TwitchALot
June 23, 2008, 06:45 PM
Disclaimer:
I’ve talked about firearms more than once before, mostly online. Recently, I had a discussion with a good friend of mine about firearms and carrying over a snack, and when I got home and took my EDC out of my pockets, a strange idea struck my mind. I stared at my key chain for a while as the light bulb began shine. I started typing away.
I typed and typed, erased and erased, and eventually, I ended up with a pseudo story-rebuttal-answer to the infamous question along the lines of, “why do you feel the need to carry a gun”? It’s meant to be read, but some of the statements here can most certainly be used in a conversation. I hope you will all enjoy it and use some of the things I came up with to promote the right to keep and bear arms in you future ventures.
Sincerely,
TwitchALot
“Why I Carry a Gun”
The question has often been asked, “Why do you need to carry a gun?” You’ll never need it, some say. You’re just being paranoid, others say.
To those who ask this kind of question, or frown upon free citizens keeping and bearing arms for their personal use, I must ask, “do you think it is a good idea for citizens to learn and know CPR?”
Some will say no, using the same reasoning. But then, they probably didn’t know that, “it is estimated (http://www.cdc.gov/HeartDisease/facts.htm) that about 47% of cardiac deaths occur before emergency services or transport to a hospital." They also probably didn’t know that in 2002, almost a third of Americans who lost their lives lost them to heart disease. That’s about 700,000 people. Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, grandparents, loved ones.
Most people, however, will probably say yes. But then I must ask— “how many people do you know have performed CPR in an attempt to save someone else’s life, outside of professional duties”? Most will give a very low number, often zero. And true enough, it is improbable that an average person will perform CPR in an attempt to save someone’s life, outside of professional duties.
It is at this point that I take out of my pocket my keys, and attached to those keys, my disposable CPR rescue mask. I hold it up to the skeptic and say, “I am CPR certified by the American Safety and Health Institute. This is a disposable CPR rescue mask. Do you know why I am CPR certified, and why I carry this rescue mask wherever I go”? They shrug.
”I carry this CPR mask because even though I will probably never have to use it, and even though I never hope to, some day, I may have to use this rescue mask in an attempt to save someone else’s life.
For a person on the verge of death because of a heart problem, every second counts. But the paramedics, who have with them a crucial, life-saving tool— the defibrillator—, will be minutes away. And without that defibrillator, “the chances of survival decrease (http://www.redcrossstl.org/Press/tabid/58/ctl/ViewItem/mid/794/ItemId/2324/Default.aspx) by approximately 10 percent with each minute that passes.” Using CPR alone, I only have about a five to ten percent chance (http://www.webmd.com/news/20010514/real-cpr-isnt-everything-seems-to-be) of saving that person’s life.
I also am trained in the use of firearms, and I carry one for a similar reason. Although I will probably never have to use it, and though I never hope to use it when I walk out the door every day, some day, I may have to use it in an attempt to save my own life.
And if I am facing the threat of grievous bodily harm or death by an assailant, every second counts. But the police, who have with them a crucial, life-saving tool— the gun—, will be minutes away. And without that gun, the odds of me saving my own life, or the lives of those I care about, have gone down dramatically as well.
So why do I carry a gun wherever I go? I carry a gun for the same reason I carry a CPR mask. To save lives.
I carry a CPR mask so that some day, if I ever have to use it, I can hopefully save someone else’s life. I carry a gun, so that some day, if I ever have to use it, I can save my own.”
I’ve talked about firearms more than once before, mostly online. Recently, I had a discussion with a good friend of mine about firearms and carrying over a snack, and when I got home and took my EDC out of my pockets, a strange idea struck my mind. I stared at my key chain for a while as the light bulb began shine. I started typing away.
I typed and typed, erased and erased, and eventually, I ended up with a pseudo story-rebuttal-answer to the infamous question along the lines of, “why do you feel the need to carry a gun”? It’s meant to be read, but some of the statements here can most certainly be used in a conversation. I hope you will all enjoy it and use some of the things I came up with to promote the right to keep and bear arms in you future ventures.
Sincerely,
TwitchALot
“Why I Carry a Gun”
The question has often been asked, “Why do you need to carry a gun?” You’ll never need it, some say. You’re just being paranoid, others say.
To those who ask this kind of question, or frown upon free citizens keeping and bearing arms for their personal use, I must ask, “do you think it is a good idea for citizens to learn and know CPR?”
Some will say no, using the same reasoning. But then, they probably didn’t know that, “it is estimated (http://www.cdc.gov/HeartDisease/facts.htm) that about 47% of cardiac deaths occur before emergency services or transport to a hospital." They also probably didn’t know that in 2002, almost a third of Americans who lost their lives lost them to heart disease. That’s about 700,000 people. Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, grandparents, loved ones.
Most people, however, will probably say yes. But then I must ask— “how many people do you know have performed CPR in an attempt to save someone else’s life, outside of professional duties”? Most will give a very low number, often zero. And true enough, it is improbable that an average person will perform CPR in an attempt to save someone’s life, outside of professional duties.
It is at this point that I take out of my pocket my keys, and attached to those keys, my disposable CPR rescue mask. I hold it up to the skeptic and say, “I am CPR certified by the American Safety and Health Institute. This is a disposable CPR rescue mask. Do you know why I am CPR certified, and why I carry this rescue mask wherever I go”? They shrug.
”I carry this CPR mask because even though I will probably never have to use it, and even though I never hope to, some day, I may have to use this rescue mask in an attempt to save someone else’s life.
For a person on the verge of death because of a heart problem, every second counts. But the paramedics, who have with them a crucial, life-saving tool— the defibrillator—, will be minutes away. And without that defibrillator, “the chances of survival decrease (http://www.redcrossstl.org/Press/tabid/58/ctl/ViewItem/mid/794/ItemId/2324/Default.aspx) by approximately 10 percent with each minute that passes.” Using CPR alone, I only have about a five to ten percent chance (http://www.webmd.com/news/20010514/real-cpr-isnt-everything-seems-to-be) of saving that person’s life.
I also am trained in the use of firearms, and I carry one for a similar reason. Although I will probably never have to use it, and though I never hope to use it when I walk out the door every day, some day, I may have to use it in an attempt to save my own life.
And if I am facing the threat of grievous bodily harm or death by an assailant, every second counts. But the police, who have with them a crucial, life-saving tool— the gun—, will be minutes away. And without that gun, the odds of me saving my own life, or the lives of those I care about, have gone down dramatically as well.
So why do I carry a gun wherever I go? I carry a gun for the same reason I carry a CPR mask. To save lives.
I carry a CPR mask so that some day, if I ever have to use it, I can hopefully save someone else’s life. I carry a gun, so that some day, if I ever have to use it, I can save my own.”
