Why do you carry a gun

[RSillsbee]

Examiner Columnist Dave Workman posted this question in his column today ( Not sure if The Examiner" qualifies as RW so I'm not linking to it) As Mr. Workman says it's a simple question and it's a profound one.


I carry a gun for self defense.
Criminals have become more and more brutal just in my lifetime and i'm not willing to trust my life to their good will


Typo

[doc03]

1. I have a CCW permit and do not carry. n/t

[Common Sense Party]

4. Same here. n/t

[ileus]

2. I thought we all carried to intimidate, scare, and be rude to society.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

15. i admit, I've open carried a big shiney .45 just for giggles.

Sometimes the temptation of scaring the scardy-cats is just too tempting. }( :spank:
Like this one time, at a Best Cuts... Hey, they're the ones that insisted I take off my jacket. :rofl:

Springfield Black n Stainless... something like this always turns some heads.

[GreenStormCloud]

26. Change those grips.

Read Massad Ayoob's books, especially In The Gravest Extreme. If you shoot someone an over zealous prosecutor could use those Punisher emblem grips as evidence that you were blood-thirsty looking for an excuse to kill. Get grips that don't send any message.

[gejohnston]

27. even a peace sign?

OK it would be kind of ironic.

[Euromutt]

30. "I think I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man, sir."

Pogue Colonel: The what?
Joker: The duality of man. The Jungian thing, sir.

It's the scene from Full Metal Jacket where some colonel is giving Joker a hard time over having "Born to Kill" written on his helmet while wearing a peace button on his flak jacket.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

32. That particular Black n Stainless is not mine...

That pistol was just a quick pic I grabed off the net for illustrative purposes.
I have a nise set of Harret D45 wood grips on mine.

On a side note... I really don't care what Ayoob has to say on the subject of scary-lookinig guns.
A shooting is either justified or not - thats why we have Castle Law.

[GreenStormCloud]

39. Much better grips. Regarding Mass,

I grant that his book is somewhat dated, but I still think the advise is sound about avoiding stuff that makes one look trigger happy. Self-defense shootings aren't always clear in the aftermath, even though they were clear at the moment. No sense in giving the opposition any help.

[X_Digger]

43. Ayoob has a pretty unique perspective..

Having been the 'expert witness' brought in by either side in a shitload of trials, I tend to give his opinion additional thought.

He's seen the tactics used by overzealous prosecutors. His experience may not be typical, but I don't plan on playing the odds. Why buy trouble for yourself, if you can avoid it.

[ileus]

34. Very nice indeed. +1 to you sir.

[Hoyt]

53. I suspect a lot of gunners are like you. It's certainly been my experience, and I've seen nothing

here to change my opinion.

[iverglas]

3. anybody and their dog can be an "examiner"

... so of course the right wing predominates, given its drive to occupy cyber and every other space.

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/dave-workman

And this one is true to form:

Dave Workman is an author, senior editor of Gun Week, communications director for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, award-winning outdoor writer, former member of the NRA Board of Directors.

Yay. Yet another one.

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/true-confessions-why-do-you-carry-a-gun

This one's a wingnut indeed. He quotes a city councillor in Texas and responds:

"His recommendation about training citizens to use a shotgun and pistol in home defense is loony. It's not the city's job to provide firearms training to its citizens."—Former Watauga Councilman Mike Steele

Oh, yeah? Again, why would Steele say that? Is it the city’ job to guarantee public safety, and to prevent every crime? No city can guarantee that, and people like Steele know it. Federal court rulings have made it brutally clear that municipal police are under no obligation to protect any specific individual citizen. Perhaps, like this Florida resident, you've caught on that the cops get there typically after the fact. Alan Gottlieb and I collaborated on a book about firearms and self-defense that is still available: America Fights Back: Armed Self-Defense in a Violent Age.

It isn't the city's job to "guarantee public safety", but it is the city's job to provide firearms training to individuals? Howzat now?

I quote the following, the links offered on his page, not with the intention of recommending them to anyone, but merely to show Mr Workman's political propensities ... if they weren't already obvious ...
KeepAndBearArms.com

GunVoter.org
OpenCarry.org
GunDigest.com
Hunting-Washington.com
HuntFishNW.com
GunnersLair.com
TheHighRoad.org
Northwest Firearms.com
GunRightsMedia.com
WaGuns.org
Defensive Carry.com
SeattleGuns.net

Yasss, some fine progressive folks there ...

[iverglas]

5. Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Kinda defuncto, that one, but still fun.

http://www.ccrkba.org/?cat=7

"Gun Rights Defender of the Month" ends in 2009. But there are some goodies among the oldies. Like aging oldie Gary Mauser, Canada's own gun loon. And hey, check this one out:

Glenn Beck
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

CCRKBA is naming national radio and television personality Glenn Beck the CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month for September.
In nominating the talk show host for the Award, John M. Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director, said the noted TV host “is incisive and articulate in defending the individual Second Amendment right of law-abiding American citizens ...

