does having a gun influence your decision making?

[kyo]

posted by "The_Real_Mags"
The question you need to ask yourself is what would you do if you were not packing? The fact that you are carrying a firearm should never influence your decisions. Also you should never draw your weapon unless you are prepared to pull the trigger not to "arrest" someone or hold them at gunpoint. I conceal carry everywhere I can legally and the only time someone will know I am carrying is when I pull the trigger.


I read this and decided that a new thread would be worthy, if I am wrong, sorry. Anyway, I disagree with this quote. If I was not packing, I wouldn't go to downtown Atlanta even if i had to.
I believe that people who are used to carrying are going to be less likely to go somewhere in general without their firearm. Am I wrong?

 

[B BRI]

kyo, while I agree with you on your point, I think The_Real_Mags hits another valid point.

It is critical that when you are carrying concealed, to know that you are ONLY doing so legally to protect yourself and your family from harm. Today's society is quick to sue anyone that they feel is in the wrong and intervening without do cause could land you in a world of hurt.

I CC most of the time, only not when I know I am going to somewhere it is prohibited, and then it is in my car for when I get back to it. I choose not to go where I cannot protect myself and my family.

I also do some volunteer law enforcement and open carry in uniform when doing so. This is mainly in situations that require a large prescence of uniformed officers. That being said, when doing so I will NOT go anywhere if I can help it without at least one other uniformed officer.

Either way, while legally in the right, I chose not to put myself into situations that could leave me vunerable.

 

[IdahoLT1]

Most people should answer yes. How many people would stop a criminal thats robbing a gas station at knife point or gun point when they werent carrying? Now if you were carrying, how many would intervene?

Carrying a firearm influences my decisions as well.

 

[Straight Shooter]

No, I would not go somewhere just because I'm armed. In other words if I would not go there unarmed, carrying would not change that. If you decide to go somewhere that you believe to be dangerous just because you are armed, all you are doing is increasing the probability that you will need to use your weapon.

Also I disagree with the premise that if you have to draw your gun that you must pull the trigger. If you decide to draw your gun you must be prepared to pull the trigger but you may not need to. You need to continually assess the situation.

 

[cauberallies]

Yes it does affect my decision making, but in the exact opposite way. If I have a gun, avoiding any sort of situation that could put me at risk of having to use it is front and center in my mind. I mean, I always avoid potentially bad situations, but when I have a gun, I feel the weight of the responsibility on my shoulders, and my number one priority is to keep safe and avoid when possible, but at the same time always be mentally prepared to use it if it comes down to it.

 

[smktr8]

Yes it dose to me I think about things more if there is a bad situation going on I pay more attition to every thing and am more carfull. It makes me more stand offish I think. Just because I have it dose not make me think I should go to spots that I would not normaly go with or with out my family. Somone also talk about a store being robed at knfie point as long as the person dose not try to use the knife who cares its not my money thats what the cops are for let them earn there check.

 

[ChaoSS]

Well, it doesn't mean you should go wandering about downtown Detroit in the middle of the night with a KKK shirt on, but yes, it should affect your decision making capabilities. It's a tool, it doesn't make you rambo, but it does affect your ability to defend yourself should the need arise.

 

[mrt949]

YES .You must think about your actions before you do sonething STUPID .BULLET'S are not like words they stop at nothing.

 

[wankerjake]

If I was not packing, I wouldn't go to downtown Atlanta even if i had to.

I'm pretty sure i wouldn't go there even if I was packing!

 

[Old Fuff]

I don't always carry, but when I do I keep in mind that having a weapon imposes some special responsibilities. I don't for example, drink. This is not because a drink or two would lay me out, but rather that if I do have to use the gun I don't want any alcohol to show up in a test. I also keep in mind that concealed means concealed, and keep it that way to avoid any unnecessary incidents that might occur if the gun was accidentally detected. Last but not least, I don't draw unless it is absolutely necessary to protect my life or someone else’s. When I'm not carrying I can ignore most of these considerations.

 

[Walkalong]

Of course.

 

[scottaschultz]

The fact that you are carrying a firearm should never influence your decisions.

I agree with this 100%. A gun isn't meant to empower you. It is meant to protect you in case you encounter a situation where your life might be endangered. If you wouldn't go someplace without a gun, why would you go there with a gun?

Scott

 

[moooose102]

since i have no intention of using my (ccw) weapon for anything but self-defense, it has no bearing on my decision making. i still err on the safe side, just as i would if i did not have a gun with me. it makes me no more bold or less intimidated. it is simply there in the case of something strange happening that i could otherwise not get out of alive.

 

[ChCx2744]

BAH! Not only should you carry a gun everywhere you go, carry a knife too.

On a serious note, I really could not say...True, a gun should not effect any decision you make, because the gun does not think for you...You CHOOSE to USE the gun. I couldn't imagine going anywhere without my gun or knife...My gun(s) and I are literally inseperable...(Is that even a word..?)

 

[danbrew]

I've always thought the following was good advice:

"If you won't go there without a gun, you shouldn't be going there anyway."

There are folks that will cry about civil liberties and the fact that this is America and one can travel wherever he wants. True, but as the guy above posted, would you walk around downtown Detroit at 2:00a with a KKK shirt? It's certainly your right to do so - this is America, after all. But you'd probably not make it out alive. As my granny said, "Being right doesn't mean you're not dead" when you make poor decisions.

