The "why do you feel the need to carry" thread. News reports, incidences & such...

I always say that it serves a similar purpose as a seat belt, fire extinguisher, spare tire, savings account, homeowner's insurance, jumper cables, credit card, door locks etc.

I always cite the Kommisarjevsky and Hayes murders in Connecticut, and the massacre of the five women in the Lane Bryant clothing store in Tinley Park, Illinois, which by the way happened just up the road from where my mother lives.

Anybody who relies upon either the common decency of violent criminals or the "protection" of the police for their personal safety might as well find the closest set of railroad tracks and lie down on them.

I always ask them if they wear their seatbelts, and have airbags in their car.

Works on 2 fronts.

First, because you have a seatbelt or airbag does not make you want to run into a tree to see them work.

Second, despite a low risk of crash, nobody is willing to do without.

Also can go into, well if you need them for the interstate because that is the most likely place you'll need them, why drive in such a dangerous place. Should you not just avoid the interstate altogether!?

That being said, 10 years ago, I WAS that guy. I would have asked you why you needed one. I would have thrown the entire anti-2A schpeal. I was actually the worst kind cause I owned 12 gauge shotguns and would hammer you on your right for a handgun. So I always feel there is hope for a lot of folks to see the light.

Because I have opposable thumbs.

A firearm is an irreplaceable tool, just like a pocket knife, first aid kit and the extra $20 I keep in my wallet for emergencies. I wasn't born with spots, claws, spray, fangs or wings - but I am able to differentiate between the best tool available to save my life in a given situation and an empty pair of hands.

so me and mine may make it home safely if need be,

and anyone else that is with us at the time

I believe he was looking for events, etc....
Because a guy was killed where I fill up my cars and truck with gas a few weeks ago. (This was the most recent event!)

So.... It is all about wanting to get home safely.

Let's keep this discussion on The High Road, gang.

I find Suzanna Graria Hupp's testimony compelling, and I have found that many anti's that view it find it thought-provoking enough to re-consider their preconceptions also:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1u0Byq5Qis

Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Need I say more?

I carry therefore I am

I point to the murder of Eve Carson. She was killed less than thirty minutes from my home. She was student body president of her college. She was one mile away from campus wen she was car jacked, robbed, and murdered. They kept her alive long enough to get the password to her ATM. (IF she had been armed would that have been long enough to save her life?) Then they shot her several times. They even blasted her in the head with a short barrel shotgun.

ETA:
She was actually abducted from her home near campus. They forced her to go to the bank and withdraw money from the ATM. Then they dropped her off a mile from campus. That is where they shot her 4 times with a .25 auto and once with a sawed off shotgun. I didn't know that untill today.

Eve Carson Murder

Time Line of Crime

Let us not forget that the judicial system often fails to do its job properly. That is the main reason that Eve Carson died and the reason I refuse to rely on them for protection.

March 3, 2008:
Demario James Atwater, 21, appears in Wake County court for a probation hearing stemming from a Feb. 20 arrest, but the case is continued until March 31 because of a clerical error.

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Eve Carson was murdered two days later.

May 21:
A report by Durham City Manager Patrick Baker reveals that Lovette should have been in jail at the time of Carson's slaying but was not because police didn't file appropriate charges against him during a November break-in.

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I also point out the fact that I spend a lot of time in a city that routinely ranks between 90th and 107th on a list of the most dangerous citys in the country. I even have to take my child with me in to that same city for doctor apointments, shopping, and family visits.

I carry "because I can". End of story.....chris3

It improves my gait.

It's been repeated ad nauseum, but "when seconds count...the police are minutes away."

I had a close friend who was against concealed carry. He and his wife were nearly victims of a home invasion. Only a neighbor pulling into an adjacent driveway scared the guy off. My friend admired to me that he finally "got" that saying. He told me he realized that as he was staring at this guy face to face, about to barge through his french doors. He said he felt rather helpless knowing it may take an LEO several minutes to get there when the only thing between himself (and his wife) and this knife-wielding guy was a telephone and a pane of glass. He now has his concealed handgun permit and is seeking defensive classes.

Because unfortuantely, there are people out there who want to kill you and your family...but the analogy of the seatbealt and the airbag is a flawless argument. Most people would not even think of not having them, despite the low risk of needing them

The Luby's restaurant shooting in Texas. An active shooter running around the UT campus and nearby areas in the last 60 days (he only shot himself, no other injuries). And sadly, google church shootings and you'll find there are quite a few. So for those that think they're at least safe when they go to worship, they're wrong too.

An active shooter running around the UT campus and nearby areas in the last 60 days (he only shot himself, no other injuries)

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Unfortunately, as you can't legally carry on a school (barring specific situations, e.g. locked in your car; permission to take it to a related class, etc.), this would have been a moot point.

wrs840, great testimony in that link. I particularly liked the "I'm not mad at the man, I'm not mad at the guns, I am mad at the legislature who made it illegal for me to defend myself or my family" as well as the "You say 'no legitimate sporting/hunting use', but that's not what 2A is about." She was a very smart woman.

Gauronga, very apt analogy about the seat belts and airbags. Although consider that a lot of people think "You're more likely to live if thrown from the car if it sets on fire" and "Airbags can break your neck".

I actually decided to carry (I've always been into guns) because of Security+. For those who don't know what that is, it is actually a CompTIA certification for computer technicians, with a focus on security (including physical security). One of the things in the book is formulae for finding out whether a security measure is cost effective, based on multiple factors (frequency of problem, loss per occurrence, cost of security measure). The way I figure it, for under $1000, I get - a home defense weapon (I have homeowner's and life insurance, but it can't protect information or give me a new life), a carry weapon (see life insurance), and a cool range toy. On the flip side, I could save less than a grand and possibly get killed.

1. Because actual evil exists.
2. Because when the S hits the F, it will happen in a blink and come at you from the blind side.
3. Because when you need a gun nothing else will do.

Unfortunately, as you can't legally carry on a school (barring specific situations, e.g. locked in your car; permission to take it to a related class, etc.), this would have been a moot point.

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That entirely depends on your state laws. In many states it IS legal to be armed while on the grounds of a school -- and in even more it is legal to be armed while on the property of a college or university.

The federal "Guns Free Schools" law is trumped by state carry permits/licenses in many instances. Unfortunately there's a hitch in that as it doesn't apply to anyone outside their home state, regardless of whether they have a non-resident's permit.

I ask them why they DON'T carry.

I won't feel the need until the need arises. In the mean time, I'm prepared and won't feel empty handed when the need does arise.

Woody

The people that do know that I carry usually don't ask, but the few that have asked I have given them these reasons.

- I can
- I travel for work
- I work in some not so friendly places and sometimes at night
- I've been the victim of theft more than once
- I've been the victim of armed robbery one time (no shots fired)
- I have an old friend that was shot in the neck while at a convenience store when it was being robbed (he was a customer and he survived)

I carry because I live in Wayne county,MI.

I used to use the seatbelt analogy but it never seemed to get through - most people are locked into their thinking that guns are dangerous and therefore bad. So, now I tell them that I carry a gun because I have a small weiner. That generally ends the discussion.