You misunderstood me. I'm saying that I know lots of court people - but not in SC. You said "all of" the people and I said that was not my experience - out here on the West Coast.
That's all I meant. It had nothing to do with whether AM is licensed to carry, but whether your perception of whether people tell whether they are carrying. You said "I have associations with local court folk, and local LE. With the state of things in that field, the rule of thumb is to always carry, tell no one.."
I only meant that where I live, people are pretty open about whether they have a permit. No one can go into my place of work with a gun, without a permit, and they have to have special permission (which is mediated by managers - so all the managers know, which means everyone knows...)
In fact, in my county, you can ask the Sheriff for the public list of people licensed to carry (concealed - no open carry here). So it's not kept on the down low everywhere.