[Bigum]

Well, this hello now comes from Southwestern Indiana. I grew up in Huntington Beach, California and graduated from "The Beach" - Cal State Long Beach. Life and such has taken me to both Colorado and now Indiana. I do often visit California -- and will be visitng again in a couple weeks.

I often read this web site with interest as you all work to achieve a CC license. I owned one gun while living in CA, and I remember how paranoid I always was bringing it to the range, etc. to shoot. I never even dreamed of carrying one concealed or not.

Then I moved to Indiana. And I bought my first gun here, waited 2 minutes, and walked out the door with it. There's no waiting period here or limit on the # of guns you can buy. Just an NICS check and off you go.

A few years later I noticed some folks carrying half concealed and decided to look into that. Well, Indiana issues a License to Carry a Handgun. It is a license to carry open or concealed.

The process is simple. A short application to your local PD or Sheriff, off to the state police (w/fingerprints), and then your license comes printed out on a pink piece of paper. You actually have to cut it out and have it laminated at Kinkos. The whole process takes 4-8 weeks and Indiana is a Shall Issue state so there is no need to prove a reason. I now know why Indiana has one of the highest % of people with carry permits.

I often miss CA in so many ways. Great weather and natural beauty. There is so much to do there. But I don't miss the gun laws.

I now carry whenever I want, keep a gun in my car at all times, and don't have to worry about loaded firearms during transportation. This isn't the "Wild West" out here in Indiana, but people have a strong sense of individual rights. It has changed me somewhat as well. I think my wife thinks I've become a little more "red behind the neck" if you know what I mean.

Anyhow, I think my wife and I will hopefully make it back to beautiful CA someday. Thanks to you all for working hard and fighting the good fight for the right to bear arms.