Conceal and Carry

Palwendy counts the days until she turns 21. Her plan: First, celebrate in Las Vegas. Second, obtain her conceal and carry permit. I know these bits and pieces as I follow her Twitter feed.

I write about Palwendy as she shares living space with my daughter Daisy. I count the days until Daisy finishes spring semester and leaves the house, owned by Palwendy and her absentee parents. I think we will beat Palwendy's legal handgun tote-around permit by a week or so.

College is a tricky time to select where you live and with whom you share space. When I met Palwendy, before Daisy signed the lease, she presented herself as a serious student who drank like a college kid, had a long term boyfriend who visited on weekends and liked to hunt.

Through my Twitter spy, my impressions of Palwendy have changed, considerably. She is a responsible hunter who is overwhelmingly passionate about the kill of the sport, and she eats what she kills. However, she is also a racist boozer who hates her housemates. The boyfriend is gone, replaced by a string of young men, and now finally another "boyfriend," one met on the internet.

And this is where my concern grows. I know that Palwendy respects the power of a rifle. But a handgun is a weapon easily set down and forgotten. Will Palwendy remember the handgun in her purse? Will she feel compelled to show her new acquisition to friends who are less respectful of a handgun's power. In a drunken moment, will she be less respectful? Will there be a new less stable, less mature man brought home? Can a bullet fired in her bedroom break through the door and somehow strike my daughter?

In the fall, Daisy moves into new living quarters with friends that are more familiar. Again, she will share space with a hunter. And that's o.k.  I haven't asked Daisy if her new housemates have conceal and carry permits. I've come to realize that it is impossible to know. Someone who doesn't have a conceal and carry permit today may obtain one tomorrow. Or the visiting friend may come bearing a handgun in her purse, backpack or jacket pocket.

I learned from this Palwendy year--do not lease space from someone who owns the property where you live and also lives there. The Palwendy parents know their daughter. The mother parties with Palwendy and somehow overlooks the coarseness that permeates Palwendy's on-line presence. Not all families function the same. I wish conceal and carry advocates would consider who else, other than themselves, may carry a handgun. It might be their child's housemate. And the two may not like one another.