Then there's Charlie Christ, Governor of Florida ... Jim DeMint ... and hey, even a right-wing Democrat!

Ah, it's just always the same old story, isn't it?

[rl6214]

19. Kinda sad when you are the only one to reply to your own post

[iverglas]

36. indeed

But then did one expect anyone here to acknowledge the fundamentally ugly right-wing nature of the gun militant agenda and its proponents?

"Replies", you know, are sometimes added by way of expanding on info presented. Not just by me.

[Remmah2]

35. Ah yes, guilt by association.

"Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom."

-John F. Kennedy


"I am pleased to accept Life Membership in the National Rifle Association and extend to your organization every good wish for continued success."

-John F. Kennedy, March 20, 1961


"By calling attention to 'a well regulated militia', the 'security' of the nation, and the right of each citizen 'to keep and bear arms', our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy. Although it is extremely unlikely that the fears of governmental tyranny which gave rise to the Second Amendment will ever be a major danger to our nation, the Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships, in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason, I believe the Second Amendment will always be important."

-Senator John F. Kennedy, April 1960

[iverglas]

37. yes, by his freely chosen association, haha

Or did somebody force him to sign up with and hold office in those nasty outfits? What, no freedom of association down there?

Speaking of which, eh? ...

"Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom."

-John F. Kennedy

What have you SACRIFICED today? Did you really miss the point of that single sentence? Missed that "not only", even if it does apply to you?

"Ask not ..."

Everything in those two little quotations goes to your second amendment being a matter of the militia, of the collective right to self-determination.

As for his NRA membership -- 1961? What was the NRA doing at that time? Bankrolling right-wing candidates in an effort to defeat Democrats and "liberals"? Was Kennedy a fool?

Good gawd, you quoted John F Kennedy saying things that are actually the polar opposite of the gun militant agenda, and you think you've done something clever?

[Remmah2]

40. Sounds like twisted logic.

[GreenStormCloud]

6. I carry in case trouble come to me. N/T

[Euromutt]

31. Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

Though in my case I'd add "or to my (currently) 5 year-old son." Having a kid triggered my protective instincts in a big way.

[izquierdista]

7. Kicking it along on the ground is rather dangerous?

:shrug:

[ileus]

17. that's reserved to hi-points...

[Union Scribe]

28. Lol, perfect.

:D

[geckosfeet]

8. Why do you ask?

Essentially, this is the question put to you/us on the MA licensing application.

One/a proper response is, 'for all lawful purposes'.

I don't hunt, so that leaves the most of the rest.

[RSillsbee]

45. Why do I ask

because the same question got asked on one of those eeeevil right wing (If they're pro gun the must be right wing right?) pro gun forum and I wanted to compare our answers to their's

[Speck Tater]

9. I get off on having the power of life and death over the sheeple around me.

Or at least that's what I imagine some folks might feel about it. I personally don't carry, although I do enjoy target shooting.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

10. I carry for personal safety

I live in the middle of nowhere. There is a bunch more nowhere between me and civilization. If I go down, it may be a while before I get help. Kind of like Alaska out in the CA desert.

[ileus]

11. I went coyote hunting this evening...my M&P went along, you can't be too safe.

IMHO...

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. My neighborhood cats are cougars

It pays to take them seriously

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

13. I carry because I can.

I enjoy shooting and I'm very proficient at it so carrying a gun only requiringes knowing some basic laws and heavy enough belt to support a holster... it's not really an incnvenience at all. After awhile it becomes habit (like remembering your pocketknife or wallet). It's nice to know that if something life threatening happens around me that I have another option or chance to do something about it.

The chances are slim, but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Not too many others carry either, or give a shit about strangers anyways, so I can't really count on others to take care of situation for me.

[Arctic Dave]

14. The only time I carry is in bear country.

Other then that I have them inthe safe. I have guns that haven't seen light in over a decade.

[ileus]

16. I had one pistol since 1986 and never fired it...

I have two rifles that haven't been shot in 20 years, one rifle I've never shot, half my shotguns I don't have more than 5 rounds through. Most of mine see the light but no action....LOL

[Glassunion]

20. I would rather have bear mace.

From personal experience, I can say it is quite effective.

Bonus, we all(me, my wife and the bear) all lived and were not harmed(mostly).

Down side... Right now there is one pissed off bear looking to get even.

[Arctic Dave]

22. My wife carries the spray,

she's also slower then me. :D

[Kennah]

29. I carry in human country because they are INCREDIBLY dangerous, especially during mating season

[ileus]

33. and in their search for drugs...

[Glassunion]

18. Zombies.

[ileus]

21. are everywhere...go prepared.

