Is there any validity to this idea

[dmcdonnell]

Has anyone here, working in a place that forbids weapons, ever worn a holster and magazine pouch empty just to familiarize and get accustomed to them being on the belt?

It might seem like a useless exercise, but it crossed my mind the other night.

Any thoughts or opinions on the idea?

Dave

[G19]

I’m not sure this would get you accustomed to anything since there would be virtually no weight with an empty holster and you would not have the feel of the pistol itself against you especially if it’s an IWB.

[K.C.]

If anything it would get the conversation started. Hopefully it would lead to a policy reversal but I doubt it. I wouldn't do it simply because I wouldn't want to be forced to choose my carry or my job.

[G19]

Has anyone here, working in a place that forbids weapons, ever worn a holster and magazine pouch empty just to familiarize and get accustomed to them being on the belt?

It might seem like a useless exercise, but it crossed my mind the other night.

Any thoughts or opinions on the idea?

Dave

Sorry if I misunderstood. I guess you may have meant get others used to the idea. Not sure if would help, some people are just antigun and emotions trump facts for them.

[donm]

If anything it would get the conversation started. Hopefully it would lead to a policy reversal but I doubt it. I wouldn't do it simply because I wouldn't want to be forced to choose my carry or my job.

In most workplaces, the result would more likely be a memo from HR to all employees emphasizing the no-weapons policy in the employee manual.

[phillykev]

Many people think that anyone who carries is weird. As we all know, it's not weird, it's taken personal responsibility for your own safety and defense.

However, someone who walks around with an empty holster is weird, IMO.

[Kurt_D]

In most workplaces, the result would more likely be a memo from HR to all employees emphasizing the no-weapons policy in the employee manual.

Probably coupled with a specific face-to-face with the individual that wore the holster and mag pouch(es) to stop doing it. It is grossly unfortunate that the sentiments that generate no-weapon directives spill over onto ANYTHING associated with them.

As K.C. noted, unless one is willing to put their job on the line, it's probably better to not advertise that you carry (or even discuss it at all) in a work environment that forbids the same.

I was fortunate, in my last job, that the owner carried and allowed his employees to do the same since the plant was in a bad neighborhood. A couple of neighborhood miscreants were convinced they should take their "business" elsewhere because of that policy.

[DMWhidden]

Well, here's my two cents, because I do exactly that. I work in a warehouse environment which has a strict "no weapons" policy (as well as a no cellphones policy, ostensibly because phones are among the merchandise and difficult to distinguish from personal property). There is a security checkpoint, metal detectors and all, that must be passed several times a day (breaks, lunch, entry and exit). Searches are randomized, so I don't go through the detectors sometimes for days at a time, but you never know when. Now I'm one of those who strives to carry outside the home at all times, so I carry to work, because I may make any number of stops each week on my way home. I simply remove my weapon from my Crossbreed SuperTuck IWB and secure it inside my vehicle before entering the facility, and replace it when I exit for the day. I leave my holster on, though. There are a number of reasons for this, not least of which is convenience. I wear this holster A LOT, even when I don't have the weapon in it, and am quite comfortable with it, and while it's not hard to take off, it can be difficult to put back on properly without unbelting and even opening your pants. I also, at some level, leave it on as a sort of mute protest, much as many college students will openly wear empty holsters on campus. Now, mine is concealed, but every time I go through security, I have to discreetly remove my steel-toes, my belt, and my holster; as a result, the folks working security have become aware that I do carry, and I've even had some fun "what do you carry" conversations with them. There has been absolutely no negative comment on my holster, or the implied firearm somewhere in the parking lot, and so for me, despite the occasional exposure of my holster, this has been a positive experience. I think that in general the positive conversations I have had with both security and even some co-workers about carry outweighs the risk of someone tracking me to my vehicle and trying to break in to access my firearm. Surely, some will disagree with my methods, but I find it serves my purposes and gets my point across.

[Drylok]

I wear my holster at work everyday and I live in a state that doesn't even have ccw. It makes for great conversation and gets people's wheels turning

[oblivionboyj]

LOL!
Yeah, I wear my empty holster all night at work.
I wear an OWB pancake holster that is a PITA to take off my belt (belt must be partially removed to take the holster off or put it on).
While there is a no firearms in the building policy, they do not have a no holsters policy.
Nobody has ever said anything negative about it.
They all know I carry a gun.
It has literally never caused a problem for me.
I wont say that it has opened anybody I work with's eyes to firearm carriage, but I don't think I work in a particularly antigun environment either.
Most of the people here hunt, shoot competively, or their fathers or husbands do.

Now that I think about it I really don't know if we have a no guns policy, I just assumed we do.
The cops who fly in here walk around with their guns, so...