By Sherri Drake
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July 18, 2003
Rev. Louis Brenton is armed everywhere he goes, sometimes with the Bible but always with a Glock 23.
"I occasionally have to walk into some situations that are a little iffy," said the pastor of East Side Cumberland Presbyterian Church on South Prescott.
Brenton said carrying a gun makes him feel more at ease in Memphis. He's prepared to defend himself if he is ever attacked.
Cassandra Holland, 32, knows that feeling, too. The Loomis Fargo & Co. employee was robbed at gunpoint in 2000.
"Every time I went to sleep, I'd see that gun in my face," she said. "So, I said, 'No more.' "
If it happens again, she said, she's not afraid to pull the .32-caliber pistol she just bought. "I'm ready," she said. "If you come in my house and I don't know who you are, I'll fire on you."
With the recent wave of armed robberies and home invasions, many are weighing the decision to carry a gun.
But officials say packing a pistol is nothing to toy with.
"Anytime you have a rash of crimes like we've been having in Memphis and Shelby County people just get scared," said Sheriff's Lt. James Windland. "They panic and are in fear and just want some type of protection."
For those who decide to carry a gun, the most important thing is to be well-trained and prepared for the consequences, said Windland, who runs the sheriff's pistol range.
Gun shop owners say men and women, from 21 to 91, come into the stores ready to face those consequences.
"These are huge decisions to make," said Chris Fowler, a Top Brass owner. "I tell them when they come in: 'If you decide to carry a gun, you will use it. And if you use it as we have instructed, you're going to take a life. Is that OK with you?' "
If it's not OK, they need to walk right back out the door, he said.
Those who choose to carry a gun, Fowler says, need an eight-hour training course to get a permit and the right mindset.
You must be prepared to react rationally in an irrational situation, said Brenton, who got his permit through RangeMaster. To save you or your family members, you must be willing to take your attacker's life.
But some say carrying a gun threatens the lives of family members, rather than protecting them.
"Anytime you rely on a mechanical object to defend yourself, you increase your chances of being a victim," said Mike Beard, president of the Washington-based Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
Everyone thinks he's more equipped than he really is, he said.
"They do it in the movies," he said. "John Wayne looks left and shoots right and the bad guy falls down. But it just doesn't happen like that."
Beard said he tells people to take a self-defense course or use other objects to ward off attackers. "Just think of all the things you can do with a pool cue," he said.
