Really---why do you carry

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I am a disabled elder veteran. I live in a town in the South dominated by the large historical-building owning, and college-operating denominational group of choice. I am a licensed Pagan priest and columnist with the local/regional newspaper, therefore, the threat of the religious zealots, which now include the Jihadists bent on killing Americans. (BTDT, 1972, Thailand, of all places!) Since Hurricane Katrina, there has been a slow but steady increase of criminal activity, and home invasion. I do not feel safe in my age or condition. That is why I carry.
 
I have never witnessed much for violent crime.

I once saw a bookstore get held up. The guy did not have any visible weapon. He didn't have his hands hidden in his pockets. He didn't raise his voice or make any gestures. Apparently, he just politely asked the cashier for money. After it was handed over, he bolted. I could have fallen asleep while watching it happen. Never felt the least bit threatened. If the cashier didn't call the cops afterward, I wouldn't have been sure a crime occurred.

I carry

1. Because it's my right
2. Because I like guns
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3. For self defense
 
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It's my right and just in case you live in the country a few weeks ago a woman was attacked and mauled close to death by a pack of dogs. This was somewhere around Logan, WV. We have the same problem everywhere some kind owner wants to get rid of Fido but can't bear the thought of having a vet or himself kill the animal so they drop them off in the country thinking they will be welcomed and will have a good home. They then drive home with a big grin with the stupid thought that ole Fido will have a great home and be able to run free. I carry always, went into a courthouse yesterday in KY forgetting I had a pistol, 3 1/2" assisted opener and a SAK on me(getting forgetful). I left the knives and pistol with the guard, picked them up on the way out and no problem. I do love this part of the country.
 
ole coot

you must be from my neck of the woods, Tim irr on WSAZ news tell ya about the dog attack? Thats where I seen it.

I live in Grayson
 
I carry because I am a warrior at heart. That dosen't mean I get a thrill out of shooting people, but a warrior has a weapon.
 
I PLAN to carry a firearm as soon as legally possible because I am a strong believer in refusing to be a victim. For now I carry a pocket knife, sometimes pepper spray.
 
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The reasons I carry are thus:
1. I am a disabled vet, who now has been branded as 'suspect', as are ALL military veterans, by the mere fact of my existence, by a government, that is inhabited by those that took an oath under false pretenses.
2. The undeniable facts of increased crime, whether it is home invasions, or on the street, are still there. I cannot perform, physiologically, as I had in my days of active military service. Therefore, to fend off the wolves that may come, I must prepare myself.
3. As being a disabled vet, and having served my country, there is no question that I have reserved the right to defend myself, on my streets, or in my home. I will not accept that phrase, "shoot to kill", because that implies premeditation. Were the supposed scenario to become real life, I would "shoot to stay alive", but I do not give that future time a 'fetish-like' status. It is NOT within a theater of combat, during operations of war, in the defense of my country, as it was long ago. It is the act of self-preservation, by an American. Self-preservation is a basic human right, and one not sold away to the State for that false sense of security.
4. The U.S. Supreme Court has stated: "1982-Bowers vs DeVito: "There is no Constitutional right to be protected by the state against being murdered by criminals or madmen." 1982, folks! Therefore, I protect myself.
5. Since 1993, with the FIRST NYC Twin Towers bombing, the Jihadists of Mohameddanism, or as they wish to call it, Islam, have declared war on all peoples of all descents who call themselves Americans. Just as those same folks wish to destroy Israel, the Jewish national state, they wish to destroy us or become our overlords, because we also exist. I view these self-proclaimed 'freedom fighters' (remember the PLO?), as I still view those in present-day Russia who look at America as their problem to eradicate. It was not the peace-and-love-fuzzy side of the Islamic coin that made havoc during the 1972 Munich Olympics, was it? Therefore, I arm myself in readiness, (and I hope NOT), in case these nice folks attempt to harm those around me, at a future moment.

This is a serious business, with serious dedications, with possible serious outcomes, for both sides. This answer does not validate the: "Oh come on, what is your 'real reason' for carrying?", as the questioneer looks at you over their martini at the bar. I do not believe that the questioneer could truly fathom the depths of heart-searching it took, to come to the decision to go through the process, be investigated, be fingerprinted, become certified by learning what to do, knowing what the possibilities are, choosing the most correct firearm that fits their defined perspectives, making that firearm work in their hands, and living that choice, until there are no more days. I end by quoting the lines from a movie, " I speak so you know my words of life are true, and my words of death are true."
 
Honestly, I started because I live in a city where guns are very accessible and lots of people have them. Where I grew up street fights were common place and there was usually more than a fair share of trouble on the weekends. I figured living someplace with such lax gun laws might be dangerous :rolleyes: (I roll my eyes now but then I was serious)

Funny thing now I've lived here a yr and a half and that is not the case at all. I haven't seen a single fight since I moved here actually. (I now believe gun control is a problem) I still carry because I've gotten used to it and there is still that faint chance something might happen but I definitely dont go to the gas station for chew or the local pizza shack for wings on a weekend night on high alert like everybody out is a gangbanger or looking for trouble.
 
May have already posted. But one reason is that I do not like that totally helpless feeling of being shot at or even having a gun pointed in my direction without at least having the ability or means to defend myself. You can't always depend on the BG being a bad shot. And btw.....I would never work in a "big city" liquor store again under any circumstances. And I do not leave home unarmed, even though I now live in what I believe to be one of the safest towns I've ever seen, thanks to the local PD and scores of people with CCW permits.
 
I saw this on another forum that I belong to. Its as good of a reason as any to carry.

“The Gun Is Civilization"

By Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.

In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force.

The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.

There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat - it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed.

People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.

Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser.

People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal force, watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier, works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level.

The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply would not work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.

When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that Icannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation...And that's why carrying a gun is a civilized act !!

By Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret.)
 
because all people aren't christians.

But thats just me.
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"We have learned from bitter experience that discussions of politics, abortion, religion, and sexual orientation often degenerate into less-than-polite arguments or claims that "my God is better than your God". For this reason, we do not discuss such subjects on THR, and any threads dealing primarily with these subjects will be closed or deleted immediately." THR rules.
 
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Because with the death and bomb threats my wife and her workplaces have received over the last decade +, (insurance work) , I would deserve to be charged with gross criminal negligence if I did any less.

They have layers of bullet resistant glass on their office windows and doors for a reason, I can't afford to armor my house.
 
Because I'm not a HIPPY. I will kill to defend my life, not everyone walks around with flowers in their hair dreaming of how perfect this world is. This world is FAR from perfect.
 
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