Got made yesterday

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jojosdad

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I was at a truck stop breakfast buffet yesterday, loading up a togo box with fuel for a hard day of fishing, when a waitress approached me, and with trembling voice asked, "Sir, do you know your gun is showing?"
"D--n, I think to myself, my vest has ridden up over the butt of the 1911" (which I carry IWB at 3 o'clock), and reach back to cover it up again.
In the same trembling voice she asks "Why do you carry a gun?"
I reply, "Because I can." She looks at me for about 5 seconds and says "Please don't shoot me, ok?" I say "Why would I do that?" She doesn't answer, just walks away.
I've spent a good part of my time since then trying to figure out why she reacted that way - if she was scared that I might shoot her, why did she approach me in the first place rather than calling LEO or telling her manager? If she wasn't afraid - why the remark about shooting her? I've got no answers - maybe someone else does.
 
People are just dumb, usually they can't connect the dots when under stress.
They also are not raised with guns in there lives I'm sure and so if they see one they immediately think:

EVIL


Go forth and educate. . .
 
Same thing happened to you in Wal-mart a few years back.

It was a good thing I was the one walking behind you and notced before anyone else did.

You need a slightly longer vest.
 
she asked why you carry a gun.
She was probably expecting to hear you say "because I am a police officer."
When you didn't and she realized you are merely joe average with a gun, she got worried.
 
Damn you Butte county and your CCW friendly sheriff!!!:cuss:

(Coming from a prisoner of Sacramento county.)
 
Thanks Warren, I forgot about that :uhoh:. Don't really need a longer vest - just need to check the back of mine after I get out of the truck as that's when it rides up.
 
I reply, "Because I can."
Click to expand...

Wrong answer.

Yeah, it's the truth, and it's good enough for other gun folks, etc., etc., but it is NOT the sound bite that the average person on the street wants to hear.

THINK the next time something like this happens to you (and it'll happen to someone who reads this...). THINK.

In this situation I would have replied "I have a permit, and I'm going to be going fishing in a remote area. If I catch something tasty, should I bring it back here?"

PUT THEM AT EASE and make them comfortable with you. No edgy jokes, no political rhetoric. Just "I have a permit, it's for protection, and take the edge off."
 
You carry for the same reason a lot of us do, SNAKES! Remember, some snakes have 2 legs.
 
"Security" is always a good answer to "Why are you carrying that gun?" from frightened people. It's literally true, so you're not lying, and they can rationalize it to themselves to mean "Oh, he's a security guard."
 
Because I can is the perfect answer... Time to stop trying to be all PC about this...dumbing it down to stupid people just makes it worse...time to wake up America about gun rights.
 
My vote is for open carry

My vote is for open carry as well. Carry open or CCW, I feel as if it should be my choice all the time. There are times where CCW is the only correct choice. Sometimes you just want to strap a gun on a belt and let it hang out there. It tells others that YES I am armed, I will protect what I have.
 
Because I can is the perfect answer... Time to stop trying to be all PC about this...dumbing it down to stupid people just makes it worse...time to wake up America about gun rights.
Click to expand...

But there's not reason to be a jerk about it. "Because I can" sounds like something a petulant 5-year old would say. If the waitress was nice enough to point out politely, albeit a bit nervously, that his gun was showing, he could have at least responded to her with some courtesy.

Being polite and "dumbing it down to stupid people" are not same thing.
 
Still the wrong answer.

Because I can is the perfect answer... Time to stop trying to be all PC about this...dumbing it down to stupid people just makes it worse...time to wake up America about gun rights.
Click to expand...

How do YOU prefer to be woken? I personally prefer nudges, as opposed to someone dumping a bucket of live snakes on the bed...

Sheesh - it's like natural selection in the firearms community has favored the folks who prefer the frontal charge to the flanking maneuver - something's wrong with that...

We're all ambassadors of the gun culture.

Do things gently, and politely, and maybe, just maybe, you'll be remembered as that nice fellow who was going fishing, hiking, shopping, whatever, who happened to have a gun on his hip. They may experience a slight media override, and actually accept it as NORMAL. That's a _good thing_. And leave a decent tip...

Do things RUDELY, and in a way that they are not prepared to hear, and they're both likely to call the police, and to think of you as that gun-carrying nutcase. And the next time guns are a political issue, guess which way they'll vote? After telling all their friends about the gun-carrying nutcase who almost held up the restaurant?

If you get made, defuse the situation ("I have a permit..."), give a good reason for carrying, ("there's snakes out there..."), and make them like you (That was some great apple pie there - you really need to put it under guard, and I know where you can find a volunteer!"). Keep it simple, and lighten it up.
 
Because I can is the perfect answer
Click to expand...

It's perfect if all you want to do is be left alone.

It is not perfect if you really believe it to be true however.

If you really believe that answer then why not take that message to someone else who might believe it if they thought about it at all.

Even a simple "You mean you don't?" at least gets them thinking.

Maybe even give them more about why, their rights, why it's important etc.

Or you could just give this, a perfectly reasonable answer, and miss the chance to take the message to someone else. If you really believed in what you said though, that would not be the answer you'd give.
 
The whole "Because I can" attitude is not wrong .. But to simply write off someone's curiosity by answering that way is back-tracking at best.. To help the anti-gun people understand the reason we think and live the way we do is a great accomplish .. I do understand there is a point where answering "Because I can" can be perceived as the right thing to say, but in the circumstance you stated it seemed to be a perfect opportunity to spark the mind of this waitress.. She will most likely vote one day .. I'd rather her be pro-gun than against .. Just an option .. I think honestly a simple "I carry it for protection" or "I am licensed to carry" may have been a better response .. She wouldn't have asked if she was deathly afraid IMHO .. She was probably just curious :)
 
My answer: "To save lives"

Anyhow, that sounded like it wasn't quite pleasant. Sorry about that. Encounters like that aren't enjoyable.
 
Best response I've ever heard to the "why do you carry a gun" question is;
Because I can't carry a cop.
Click to expand...
I agree. It is a bit light-hearted (which is good), but it is also pretty true.
 
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