Don't Carry at Home?

[rhubarb]

I started reading about guns and self-defense only a few months ago. My interest was triggered by yet another news story on a home invasion in the area. At the time I had never owned a gun, although I had shot guns and hunted when I was young. I now have a gun with me all waking hours and one within reach when in bed. Here’s why:

I was perusing the Hidalgo County, TX sheriff’s website (now shut down) a few months ago. Hidalgo Co. is a county of a half million folks located on the border with Mexico. I live here outside city limits, which is why I felt the sheriff’s case info was relevant to me. On the website were news releases from the previous two years. I saved the thirty-something cases relating to home invasions, as that was my interest at the time. These included robberies, rapes, beatings, and murders – the whole gamut of violent crime. From those I compiled the chart below that indicates the time of day in those reports that included the time. You can see that most home invasions in this county occurred between the hours of 8pm and 4am. In this sample, there were zero cases between 8am and 4pm. That means that if armed robbers come into my house to rob and terrorize my family and me, they will most likely arrive when I am home. I will be ready.

 

[TallPine]

Yep, I carry all the time at home.

I do have to sleep sometimes though.

 

[Rich K]

I have a loaded weapon in nearly every room in my house.Haven't had any problems yet,but you don't make an appointment for an emergency.And no,I don't have any small children here.My s/o's 17 y/o is the youngest person who comes to my home,and she and I have both taught him about guns and gun safety.

 

[Shootcraps]

If you're that scared of a home invasion, I'd say it's time to move.

 

[Biker]

A practical solution, but not always viable.
Biker

 

[rhubarb]

Shootcraps said:

If you're that scared of a home invasion, I'd say it's time to move.

It ain't that I'm scared of a home invasion in that I expect it. As has been posted on THR dozens of times in response to "why do you carry a gun," I don't put on my seatbelt every time I am in a car because I expect an accident. Simple matter of preparedness. That's the point I am trying to make.

What's more, I still have the freedom to live anywhere I want. In my not-so-distant youth in another state, we did not lock the house. We couldn't 'cause we left the keys in the car in the driveway. I might move someplace else later, but I choose to live here right now. Criminals be damned.

 

[Rich K]

Amen,Rhubarb.Amen.

 

[Chupacabra]

Always have a weapon close at hand.

When I was house sitting for my parents a couple months ago, I always had my gun on me. I didn't want to be confronted downstairs while my piece was resting on the nightstand upstaris. It isn't a high crime area but you never know.

 

[thebigc]

i dont unless everyone else is out and im alonewe live on the second floor and theres only 2 ways up so if im in my room on the 3rd floor i got my winchester 1300 with 00 buckshot right next to me but if im downstairs i will run for the safe i keep a mag in the 1911 so it would probably be that unless i decided to grab my sks and a couple of striper clips instead.

 

[Hardtarget]

I advocate carrying allways. The bad stuff happens without much warning and the bad guys have cars. They don't rob their neighbors...they drive over to see what other areas offer. Last year I think there were four home invasions within half a mile of my house. Makes you think.
Mark.

 

[JohnKSa]

I go to a considerable hassle to learn the laws that allow me to carry outside my home. I go to a considerable hassle to conceal my firearm outside of my home. I pay the state for the privilege of carrying my firearm outside my home. I take the classes, I fill out the paperwork, I shoot the qualification, I take the test. I repeat all that every 4 or 5 years. I carry the license and I carry a gun when I'm out of my house. I abide by the legal restrictions that are incumbent upon those legally carrying concealed firearms. When I'm away from home, I have few of my possessions with me and often do not have any family members with me.

I can carry inside my home without doing any of that stuff. When I'm at home I have nearly all my posessions with me and usually have all my family members present.

Seems like a no-brainer.

 

[Shootcraps]

You can use all the rhetoric you want to try and justify it. But if you can't feel safe in your own home without carrying, there's something seriously wrong.

 

[JohnKSa]

Shootcraps,

Where do you go that's so dangerous that you feel you must carry to be safe?

Do you only carry when you go dangerous places?

Do you only feel safe outside your home when you carry?

There's an old saying: "Horsethieves are not hanged for stealing horses, but to ensure that horses are not stolen."

To paraphrase: "I don't carry in my home because I'm afraid of a home invasion, but to ensure that a home invasion doesn't happen."

In the same way that the fire extinguishers aren't evidence of a fear of fire, seatbelts aren't evidence of a fear of car wrecks, and taking vaccinations isn't evidence of a fear of disease, carrying a gun is not evidence of a fear of home invasion.

