"For a moment he felt good about this. A moment or two later he felt bad about feeling good about it. Then he felt good about feeling bad about feeling good about it and, satisfied, drove on into the night."
-- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy --
I go to great lengths so that most people don’t know that I am carrying a gun to begin with. This eliminates many of the conversations that are thinly veiled attempts at starting an argument.
I have had on occasion genuine people pose this question to me. My response is usually some form of the flat tire analogy. I carry a spare tire and a jack in my car, even though I haven’t had a flat tire on my car in about 15-20 years. But if I stopped carryinga spare tire and a jack, I have no doubt that I’ll end up running over a nail at some point.
I carry a gun for the same reason. I live my personal (non-work) life in such a manner that midigates the risk of confrontation, and I maintain some sense of situational awareness when going about my daily life. But I carry a gun, just in case I run into a nail...
Same here, but I wish I could say the same about the avoidance at my family gatherings. I used to let the anti-2A rhetoric ride, but with the current election result trends I can no longer do so.
I too try avoid the discussions and never start them, but am not adverse to challenging the hoplophobic when I feel there is some ground to be re-taken.
Personal experience.
Before working a nice office job, I worked in places that brought me in regular contact with the rougher side of society.
If anyone thinks predators and victim-makers don't exist or are extremely rare, my experience says otherwise.
If you assume working your nice job and living in your nice neighborhood will mean you never come in contact with them, I hope you are right. I personally choose not to count on it.
It only takes one encounter to change your life for the worse.
Definitely practice situational awareness and avoidance. Stay out of the places where trouble hangs out. I just know sometimes trouble can wander.
The question doesn't come up much anymore, but when it does, I just tell folks I carry a gun "cause you never can tell when you might run into somebody (or something) that needs shootin'".
Regional Government Sales Manager for Aimpoint, Inc. USA
Co-owner Hardwired Tactical Shooting (HiTS)
The question is usually a challenge by most. You can easily discern a real question for interest and info. For the negatively biased question, I state there are folks in the world who don't like people like me and I have met them before.
What's fascinating to me is when I get this question from fellow LEOs, asking why I'm armed off duty. Sigh...
Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.