 

[wvshooter]

I've had my CCL for about three years now. When I started carrying I made a committment to be armed at all times. That's inside the house, outside the house and anytime I go anywhere. I find myself very uncomfortable unless I am armed. Has it become a crutch? Yes, in the sense that I feel like I have a fighting chance whatever might happen. It certainly adds to my confidence. Does it affect my decisions about where I will go? Yes. I would under no circumstances go downtown after dark to see a movie at the downtown theater unless I was armed. I've done that a couple times during the last two years but only because I was confident knowing what was on my hip. The gun in addition to high sitiuational awareness made the movie possible.

 

[chuckusaret]

If I was not packing, I wouldn't go to downtown Atlanta even if I had to.

Yes, If I have a problem it does make me think a little more before I take any type of defensive action or aggressive action. A few years past I had to take an exam to renew my 1st class FCC license and was told to take it in Atlanta and I would get the results in a timelier manner. But, the guy failed to tell me how bad the crime was in Atlanta. I was waylaid numerous times by blacks in the parking lot and on my route to the building where I was to take the test. I was called many names for not donating to their drug/booze fund. If there is to be a war between the races it will start in Atlanta. All the black scumbags of the world must congregate there.

 

[ChCx2744]

chuck, I know exactly what you mean...Trust me, I run the beats there every night of my life lol...I wouldn't be in those streets unless I was armed with at least an extra mag...I really wouldn't be in that area in the first place, unless it was Atlantic Station, the courts or for some sort of legal duty.

 

[MMCSRET]

yes, it does influence my decisions. I hate cell phones(probably the only inanimate object in the world that I do hate), so I don't carry one any more often than I judge necessary. I was questioned about this societal anomaly recently by a young woman in a check out register in Sears, I simply replied that I carried a gun and can get a cell phone if I really need one. She was still standing with her mouth hanging open when I picked up my change and merchandise and walked away while the next customer was trying to get her attention.

 

[Pistol Toter]

Maturity counts more than a gun!

I’m pretty much always armed and further I will admit to being so before I could legally do so or I held a permit. I don’t know that the possession of a gun / weapon has made as much difference as maturing. Some of that maturing has been a natural understanding even in youth: a significant portion has come with ageing. As a young man, I wasn’t afraid of the devil himself and backed away from no man. I would stand toe to toe slap you three times and kick you in both shins faster than greased lightening. However as I have, shall we say matured in years, there is a remarkable degradation in the reflexes and stamina and the willingness to accept the pain and agony of defeat and pain as well as the ability to withstand what ever befalls me after an altercation. I am still armed, presently with a .45acp auto, but I no longer go where angels fear to tread. If it isn’t reasonably safe to go, I don’t go. If I must go, you can bet I am armed to the teeth and loaded for bear. I involve myself in no altercation unless it directly affects me and/or my wife or family. To me it is clearly not worth even the potential of a protracted legal battle. Having the gun only makes me further measure my vulnerability, while, very much in touch that I have the absolute potential power to alter a bad situation. It that permit and gun give you the feeling of absolute power and supremacy over your environs; I say you are a fool! If it says to you that I will not go quietly into the night as a dumb sheep or goat to slaughter, but that I will make a showing for myself and my loved-ones; then I say, you are wiser and a more mature individual. I believe that you have the right of self preservation and protection but it goes no further than that. The permit only allows you to be armed without fear of being charged with “Going Armed” or some like warrant. I flee from the possibility of being in a bad or wrong place at a given time. I flee from a fight if possible. I fight valiantly, gallantly and with ferocity and the determination to win when necessary. So to ask, “has the gun made any difference?” I can only answer that it has in my aging state when my hands or a club will no longer do the job. Being foolish is stupid and measuring and picking the place and state of your battles is wisdom.
Regards
P.T.

 

[ccw_steve]

I definitely think that getting my CCW license affected my judgements. I try harder every day to follow the law, right down to speed limits.

But does the act of carrying a weapon change my judgement? No! Like others have posted, if I wouldn't go there without a gun, I won't go there WITH a gun.

And to address a point made on post #2, I don't think that self defense is the only valid reason to CCW. I carry partly because I think that if we don't exercise our rights, we will lose them!

 

[danprkr]

Yes it does affect my decision making, but in the exact opposite way. If I have a gun, avoiding any sort of situation that could put me at risk of having to use it is front and center in my mind. I mean, I always avoid potentially bad situations, but when I have a gun, I feel the weight of the responsibility on my shoulders, and my number one priority is to keep safe and avoid when possible, but at the same time always be mentally prepared to use it if it comes down to it.

Ditto

 

[leadcounsel]

Of course it affects my decision making. I feel safer and have more liberty to travel freely without as much concern for my safety - eg into the city, across country, into stores (eg Walmart) late at night if needed, and places that I should feel free to go but wouldn't otherwise unless I was armed.

After CCWing for many years, I honestly don't know how people feel okay just going around completely defenseless!!

I also think about what I would do in various situations while armed. It makes me a more responsible and courteous driver (I don't want to get pulled over, so I don't speed, etc.).

 

[goon]

Carrying a gun or not DOES influence my decision.
If I see someone walking along the road or broke down and I have a gun on me, I'm more likely to stop to help.
Not being armed won't necessarily stop me from helping someone out - its a situational thing. But being armed means I know that my chances of getting out alive are a lot better. The risk to me is greatly reduced.

 

[Claude Clay]

i have it if i need it but

i ain't want'n to tempt that need