Why Carry....

[Wrangler]

I got into a disucssion again tonight with some friends about why I carry. I don't feel that my answers were good enough for them but I tried my best. Let me preface this.

Two weekends ago a friend of mine, one who has his carry permit, went shooting. Afterwards, we went to a place called Princes Chicken up off of Dickerson road. Know that part of town, I did not want to disarm and go into this place to eat with out it. ( I was carrying OWB and my shirt was untucked with a jacket on. You could not see my gun) This place does not serve alcohol. They do not take credit cards, only cash. Who knows how much cash is laying around there. When they have an armed security guard sitting up front by the cash wrap, red lights go off in my head. While were were in there I spotted several people in there that were carrying. Maybe it is just because I carry I have become more observant, who knows. We ate and left. Nothing happened.

Now on to tonight. Some of my friends point of view is that when you carry into a place like that, you are just asking for trouble. This led to whenever you carry, you are just asking for trouble. To me it felt like they were just uneducated in the topic and they were afraid of guns. I brought up the recent shooting at the nursing home, didnt change their mind. One guy even said I would just lay down.

The way I see it is should the day come, and I truly hopes it doesn't, I dont want to be one of those people was caught by "Murphy" and if I need to defend myself, I will. If a guy was to walk in there with a gun, pointing at the cash register for money, I really dont want to be the person he turns the gun on next.

Can all of you, much wiser than me, give me any other help in dealing with these guys on this issue?

Thanks in advance.

[Rightwinger]

Tell your friend that will "lie down" that's good because all the holes in his ass and back won't show in the casket. Also that you'll remember to send flowers and wait at least a month before dating his girlfriend or wife.

[StumpyBeagle]

My personal opinion is carry for yourself. Don't worry about those that do not understand, they more than likely never will. If they press you for an answer tell them you prefer not to be a sheeple herded in for the slaughter or a statistic. If they can't accept that then screw em'. Carry IWB and if they ask you if you are carrying, tell them maybe, maybe not.

I have friends that do not understand and will never get it, but I have twice as many that have taken or are scheduled for their HCP classes because they know I carry full time and they feel a lot more comfortable about it now.

[Guest Rem_700]

Nothing to to with the question at hand but, jdredmond,I love your avatar!!LOL..Im a big beagle fan and have a few tri-colors.

[Slappy]

It is hard to convince people who have already made up their mind. You could bring up a million justified shooting situations and still not convince them. The bottom line is, they have never REALLY be in fear of their life before. Until that time, it will be difficult to convince them otherwise. There are tons of carrying cliché's such as, I carry a gun because a cop is too heavy and when seconds count, police are only minuets away. A couple of my favorite explanations regarding why I carry are these: Ask them if they wear a seatbelt or have car insurance. Are they asking to get into a wreck? Are they expecting it? No obviously, they have it just in case. This leads me into my next favorite reasoning. I carry in case I am wrong! If you tell them that, they probably will not understand. You explain to them (basically) that you would NEVER voluntarily place yourself in an environment where you remotely think your life could be harmed. But, in the rare chance that you are "wrong" you have your pistol to protect your life. Then again, it is hard to convince someone who does not have an open/realistic point of view, or has not had their life threatened.

[Guest truthsayer]

Why do I carry in those situations? I carry because regret sucks !@#$.

[Guest jackdog]

How about I carry because the US constitution and the state of Tennessee says I can legally. I carry because i choose not to be a victim. If that is not good enough get new friends, because these guys aren't. Truth is carry for yourself and to protect those you love and care about. Don't worry about the rest of the world.

[timcalhoun]

How about explaining it in a way your friends can understand. I tell folks that I carry for the same reasons police officers do.

You see, since everyone is innocent until proven guilty the police do not uphold/enforce the law. That is for the justice system is do. The courts prove innocence or guilt and then uphold/enforce the law. So cops carry for the same reason I do. To protect themselves and to protect other peoples lives. Simple. That is why I carry.

Oddly, people have this impression that our police are trained so very well. And some truly are but the guy fresh out of the academy is not. When you add up his or her training it amounts to very little IMO. My nine year old son who is shooting in my avatar could easily pass metro's qualification test.

[Guest m&pc9]

When I first got my permit and started carrying my wife (who doesnt like guns) ask why I had to have it. I said " I carry to protect my family". Since then she has said nothing.

[Guest colrmccoll]

why carry?

The first question in this equation is are you of the mindset and have the attitude to use a firearm responsibily and willing to use it if necessary.

I think your friends have not gotten to the second aspect of this. And as someone has aready said I don't think they have ever been in real fear of their life nor take seriously the responsibility of protecting their families.

[Mike.357]

" I carry to protect my family".

Thats it in a nutshell. Even if the fam is not around I carry because protecting me also protects the family. If I am killed they will get some insurance money, but if I am maimed and unable to work they get nothing.

From the mouth of babes department, my 6 year old grandson saw me a couple of weeks ago wearing a gun. Not the first time he has seen it. He said " Grandpa is the the gun you have to protect us?" I just looked at my wife and grinned. He is 6 and gets it!

