Does a national incident change your carry habits?

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riceboy72

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Greetings everyone,

A coworker and I were talking while watching today's events in DC unfold and got around to talking about whether or not it'd change how/what/when/where/why we carry.

So it got me to thinking:

Does a national incident change your carry habits?

By this, I mean after a mass shooting such as <insert whatever one you wish>, do you tend to change the way you carry or arm yourself daily? Do you carry more magazines or ammunition? Carry a long gun in the car? Buy a long gun if you don't have one? Change your long gun? Buy a better pistol than the one you have now? If you don't normally carry, does an event like today make you carry daily?

If so, how long does this 'change' last? Or is it status quo for you, where you change nothing and if anything, just increase your vigilance?

For me, nothing changes. While I don't have every gun I want, I won't go out tomorrow and hit stores looking for an AR or go put 100 miles on my car trying to find ammo. I carry on a daily basis except where I'm not allowed, and have no plans to augment or add to my gear just because of a national incident.

Curiosity strikes me tonight after watching the TV in the corner all day. I'm interested to hear your answers.
 
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Yeah CZ, I'm pretty much the same way. I carry whenever it's legal to already so not much change there. I suspect that's the way a lot of people around here are.
 
Unfortunately I work at a defense-free zone, so I am pretty much stuck. I began carrying only because I concluded (after terrorism 9/11) that I was cowardly depending on others, much younger than I, rather than being willing to help defend THEM.

The worst part is that I cannot even cache a firearm in my vehicle due to the nature of where I work. I do at these times consider finding a different place to park (which would be difficult) so that I might be able to atleast have one available for commuting. I'm more concerned about riots, low probability but high impact events.
 
I work in a gun-free victim zone. A couple years ago, a co-worker went off his medication and started behaving very erratically. He verbally threatened another co-worker and the base cops were called. They found a loaded handgun under the seat of his car in the parking lot. Had things gone a slightly different way, the cops might not have been called until the shooting started and then there could have been a lot of dead people. For me, carry at work is not an option and there's not much I can do about it.
 
A tragic event like yesterday's reinforces my daily carry habits. There will always be crazy people looking for opportunities to act crazy. That is why we are compelled to always be exceedingly mature and prepared.
 
I am struck by an irony here.

The OP's question is simple, well presented, and one dimensional (which is perfectly fine). The answers that followed were also simple, one dimensional (again fine), and appropriate. I too, will not change my carry habits as a result of this. In my case, I cannot possess a firearm at work so I do not. The risk of discovery and termination DRAMATICALLY outweighs the one-in-a-million chance that a threat will present itself AND that I am in a position to use my firearm to save my life and/or the life of others. So I do the math and don't risk it.

But that's not the irony. The irony comes in when the additional dimension is raised "what would you do?" in these situations. A great number of "run and hide like everybody else, carrying a gun doesn't change anything", or "I'd save me and mine only", "you never stand a chance", "you'd be more likely to shoot the wrong person" -type responses would be sure to follow that question.

But the OP didn't ask "what would you do". So: Nope, I carry the same.
 
No, not at all. A mass shooting typically involves a sick individual that just randomly sprays rounds, or specific targets. I have always felt that if I carry even a single shot, a well thought out, and placed shot will end the incident. I am not for just hammering out shots, in hopes that one connects. I am sure in a panic situation things may be different, but until that happens, I hold my own theory. So for me I'll continue my routine of carrying whatever I put on for the day, be it a derringer, or a full size 1911, either way 7 rounds would be plenty IMHO...
 
Actually, these kind of incidents tend to prevent carry-practice changes for me. Every now and then, I start considering stepping down from my 9mm subcompact to my P32 for further ease of carry. But, these types of incidents seem almost to occur just often enough to stop me from doing that.
 
Depending on the severity (like 9/11), I might change my activities or the places I might avoid, but I wouldn't really change my carrying habits. I also carry nearly everywhere.
 
Events such as this make me want to carry all the more; however...

Most of the places where I perform work or engage in voluntary service activities are places where the carrying of firearms is disallowed or discouraged, so I already don't carry as much as I'd like to.

This most recent event, as most, occurred in such a place.
 
I always carry everywhere that I can legally do so regardless of the frequency or infrequency of these incidents.

I work at the Washington Navy Yard where this happened but in a different building. Thankfully I was at an off site location yesterday or I too would have been one of those disarmed defenseless employees in that locked down environment.
 
Lex Luthier said:
A tragic event like yesterday's reinforces my daily carry habits. There will always be crazy people looking for opportunities to act crazy. That is why we are compelled to always be exceedingly mature and prepared.
Click to expand...

I couldn't put it any better.

JBrown, I'm glad you are okay.
 
Yes, it changes how and when I carry - because I will look to avoid these hunting grounds even more in the future. As soon as the public becomes actively engaged in avoidance, then the policy of being "gun free" will start being viewed as a negative.

Don't go to gun free zones, if there is business to conduct, attempt to do it by any other means, and if asked, be polite and up front about it. Then you will force those in charge to start to think and review the policy - which, as we all know, doesn't work one bit.

It's the flawed acceptance of "I can't do anything about it." that is perpetuating the issue. Yes, you CAN do something about it - minimize YOUR risk of being in a zone where it IS demonstrably MORE dangerous that the city street.

Stop letting other people jerk your chain - they really have no right to tell you you can't carry, so stop letting them schedule and direct your activities in places where they can enforce it, and even cut your paycheck out from under you.

Here's an example - we all like to attend our children's school activities - we homeschooled. Our activities were 100% off public school grounds, because even tho we still pay our taxes, we are usually discriminated against having free access for meetings on site. In light of the risk, why go there anyway? If you have a parent - teacher meeting, ask the teacher for an off site place to discuss things. They will ask why, and you don't have to go any further than "It's a known shooting zone." You don't have to win the argument, just bring it up every time.

It's called civil disobedience - be civil, be calm, polite, rational, be repetitive and don't let up. "I don't want to meet you at a known place where victims are disarmed, Ms Peabody, can't we meet someplace else?" Every time.

Bluntly, 40 million gun owners are VOLUNTEERING to sit in the back of the bus and meekly taking it. When do you start asking to have YOUR rights respected?
 
No....doesn't change what I do.

I wouldn't term this a 'national incident'. It only happened in the one place.
This was a 'local incident' which the press has once again turned into a circus.

.
 
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