What made you carry?

[BHPshooter]

Why do I carry a gun? Someone else said it best: "Because I can't carry a cop."

I carried before anything "bad" ever happened to me or anyone I knew. I was always aware of the dangers around me, though, and that's what initially made me carry.

I've carried for a long time, but a year and a half ago, a friend whom I had known since childhood was raped and murdered. Her job (a counselor for troubled teens) mandated that possessing tools for the defense of oneself were prohibited... To be honest, I don't know if she would have carried if she could have -- but a small, concealed gun could have saved her life and her dignity.

There is also a simple moral factor to it, as well. At some point, a responsible adult must recognize that he/she is responsible for his/her own safety. No one else is.

Wes

 

[arctictom]

The violent criminals look like all the rest of us 'normal' folks and various animals, particularly bears.

The 'normal' looking serial killers, was the tipping point for me.

 

[dtalley]

To Old to Fight and to Fat to Run

 

[coylh]

Nothing in particular. It seems like one of the prudent things to do in life. And it generally puts you in good company, socially.

 

[SiG78]

>> "To Old to Fight and to Fat to Run"

LOL... the best reason I have read so far!!

 

[A. Mann a gun]

I had my CHL and had carried maybe 4 or 5 times in acoulpe months.
One day the ex wife was dropping off my son, we out front in my yard with my 2 other kids and I hear BANG BANG I think that sounds like and I look 1/2 a block away is a man standing behind a car with a gun and is shooting at a man running across his yard. After that day everywere that is legal I carry!

 

[deltacharlie]

Why not?

Nothing "made" me carry but there are certain realities to the world in which we live, one being the 2nd Amendment guaranteeing my right to keep and bare arms as a citizen (not a subject).
But, to quote myself: "When seconds count, the police are just 10 minutes away!"

I carry b/c it is my right (use 'em or lose 'em)
I carry b/c I have a family to protect
I carry b/c criminals carry
I carry b/c it's my social responsibility to protect the weak from being victimized by the strong
I carry sometimes just to pi$$off liberals
And mostly I carry just because I can

But if you want a few examples of why one should exercise his or her right to carry a firearm, try these little gems where a gun would have made all the difference in the world:
example
example (WARNING: this one's graphic)
example
example


Litmus test: ask ANY woman this; if I found you in an alley being attacked and on the verge of being savagely gang-raped by some local thugs, would you rather I showed up with a cellphone or a gun in my hand?

 

[DavidVS]

I carry because my friends don't.

I'm lazy and have enough responsibility in my life. I would much rather have my friends protecting me than me protecting them. <grin>

But they don't carry. Where I live is very safe, but of course not completely safe. So someone should be able to defend the group.

There's an old saying, "I don't carry a handgun because I expect trouble. If I was expecting trouble, I'd be running the other direction and would have a shotgun." I don't expect trouble. But carrying is not that much of a bother, and I would really hate to not be able to defend my family or friends if I could have done so.

 

[lanternlad1]

I never used to worry about carrying. I'm a big guy 6'0, 260, kinda scary looking (I've been told - by close friends). Most people look at me and walk in the other direction, or think I'm a cop - depends on the way I'm dressed. (I'm not a cop - I'm a graphic designer) I can handle myself well enough - or I could, until the accident.

I was driving down FM 1960 in Houston when a woman pulled out of a gas station and crashed into me. I was thrown into the door of my truck and everything on my left side was damaged (arm, knee, spine). Needless to say, I don't really trust my body to defend me in an emergency anymore. Hence, the gun. A couple of relocated Katrina thugs casing a friend's store was the last straw for me. I bought a Kel-Tec P11 a week later. (I was low on funds at the time - I've since upgraded. )

Let me just say for the record, I think carrying is a pain in the butt. I'd rather not have to carry - but I'm a realist. Life in a big city can be difficult, and you need every advantage you can get. Luckily, I live in Texas, where guns are plentiful and cheap, and the laws are not too bad.

 

[22-rimfire]

I carry because I sometimes come into contact with bad people during the course of my job...drug types, meth heads etc.

Plus, I like being able to have a loaded handgun legally in my vehicle.

 

[Don Lu]

The birth of my daughter !

 

[DMZ]

I am an elected official.

Have accumulated a short list of enemies.

 

[VegasEgo]

I live in Las Vegas where, we are the 12th most dangerous city. Icant find the exact numbers but we are like top 5 in homicide gang burglary rape narcs.

Plus there are people like this running around my city...

http://www.lvmpd.com/bureaus/violent_crimes.html

 

[samtechlan]

I don't believe that there are ever enough cops to prevent crime. Cops are there to act AFTER the crime has been committed. To be honest I don't think living in a heavily policed society is the answer either. I lived in Spain back when it was a heavily policed dictatorship. There were police everywhere in large numbers and crime was practically nil but, on the other hand, civil liberties were not much in evidence either.

 

[sed6]

What made me carry? My desire to have the ability to protect myself at all times without the need to wait for "help" I got my CCW when I turned 23, the then minimum age (now 21).

Carrying a gun is like keeping a spare tire in the trunk of your car. You'll probably never need it. You hope you never need it. But when you need it, you really need it!

 

[hardhit777]

For me i have always been fascinated with firearms. I had planned to get my CCW 2 years ago on my 21st B-day. 2 Weeks after i put my paper work in, 4 before i got my permit, A VERY close friend was involved in a double homicide. The night it happened i was contacted by him and asked to bring another one of my friends out there. i didn't. Call it my Spiddy sense, but something didn't seam right the way our conversation went. ( i had no idea of what they were planning at the time.) The next day its all over the news. Had i gone out there i would probably be dead. I would not have gone along with something like that. I would have tried to stop it if i were there. From the moment they were arrested i made the decision right then and there to always be able to defend myself or someone with me. (As a matter of fact i have my Makorov in a G-Code paddle holster on my hip right now.)
It was a wake up call for me, i changed my life after this happened. Stopped hanging out with friends who were fans of recreational drugs, (i never did it with them, just not my thing) became more aware of what goes on around me, and learned to be observant of peoples actions and body language. It has kept me out of trouble several times.

It may not be the best reason but its my reason.

HH