[Guest bluecanary25]

Many reasons a person might carry a handgun.

For each HCP holder it is a personal decision. (Nobody "forced" us to go thru all the crap for HCP)

You do not need to justify why you carry, just that you have chosen to do so.

Ask these friends why they CHOOSE NOT to carry?......... (I bet most of the answers imply someone else is responsible for their well-being)

If a disaster occurs, will they be prepared to squeal like a pig?

[RDL]

If I were going boating I would wear a life jacket. Chances are I will never need it. But....why take the chance.

[Wrangler]

All good thoughts. What about the one that they say, When you carry in to a certain place, you are just asking for trouble.

[timcalhoun]

All good thoughts. What about the one that they say, When you carry in to a certain place, you are just asking for trouble.

What place?

[Guest Glockman]

Mike, You gota Love that gandson! Maybe We need some 6year olds In Congress!(could they do much worse) Sometimes I Wonder.

[Guest betobeto]

Show em this

WHY WE CARRY... PEOPLE ASK WHY?

My old grandpa said to me son,' there comes a time in every man's life

When he stops bustin' knuckles and starts bustin' caps and usually

it's When he becomes too old to take an ass whoopin'.

I don't carry a gun to kill people.

I carry a gun to keep from being killed.

I don't carry a gun to scare people.

I carry a gun because sometimes this world can be a scary place.

I don't carry a gun because I'm paranoid.

I carry a gun because there are real threats in the world.

I don't carry a gun because I'm evil.

I carry a gun because I have lived long enough to see the evil in the

World.

I don't carry a gun because I hate the government.

I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.

I don't carry a gun because I'm angry.

I carry a gun so that I don't have to spend the rest of my life hating

Myself for failing to be prepared.

I don't carry a gun because I want to shoot someone.

I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed,

and Not on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon..

I don't carry a gun because I'm a cowboy.

I carry a gun because, when I die and go to heaven, I want to be

a Cowboy.

I don't carry a gun to make me feel like a man.

I carry a gun because men know how to take care of themselves

and the Ones they love.

I don't carry a gun because I feel inadequate.

I carry a gun because unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I am

Inadequate.

I don't carry a gun because I love it.

I carry a gun because I love life and the people who make it meaningful

To me.

Police Protection is an oxymoron. Free citizens must protect themselves.

Police do not protect you from crime, they usually just investigate the

Crime after it happens and then call someone in to clean up the mess.

Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to

Take a whoopin'.

author unknown (but obviously brilliant)

[Guest betobeto]

Deleted 2xpost

[E4 No More]

I believe that if someone wants to be stupid; let them be stupid. If they can't "get" that I'm a sheepdog and they are sheep, well that's expected from the sheep. You just can't fix stupid.

[TN9mm]

betobeto--that quote is spot on all of it...I say let the sheep be sheep, we can't all be sheepdogs...just look at some people they can't drive their cars I don't really care to have them behind a triger.

[Punisher84]

All good thoughts. What about the one that they say, When you carry in to a certain place, you are just asking for trouble.

It's just a common statement that people make because they think anyone who carries a gun is a wannabe movie cowboy hoping for a chance to shoot it out with the bad guys.

Everyone has a different reason why they carry. Everybody carries to protect themselves and their family I believe, but what ultimately makes a person START carrying varies.

I am a person who has always been prepared. I take photographs of my firearms, electronics, and expensive items for insurance purposes. I have renter's insurance. I own a fire extinguisher. I have jumper cables and a first aid kit in my car. See where I'm going with this?

My firearm is my staff that comforts me as I walk through the valley.

[Guest db99wj]

All good thoughts. What about the one that they say, When you carry in to a certain place, you are just asking for trouble.

Ask them if they really think that because someone that has a gun, sees another person with a gun, that they are going to want to get into a gun fight with them? "Whoa, a guy with a gun, I"m going to shoot him or at him and see what happens!"

Some will argue if you are open carrying and a bg is in there, they will shoot you first. I don't agree. If anything, in my opinion, they are going to wait until you leave. They don't want to have a fair fight, so they will wait until you leave, then slaughter the unprotected sheep.

I still choose to conceal due to the anonymity that I wish to maintain, but there are times I have OC'd and will do so, as long as legal, in the future.

[Wrangler]

I just forward that quote to several of them. While it might make them understand, but as you all have pointed out, i carry it for me, not them. So who cares what they say.

[Guest pws_smokeyjones]

Your discussion with your friends was actually not about why you carry, but about why they do NOT. They just didn't realize that. They have a misguided trust in the criminal element of our society and they have an unrealistic expectation in local law enforcements ability and obligation to keep them alive in the split second that something goes wrong.

With all due respect to police officers, they simply can't be everywhere at all times. The 911 system, as helpful as it is, has proven inefficient in far too many instances.

As human beings, we are immediately responsible for our own personal safety at all times. Your friends do not understand that, and my guess is they never will. The next time they bug you about "not understanding why you carry a gun" simply turn it around and say "well, I don't understand why you don't carry a gun" and leave it at that. No point in arguing your decision about your personal safety.

[mhm2a]

If you have to justify your position to your friends then you need new friends.