Ever buy a lottery ticket--even though your chances of winning were miniscule? Even though you KNEW you almost certainly wouldn't--COULDN'T win? You know, SOMEONE actually DID win. Think they bought their ticket KNOWING they were going to win?

Probability is a funny thing. Just because the odds are bad--even REALLY bad--doesn't mean it won't happen.

 

[AlaskaErik]

If I'm dressed and carrying, I see no reason to disarm just because I'm home, so I just continue to carry. Home invasions can occur in any type of neighborhood. I'd rather be safe than sorry. But if I'm not dressed, then I make sure a pistol is handy. I don't expect a fire in my home, but I still have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers there.

 

[TonyB]

I don't see an advantage to NOT carrying at home....that's like saying I don't need a fire extinguisher in MY Kitchen because I feel safe there.....I certainly DO feel safe in my home(BECAUSE I carry there)....

 

[38SnubFan]

Unless I'm at work, it's within arms reach of me.

And as long as I'm dressed to accept a belt, the gun and holster are on it.

I see no reason not to be ready. It's not paranoia, it's preparedness.

-38SnubFan

 

[TallPine]

Why should I think my home is safer than anywhere else?
(considering I don't have a massive electronic security system and/or paid armed guards like movie stars and some politicians do)

Plus ... I already DID move, and I ain't planning to move any more, in spite of the fact that I currently have a very undesirable neighbor (but he is supposed to be going to jail, whenever they get around to getting a room ready for him )

 

[armedandsafe]

If I have my pants on, I am carrying. If I don't have my pants on, I have a gun at hand.

Granted, when I don't have my pants on, I'm sometimes not paying real close attention to what's going on in the rest of the house.



Pops

 

[fjolnirsson]

In February of 2000, my wife and I purchased our first home. It was a very nice neighborhood, one of the best in a city of 87,000. Mostly older folks and young couples living there, tree lined streets, picket fences, etc. No crime to speak of.
Over the next four years, that nieghborhood deteriorated until it was the 2nd worst in a city of 100,000. Lots of drug sales, lots of crime, prostitutes making deals on the street in front of my house. Our neighborhood was in the same beat as the worst area of the city. As a result, when we called for "niusance(sp?)" problems, we were last in line. So, the neighborhood continued it's decline, despite the efforts of the neighborhood watch. This was in a state and county where CCW was and remains only for the priveleged few who are buddies with the sheriff. A county already sued years ago by Jim March over refusal to hand out CCW applications.
The very best of neighborhoods can often be a stone's throw from "the ghetto". Also, people have been known to "lose it" at random. You just never know what will cause someone to snap. I used to have friends who thought I was silly to "waste money" on a fire extinguisher for every room. Until I had a loaf of garlic bread catch fire in the oven. good thing my extinguisher wasn't locked up in the safe, eh?
I'd rather carry in my home and feel silly for it, than feel dead when someone kicks in my door and I am unarmed. Besides, carrying all day helps to make the gun feel a part of you. Ultimately, the choice is yours, as it is mine, and every person on this board. I choose to go armed. You may choose differently. That's one of the freedoms we still enjoy in America. Antis think we are all paranoid for wanting a gun with us outside of our homes. They might say,"If you don't feel safe outside without a gun, there's something wrong". It's all a matter of perspective.

 

[TamThompson]

Solution: pocket pistol

You know, it's really no trouble at all to carry a pocket gun like a J-frame snubby .38+p or Keltec in a pocket holster in one of the front pockets of your shorts or pants. That way, you always have it, even at home.

Of course, a pistol is used to fight your way to your long gun, so this assumes you have one of those handy, too.

 

[Bobo]

My personal opinion...

I never felt the need or even considered owning or carrying weapons for self-defense to protect my loved ones, or to protect my property. It just wasn't necessary. The odds of something "bad" happening were next to zero.


As Abe Lincoln said, "This too shall pass".

What used to be…
You didn't have to lock your house.
A very high percentage of the population respected other people's lives and property.

What is today…
You do have to lock your house.
A very high percentage of the population doesn't respect other people's lives or property.

I was born and lived most of my life in "what used to be". We didn't lock our house. We walked anywhere we wanted without any concern for our safety. Our children went out to play or to school without concern of kidnapping or sexual molestation.

Now things have changed — for the worse. More people break laws per capita then ever before in my lifetime. Prisons are overflowing, and those are just the ones who where caught, convicted, and sentenced to prison. All the others are still out there — a real danger.

