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Why I Carry #1014085 11/18/14 04:58 PM
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 116,098
SkunkHunter Online Content OP
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Found this on fb on the LEAGC (Law Enforcement Against Gun Gontrol) page.

"Why I carry"

This has been weighing on my mind for a little while, so I wanted to pen a little editorial on it.

I try to keep up as best I can on trends and intentions at the federal and state levels as it pertains to firearm rights.

Make no bones about it, I fully believe our right to keep and bear arms is engrained in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. This is the argument that's regularly used to stave off anti-gun advocates. It's a good argument, but that can't be all we have.

I don't agree with the majority of arguments that anti-gun advocates engage in. Having said that, I can vaguely see the logic they apply. Senseless gun deaths are tragic, no one will dispute that. We've seen a rash of publicized mass shootings that have inflamed significant portions of the US population into believing that we should enact "common sense gun laws." Over the years, I've seen what passes for "common sense" in a lot of people - it doesn't give me much solace.

We have gun free zones, "cooling off" periods, magazine restrictions, ammunition restrictions, registration requirements, out right bans of certain firearms. What has it prevented?

I'm not going to discuss statistical trends with "more CCW's means less crime" or the crime rate while the assault weapons ban was in effect. That's done far enough on the news almost nightly.

Why I carry is simple: responsibility.

If you have the mindset, training, and ability to protect yourself, your loved ones, maybe even a stranger from violence - why should that be looked down upon?

As Americans, we have historically looked with great favor upon those who act in a manner to protect the whole. General George S. Patton summed it up beautifully when he said "Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time."

Where have we turned that this is no longer true? We've fallen from Admiral Farragut's ""[censored] the torpedoes, full speed ahead" to "If you see something, say something."

I feel myself getting off-topic into a larger political statement, but it all comes full circle. We have Government that seems more and more to demand your reliance. Government in one breath inhales "you don't need guns, we'll protect you" followed by "government has no responsibility to protect you" via the Supreme Court in Castle Rock.

At the end of the day, our personal safety is our responsibility. We overstock our vehicles with airbags, we wear our seatbelts under the looming threat of "click it or ticket."

So what does this have to do with carrying a gun? Here's my simple analogy: I carry a gun for the same reason I wear a seatbelt. Maybe a tire blows while I'm driving to work, or maybe a guy with a knife comes up demanding my wallet.

Just to be clear, I'm not paranoid. There is no hooded tweaker boogie man hiding behind every dumpster. But there are bad people in the world. Some have an agenda, some are just nuts.

I'll leave you with this thought. Picture yourself walking through the mall. It's a sunny Saturday afternoon, so you take the wife and kids shopping. You hear shots ring out. You do the prudent thing and try to move your family to safety, right? Unfortunately, you turn the corner and there's the shooter. Is the greater danger to engage, or give your family one last embrace?

I carry because I am the first, and last line of defense for myself, for my family, or maybe for a stranger that holds a differing belief on this topic.

What are your thoughts?

Keep training, keep the faith.



A Little Paranoia Will Keep
You Safe (ALPWKYS)

Be a Sheepdog
JYD#105
Re: Why I Carry [Re: SkunkHunter] #1014099 11/19/14 04:13 AM
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 116,098
SkunkHunter Online Content OP
Junk Yard Dog
OP Online Content
Junk Yard Dog
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 116,098
Pretty much sums it up.


A Little Paranoia Will Keep
You Safe (ALPWKYS)

Be a Sheepdog
JYD#105

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