It really is difficult to legally carry a firearm in many states, particularly eastern ones. I have an old friend from highschool (though I have not seen him in a few years) who spent 48 hours in jail in Washington, DC about 30 years ago for the mistake of accidentally having a handgun in the trunk of his car as he was passing through the area. He was stopped for a traffic violation, asked if he there was a weapon in the car, told the truth, and the next thing he knew he was face down on the pavement being hand cuffed.
On a side note he was in college student at the time, and in the Army Reserve, 5th generation military, joined National Guard when he was 17, switched to Army Reserve when he was 20, as he wanted to do both Air Assault school and Airborne school, before getting his commission, a few months after this incident he received his regular army commission. He just retired last year as a full colonel. I asked him over the years if that incident ever had any effect on his military career, and he always said no, that the Army thought it was stupid given they trusted him to command M2 Bradleys at the time of the incident.
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