The change has been swift — in about two generations (less than forty years) words and deeds such as: manners, honesty, loyalty, compassion, empathy, are rarely uttered and even more rarely demonstrated.

To growing numbers of people today think it is OK to lie, to cheat, to steal, to harm, or do anything to get what they want.

In the recent past, even the most experienced, hardened criminal would in some manner, measure the rewards to the action.

A purse-snatcher (small reward) would be grab and run (small action). An armored car holdup (large potential reward) may involve shooting to kill (large action). This is not to be condoned but it makes some sort of (albeit twisted) sense.

Today, even an inexperienced teenager can be a hardened criminal — a criminal who will act without any measure of reward to action. Teenagers recently have killed for a pair of shoes or a coat they wanted, or even just for the "fun" of it.

Killing other people for "fun"? This never would have happened just a few decades ago. Today there is little to no consideration for others — no empathy, no compassion, no love, no questioning of right and wrong, no "putting yourself in the other person's shoes", no caring.

In the past there were break-ins and burglaries, but there was no threat of "home invasion" as we now know it today. Most criminals in the past were looking to 'score big' with as little hassle as possible. Home break-ins were usually done at night while hopefully everyone was asleep or if during the day, when the house was unoccupied. They wanted no trouble. All they wanted was the 'loot'.

Today a gang will bust through your door in broad daylight and kill or maim anyone in their way without any concern for life, limb, or property; — all for a DVD or a TV, or maybe just because it's "fun".

(There are many things in our society that have contributed to this drastic downhill change. Those I won't go into here — it would be another lengthy discussion.)


This recent decline in general public safety is the reason that I am now, for the first time in over sixty years, taking measures to protect my loved ones, my possessions, and myself. It is a shame that I have been able to live in relative peace and without concern for so many years, but now at this juncture, feel the need to take measures into my own hands.

My aids in this are home security devices that include but are not limited to locks and alarms, and defense devices such as chemical and edged weapons, and firearms. I once considered these things unnecessary, now I consider them a need.

I intend to and do carry these weapons 24/7, and I do mean almost literally "24/7". Showering and doing certain other things that limit carrying certainly occur. Even so, the weapons I can't actually carry during certain situations are always within arm's reach. This means I will be armed in some way or in many ways at ALL times.

I don't believe I have become paranoid in my old age. I just know from own observations how dangerous this world has become — and it is getting more dangerous day by day. Forewarned is forearmed!

What a shame on us!

 

[ezypikns]

I Sleep With a Loaded Makarov Under My Pillow.

And any other time there's usually another loaded gun within reach. I also have a CHL for outside. Paranoid? Maybe a little. You just never Know.

 

[FUBlue]

ALWAYS carry

I put my faith in God, trust in his will for the lives of myself and my family, and therefore fear no man. However, I'm career LEO and carried even before then... If not able (dress) in public with pistol, then always with blade, and most often an intermiediate weapon- especially at home.

Iv'e been around, and been involved. I am not scared, but I am not stupid either. Stuff happens. Situations are resolved faster, better, and with less risk/injury when "tools" are used to get the job done.

Why would you carry in public and abandon in private. You don't always have to go look for trouble. It will often seek you out.

 

[klover]

"Be prepared" is a boy scout pledge

which has served me well for 35 plus years. Washington state ranks 3rd in most meth drug crimes in the nation.

I don't look to see why anyone goes berserk, but rather know that insanity can come from any chemical abuse. Insane people are a security risk, and I give them less than human status when my well being is at risk.

Even at the YMCA in the locker room I carry at least pepper and a blade since one fellow showed rage beyond "normal range".

Yes, I too saw the moral values in our great country go down the toilet. Several of my weapons remain loaded 24/7 since my home is locked very securely and has much neighbor interaction. I do mind the direction of loaded chambers to elliminate hazards to firefighters. My rooms are Halon equiped as well.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

I Always carry at home. Want an example of why?


EXHIBIT A:

Some of the guys at work were giving me a hard time about this one day. One of them even said "You probably even carry when you go to the bathroom, don't you?" The punchline here is a good one.

Before I could even respond, another co-worker who was just due on shift comes running through the door and starts telling me about how his buddy had just experienced a home invasion the previous evening. His buddy was sitting on the john with the pistol he had just cleaned after a trip to the range that evening sitting on the coffee table in the front room when.............

yep you guessed it, someone kicked in his door and robbed him. That my friends, is Mr. Murphy woring overtime!