Another factor- I spend a good part of the year outside the USA in a gun free zone. When I'm back in the states, it just feels good to be able to exercise a right I don't have anywhere else.
Another factor- I spend a good part of the year outside the USA in a gun free zone. When I'm back in the states, it just feels good to be able to exercise a right I don't have anywhere else.
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
I'll echo all of the previous posts as they have stated very well much of my thinking on this topic.
In addition, I've heard it reported many times that so-and-so was a nice quiet guy that no one knew very well and ended up shooting up a store, company, theater, neighborhood....you name it. While most people have the moral understanding that killing another person is not socially acceptable, there are those seemingly normal people that can snap and kill. Terrorist attacks seem more frequent these days also. You really just never know in the times we live in. So I choose to be prepared in many ways including carrying a firearm to protect myself and my family.
I know the battle belongs to the Lord, but He also gives us the tools we need to fight the good fight.
Jesus paid a debt he did not owe,
Because I owed a debt I could not pay.
1. Because a right not exercised is lost.
2. Because I alone am responsible for my security.
3. Because cops will be there in time to investigate, but not help.
4. Because I suck at Jiu Jitsu, Muy, Thai, Boxing and wrestling.
I'll answer from the POV of a former LEO...now retired from that work.
I never really considered a career in L.E. or carrying a gun daily until, when I was in my early 20's, a gal I had cared for deeply but broken up with recently, was attacked and severely beaten in Brooklyn during a mugging.
Long story short is that the cops investigating the matter caught me taking down some info on potential suspects from mug books and info she was shown during the course of investigation. They braced me and said if I cared so much about getting the guys responsible that I should do it the right way and join the department.
I guess I've always had a bit of the sheepdog in me, for good or bad, smart or stupid, and I figured if I was going to continue getting involved in the problems of others, that fighting in the dojo alone wasn't going to cut it.
Now that I no longer am involved in L.E., I carry because I can't bear to watch the innocent become victims of violence...and if I can do something about it, I will if circumstances permit. (Even if that means simply being a good witness.)
I'm perfectly happy to never have to draw a weapon for the rest of my days, but I want to be there for my wife, and those I care about if need be.
There's nothing civil about this war.
Thanks, folks, for the replies. I truly appreciate each of them.
I'm reading carefully and noting where themes seem to emerge.
Originally Posted by GearFondler
I completely understand and appreciate this sort of realism. At the same time, I need to remind myself always to be clear and mindful of what is possible vs. what is likely. There's an important mean to be struck here: In my experience, the world is mostly a beautiful place, yet we need to prepare for its ugliness. However, I also know that if too many of my waking hours are consumed by those preparations, the quality of the lives I am working so mightily to protect can actually be lessened.
By the way, welcome! You've found an amazing resource.
And honored to prompt your first post!
Many thanks sir.
The best looking armor doesn't deserve victory
Thanks, NH Shooter. (I’ve got family in Alexandria.)
To dive a little deeper:
1. States allow us a whole bunch of things we don’t take them up on. Why do you take NH up on CCW?
2. We enjoy lots of hobbies, the tools of which we don't carry on a daily basis. Why handgunning?
3. There are many items that are not inconvenient to carry and could potentially save your life. Why a gun in particular?
I too was trained as a philosopher, by Jesuits initially.
I have been assaulted more than once, and shot at once. I’m alive because that person wasn’t a good enough shot under pressure. I have never forgotten the way it felt to be unarmed and without recourse in that situation. Never again, if I can help it.
My spouse has been assaulted as well, and we have been harassed and assaulted together just for holding hands in public.
She and I have learned, as many women do, how to be observant, aware, to de-escalate, avoid, defuse, escape. But I train and carry in case those fail.
i enjoy shooting sports and competitive sports in general, and appreciate firearms as machines as well, but I play pistol games in order to be better if there is a need (which is why I compete with what I carry).
I confess my first thought was to simply bless your heart and move on.
Having the proper tools, along with the will and the skill to deploy them as required, gives one choices that they do not otherwise have without said tools. I like having choices.
You dismissed certain notions to include the one below as a bromide." In my direct and vicarious experience, there is often truth in a "bromide." The fact that you do not find them helpful or that you think the world is a fundamentally happy place filled with good people is not particularly relevant in the moment:
Tom Given taught me this:
It is not the odds but rather the stakes...
Jeff Cooper taught those who taught me:
Statistics are of little comfort when you are the notable exception...
Which, I and many others have distilled to this:
In the moment, the why of what is happening to you/yours is not nearly as important as the what --and WHAT are you PREPARED to do about it, in the moment.
I have trained enough to KNOW what I can do cold at 1/3/5/7/10 yards etc. with a mind toward being able to deal with the most likely case -dealing with something at a stop and rob or a disgruntled defendant and/or associate.
and the worst case-somebody trying to take one or both of my kids away in front of me.
Nobody can take care of you and yours better than you. Period. End of subject. Full stop.
When you take the spare out of your car, stop wearing your seat belt, unhook your smoke alarms, remove the fire extinguisher from under the sink, strip your first aid kits down to the itchy/scratchy level, stop locking your car and house doors-we can talk...otherwise... tell your story walking.
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