[DWC]

23. Peace Through Strength.

It works between people just like it works between governments.

Semper Fi,

[AtheistCrusader]

24. Because human life is precious, and worth protecting.

Even a republican piece of shit, like Workman.

[slackmaster]

25. I generally don't carry one

When I do, it's usually in remote wilderness areas.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

59. +1

[Remmah2]

38. On very rare occasions I carry.

In fact, only twice in 20 years.

But it's my choice, not some politician's, not some newspaper's, not some anti-choice organization's, not some other individual's.

[ileus]

41. Because my family is important to me.

[era veteran]

42. At certain times

Restaurant business.

[gravity556]

44. Mostly because I can't fit a cop in my pocket.

Also there's that whole kidnapping capital of the US thing, armed skirmishes between cartels and border patrol just a 150 miles away. My back is too fucked up to run, and I'm not going to chance further injury if someone wants to inflict violence on my person. Pepper spray too.

[Oneka]

46. I carry.

for my own personal protection. No one but me can decide what tools i will use for the purpose of defending myself, if the need arises.
My natural right to own and carry the weapon of my choice, is codified, not granted, by both the first and second amendments to the
United States constitution.

[Iktomiwicasa]

47. I rarely (basically never)

carry at home on the rez, but I do carry off rez particularly when I go in to Rapid City. Unfortunately, there are still many folks who hate indians, and protection FOR indians and prosecution against people who commit crime against indians is unbalanced in favor of the white man.

[RSillsbee]

48. I worked on the Rosebud reservation for a summer when I was a kid

beautiful country

[ileus]

49. Because I believe in safety first...and value life and family.

[zewaterwhite]

50. we are not allowed ,because it's not safe

we are not allowed to carry a guy or a knife in general.

[Iktomiwicasa]

52. Who is "we"...

..and where are you located? Why is a firearm in the hands of a sane and law abiding, responsible adult "unsafe"?

[jmg257]

51. When I do, its because the perceived benefits outweight any inconvenience. nt

[We_Have_A_Problem]

54. Why do I carry a gun?

Because a cop is too heavy.

Because when seconds count, the cops are at least 30 minutes away.

Because my stuff is more important than a criminal's desire to have it.

Because my life is worth more than a criminal's.

Because they are a good problem solving tool for certain kinds of problems.

Because I cannot buy "criminal repellant".

Because I can.

Shall I go on? Yes, I can toss in a huge pile of smartassed responses, but at the end of the day, I carry because I choose to. Simple as that. Same reason I practice the religion I do, vote the way I do, have the type of life i do, have sex the way I want, and eat the food I want - I'm a grown up who doesn't need the government to hold my hand when I cross the street.

[DWC]

55. Why do I carry a defensive handgun?

Simple answer. It is the best tool available to stop a living being from harming me and my property, where ever I may be

Semper Fi,

[eallen]

56. I wouldn't live where I felt the need to carry a gun

Color me strange, but I like to walk out my door wearing shorts, sandals, hat, and old shirt. Without worrying about a gun.

:hippie:

[We_Have_A_Problem]

58. Glad you can do that.

However, not all of us have the ability to pick and choose where we live. Financial and other considerations somewhat drive the decision.

Besides, you could walk out of your house wearing that and still have one with you if you wished.

It also isn't really a case of "needing" to carry one. It is mostly a choice to do so. Most of us who carry do so for the same reason we own a fire extinguisher, or wear a seat belt - Life is unpredictable and it is better to be prepared and not need it than to need it and not have it.

I don't find having one to be a burden either. Not like they weigh a whole lot. The one I carry most of the time weighs about 1-1/4lbs with a full magazine. Not exactly a big deal.

[ileus]

60. I walked out yesterday...

shorts, sandals, no hat, tee shirt and a LCP. 12oz gun doesn't take much worry at all, my cell is the same size and balances perfectly on my left side. Took a 2 mile walk with the wife, come back home and walked 100 yards and fished with the kids. Evening before basically the same dress but we rode the bikes 5 miles instead. This evening should be another bike ride evening.

[oneshooter]

57. Why?

Because it is a lot lighter, and eats fewer donuts, than the cop I was carrying around.

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas

[Lurks Often]

61. For self defense

I carry most of the time, unless I am traveling out of state or intend to drink or am otherwise prohibited by state law from carrying. (Courts, etc). I carry for the same reason I wear a seatbelt, have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and smoke detectors in the house: sometimes the unexpected happens and it is smart to make reasonable plans ahead of time to deal with the unpleasant surprises that life sometimes hands us.
If I KNEW trouble was coming I would call the police and let them deal with it.

[Bonhomme Richard]

62. Rarely carry unless I happen to be going to the range that day.

Otherwise at home it is right next to the bed.