PagerPal
Posted on 12/01/2002 8:31:04 AM PST by Deadeye Division
The fashion police are ready for action: Concealed-gun bill would open fashion possibilities
12/01/02
Julie Carr Smyth
Plain Dealer Bureau
Columbus - Looking for that perfect holiday gift item? Consider the new fashion possibilities if state lawmakers pull the trigger on a proposed concealed-handgun bill before Christmas.
A world of firearm fashion will be opened to Ohioans that - legally, at least - has never been available.
Sure, you will be able to conceal a handgun over your shoulder and under a jacket, the traditional undercover police officer's way. But newly empowered civilians might want something less bulky and conspicuous.
Why not try an ankle holster under those spangled bell bottoms? Or hide your weapon behind your belt as a pager or cell phone? Wear it like a money belt.
Or take a fashion plunge into gun holsters disguised as . . .undergarments?
There are necklace lanyards, holster purses, SOB (that's small-of-the-back) holsters, tuckable holsters and T-shirts with holsters sewn under the armpits. California self-defense consultant Paxton Quigley has even perked up with the idea of an inside-the-bra holster.
"I understand the presentation technique is to smile at your attacker, unbutton your blouse (while his eyes bulge) and then . . . rip the blouse open and draw old roscoe - to the attacker's complete surprise and doom," writes Deaf Smith in one Internet chat room.
The Ohio Senate opens three days of hearings Tuesday on concealed-handgun legislation and could move the rewritten bill to the floor by Thursday.
In its new incarnation, the legislation is expected to contain concessions to the Fraternal Order of Police and other law-enforcement groups, including more rigorous training, licensing and public reporting requirements than appeared in the House version.
Even if the House concurs with the changes, the bill faces a veto by Gov. Bob Taft. Taft says he will not support the bill until it garners law enforcement support. In recent days, he has added safe-storage provisions to the list of demands lawmakers must meet to avert his veto. Negotiations on that point are under way.
In the growing number of states where similar laws have passed, manufacturers of specially designed concealed-carry holsters saw an instant surge in sales.
Texas got its so-called "CCW" (carrying concealed weapons) law in the mid-1990s.
Steve Wiesner's Pager Pal, patented in 1995, has taken off since. This leather handgun holster, which runs about $60, masquerades as a clip for your pager or cell phone. Its genius is in the use of a little-noticed hollow behind most men's left front trouser pocket.
Politically speaking, Wiesner said, concealing your handgun effectively has two benefits: You don't alarm people who are afraid of guns, and you don't tip off criminals who might want to turn your own weapon against you.
But the Pager Pal actually evolved out of a problem that many Ohio businessmen could soon face: How to keep your handgun close at hand without absolutely destroying the prevailing silhouette of that Brooks Brothers suit?
"I had to either dress inappropriately, or be uncomfortable, or inconvenienced to carry my handgun," Wiesner said. "The only thing you've got to have to get my holster to work is have your pants on. Most guys can handle that."
And for those who can't?
No sweat. Even less conspicuous than Pager Pal are underwear holsters branded Thunderwear.
"It gets to 80, 90 degrees and it's difficult to conceal a handgun," said Bill Cole, a retired New York City police officer who takes the company's mail orders. "The idea is to not have any bumps sticking out. With our product, you can wear a boxer-style bathing suit with a T-shirt tucked in and still be concealed."
Thunderwear's beginnings in the early '90s were literally undercover - as a secret project of the Hialeah, Fla., police. Officers patrolling the Hialeah beaches for drug dealers were continually confounded by the fashion nightmare of wearing a shoulder holster under the light cotton fabrics of summer.
"When it would get windy, the drug dealers could see that big bump under their T-shirts from a mile away, and nothing would get accomplished," Cole said.
Thunderwear, for both men and women, is worn under your pants and anchored on the hipbones. Models to hold one or two guns, and sometimes a set of handcuffs, run from $45 to $70.
When you're seated, the weapon falls between your legs. To concerned customers, the Web site delicately notes: "It's impossible to get your finger on the trigger until you extract your weapon."
Cole said, "We get a lot of jokes, like: 'Is that your gun, or are you just happy to see me?' That's OK. We enjoy the frivolity of the product."
As does Quigley, whose Los Angeles company offers "The Paxton Quigley Super Bra Holster" along with its women's self-defense classes.
Quigley, author of Armed & Female, said her product filled a distinctly female niche.
"Normally when people think of carrying concealed, they think of a special purse or perhaps a briefcase or a fanny pack. But that's not really on you," she said. "If you're in a dangerous situation and you lose your purse, rarely will somebody think of checking to see if you're wearing your gun between your breasts."
Her bra holster runs about $30 and holds a .38 special snubnose snugly in the cleavage.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
jsmyth@plaind.com, 1-800-228-8272
As the bill these people are debating seems to be extremely restrictive, it might be best if it fails and Ohio gets defacto Vermont style concealed carry.
This seems to be one of those products that works great for some people, and not at all for others. For me, I find it uncomfortable to sit with, and no matter what pants I try, the holster prints and makes me look like I'm wearing some sort of rather private medical device. But like I said, I know a couple of people who have had great success with it.
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