Monday, November 1, 2010

CCW in Pop Culture

Has anyone ever recalled a modern TV show talking about a man with a legit CCW 'license'?

Cuz I can't remember one. Positve or negative or what have you. It's like no one on TV Land can conceive of the possibility outside of law enforcement. Only Cops have permission.

Or am I way off base and it's all over the place in TV and Hollywood?

11 comments:

ZerCool said...

I think it's more along the lines of, "If he's the good guy and he has a gun, it must be ok."

E.g.: Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino". Old dude with a Garand and a 1911 must be legit, right?

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

Yeah, but Clint in Gran Torino was a crotchety old guy that didn't care what people, or the cops, thought.

Notice we didn't see a cop in that movie until the very end? Never around when you need em.

Anonymous said...

Off hand, I can recall an episode of Monk ("Mr. Monk and the Bully" I believe) where Monk's former High School bully had a handgun in his glovebox, which is illegal in CA unless you have a CCW permit, and the show is based in Frisco. Monk saw it, then the guy said something like, "It's okay, I have a permit for it." The guy ended up not being the killer, even though he still was a jerk.

I've seen multiple shows which say that people need a permit to simply own a handgun. If I got my gun laws from TV, I'd think I'd need to get a permit to own a handgun unloaded, locked in a safe.

Hippies smell!

Anonymous said...

I saw a show lately where the cops searched a PI and found his Glock, asked him if he had a permit and said, "Yes. In 39 states." and then slowly handed them a little wallet with his PI lic on one side and his CCP on the other.

They then handed him back his gun.

Anonymous said...

The forensic chick on Bones has a CCP and carries. She even shot a guy in defense once.

Also the news caster on How I Met Your Mother has a carry permit that is good in New York City!

Ian Argent said...

Two amusingly incorrect examples: NCIS regularly has DC residents who have "permits", and Harry Dresden often carries a handgun in Chicago without a permit, implying that it is possible to get such a permit.

Castle seems to have a relatively large # of "permitted" characters; but almost always they could be well-connected enough (or live outside the City proper) to have such a beast.

WV: pityp. I pityp the fool

Old NFO said...

Other than the ones cited above, I can't think of any...

Ian Argent said...

Almost all examples I can think of, there is an easily-referenced ownership registry, and permit to own = permit to carry, and this is transitive.

Bubblehead Les. said...

A lot of the NCIS shows take place in Virginia, and I seem to recall a couple of times where it was mentioned in those episodes taking place in Quantico or Norfolk. But Gibbs's Dad keeps a loaded lever action on the Wall behind his store counter. Also, Gibbs seems to have no problem keeping his Sniper Rifle in his D.C. house.

Ian Argent said...

Gibbs' father lives in PA. No huhu if he keeps that lever-action behind the counter. Bringing it into the District with him was ... unwise.

I know a lot of the action takes place in NoVA and Norfolk - but there have been cases of people "legally" carrying guns in the District on the show. (Usually, but not always, the murderer).

I suppose it's no worse than them taking 20 minutes to get to Woodbridge VA from the Navy Yard. You can't even get to the 14th ST bridge in 20 minutes from the Yard; much less 30 miles down 395 and 95, even *if* Gibbs or Ziva are driving!

(Gibbs himself deson't count, being federal LE - even once he retires the District has to issue him a permit by Federal law).

Anonymous said...

In the new show "the Defenders" on cbs they talk about a guy having a ccw. He was a bookie that was killed by police trying to collect money by gun point. Jim Belushi does a ok job pointing out that it was legal for him to have the gun and that it may not have been used