since the kids will be able to see and do some of the things I did as a kid growing up.