CCW: Your answer to the "why" question

[22lovr]

Riddle Of Steel: Thanks for sharing.

My Irish ancestors came from the central region, an area called Carrickmacross (SP?) My Irish grandfather's clan came to western Kansas by covered wagon and lived to see men walk on the moon. I had an ancestor (John Jones, Jr) who fought in the revolutionary war in New York State. I had a great-great grandfather from the Indiana regiment who fought and died in the Civil War. I had a Marine father who fought in WW II. I myself am a Vietnam Veteran (1966).

I'm an artisan, not a warrior. However anything not worth dying for is not worth living for either.

We, here in America, are witnessing the unraveling our our western civilization. We are two, maybe three weeks from anarchy in the streets with the disatrous or subversive loss of our infrastructure.

The ancient art of owning and handling weapons may prove to be an absolutely vital and life-saving skill.

 

[Carbon_15]

Briliant answers guys...all of them.


"There are going to be situations where people are going to go without assistance. That's just the facts of life."
~ L.A. Police Chief Daryl Gates

"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun."
~ The Dalai Lama, (May 15, 2001,
The Seattle Times)

"A government and it's agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any particular citizen"
- Warren v. District of Columbia (D.C. App.1981)

"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity"
-Sigmund Freud,

"When the strong man fully armed guardeth his own court, his goods are in peace."
~ Jesus Christ
[Luke 11:21.6]

"...and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one."
~ Jesus Christ [Luke 22:36]

"If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed."
~ Exodus 22:2-3


but the best reason, is to protct folks like this...
"The best way to deal with a person with a gun pointed at you is to say, 'I know you're upset.' Compassion is the answer. They are human beings and want the same things I do. Try to be compassionate with them and relate to them."
- Jessica Flag, national delegate to the "Million" Mom March, May 7, 2000, Washington, DC

 

[dkochan]

I carry a gun and a knife because:

1) I believe in the right to self-defense.

2) I believe that I am responsible for my safety and that of my family.

3) The police will not be there to protect me when I need them.

4) I would rather have a concealed weapon and not need it than be in a situation where I or my loved ones are injured/killed because I didn't have a weapon.

 

[September11]

Better to have and not need than to
Need and not have...

 

[Joe Demko]

"Because a rocket launcher is too f_____ing big for an IWB holster."

 

[Dirty Barry]

I think Jack19 is 100% error free in his statements!!
All it takes is one unarmed meeting with an armed assailant to shorten your life.

 

[JasonReed]

Although few people know I carry (mostly family and assorted girlfriends along the way), I've always found that a short answer is tough because if they REALLY don't understand it's because they've got a pretty strong prejudice against firearms. I usually say it's to protect myself and those I car about. Nobody ever needs a gun...until you need one. Then you really need it. Kinda like a seatbelt.

Then it turns into a Q&A session, sort of a back and forth. I just try to be as calm and reasonable as I can.

"Why not call the police?" Calling the police is great, but it only takes a few seconds to get killed and a whole lot longer for the police to arrive. Small comfort to my family if the police are able to quickly apprehend the guy who killed me. The notion that you can call on someone to come to a scene to protect you is an illusion...in real time it's up to you.

"But look at all the crimes committed with guns?" Yeah, but I'm protecting myself against those crimes, not committing them. Think about it for a second...If guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns is more than just a bumpersticker. The badguys aren't going to say to themselves "Well, I'm OK with robbery, assault, rape, and murder but I sure wouldn't want to illegally possess a firearm (although they are almost certainly doing that already under existing laws) so I'd better turn in my handgun." As long as there are 2-legged predators roaming the world, I'm going to be able to defend myself against them.

And on and on like that. I usually end it up with asking "Think about this for a second and be honest. Remember that time we were walking through (insert dark street here)...did it make you feel better or worse knowing I was there and I was armed?" or if that hasn't been an actual situation, "OK, picture this then. It's 11:30 PM and you're walking across the dark restaurant parking lot when three big thugs step out from behind a van to block your way. Of all the people you know, would you want me or one of your other friends to be standing at your side?" That usually helps.

 

[Kirk Keller]

Simple

Because I am responsible for protecting the people I love most in this world from people who would murder them for the change in their pocket.

 

[Oracle]

Whenever anyone asks me the question "why do you carry?" I tell them this story, all, sadly, very true.

I had a friend that, several years ago, was driving through Atlanta, and his wife and infant child were in the car with him. At this time, carjackings were happing quite frequently in Atlanta, and in many of the cases, when the people surrendered their cars to the carjackers, they were all killed, and women were frequently raped and then killed. As my friend was driving through an intersection in Atlanta, several men came up beside the car, pulled guns, and told him to give them the keys and get out of the car. Instead of complying, he hit the accelerator, and was shot and killed, we all assumed that he did this (hit the accelerator) because of the low survival rate of carjacking victims at the time in Atlanta. His wife and child survived relatively uninjured (the car hit a building across the street after he was shot and the gangsters that shot him ran away). This all happened at an intersection that I have to go through several times per week to get to my client's jobsites.

After that, I always carry a gun with me. It may have not saved my friend's life, but I'm sure that he would have liked to have had another option other than what he had.

 

[RandyC]

Honestly, I've never been asked. Very few people know I carry, even among the people I am around all the time. But I've considered what I'd say and I believe it would be ...

"Because I can." And if that isn't adequate for them to understand, I suppose I'd add something like ... "While the chances of me or my wife facing injury or death from a bad guy might be remote, that extra weight on my side is a small price to pay to know I'd be prepared."

 

[popnokick]

The sheeple like short sound bites. Give them this answer: "It's good citizenship."

 

[MitchSchaft]

I always say, "For the same reason why you wear a seatbelt..."

 

[Texas Bob]

You asked for a short and to the point answer, the late Sir Winston Churchill said, " A gentleman will seldom ever need a pistol, but if he does, he needs one very badly." As for myself, I say, "It's not the odds, but what's at stake!"

 

[OkieCruffler]

I always answer the question with a question. "Why don't you carry?"

 

[Jim LaRue]

give 'em a couple of reasons.

Whenever I am asked the why question, my first response has always been becuase it is my constitutional rigfht. However in order to not be thought of as the leader of the local malitia, I have a differfent of doing things.

I first of all let them know that I carry a gun everyday everytime I go to work, brecause that is what I am payed to do. More often than not this satifies them, I guess they think that if it is for work it is all right.


2.) I tell them it is to protect myslef and my family. I let them know that while doing armed security in the bad parts of town I have made more than my fair share of enemies. I have also had more than my fair share of threats, most of them documented with local law enforcement. I figure I carry a gun when I am with my family just in case, and I hope that it never happens, somebody tries to follow through with a threat.


Jim

 

[HaveGun]

I just look at "em and say...What's the first rule of gun fightin'?.........Have a Gun!

 

[GeorgeH]

I'm 45 years old, with a five year old son. During my lifetime I've had a gun drawn on me four times. I understand, more than most, that anyone can be a victim.

 

[dr smith]

simply

It's my right, I like guns, I feel as if my weapons are some parts of my body, needed everytime!

 

[don't shoot it's me]

Same reason we carry condoms....never know when you may have to shoot....

 

[Mike Irwin]

Why not?

or

Because the police won't assign me an officer 24x7. They say it's something about their not having to protect individuals in society, just society in general.