[carteach0]

Thoughtful mood this morning.... mostly because it's going to be a crap day

and I'm trying to put it off I guess.



Why do you carry CCW? I'm curious..........



Me... I consider it an action that reinforces a willingness to take responsability

for my own life and my family. Not run away from responsability, not pawn it off,

not demand someone else pick up the slack, not pay someone else..... just deal with

what I should myself.



Do the police have an obligation to protect us? No... they don't. They have an obligation to

enforce the various laws as best they can and maintain the general peace. They certainly have no obligation to escort my family and I 24/7/365, nor would I want that.



Do I consider myself a 'force for good', a crime fighter, a cop without a badge?

No way friend, no way. If I found someone robbing a store in front of me I expect

I would duck behind something and prepare to defend myself and family. Would I

attempt to stop the robbery? Only if I was sure violence was about to occur and

our lives were in danger. Only if I had no other choice. Quote me on that.



Pacifist? Exactly what is a pacifist? I have never met but one. I have met several people

who said or thought they were pacifist, but on examination it turned out they were

cowards or simply missguided.



A pacifist is someone who rejects violence in all forms. Ever meet one? Ask them if they

would call the police if they were being robbed. If the answer is yes, ask them what they expect the police to do about it. What they expect the police to do, is do violence on their behalf. They are not pacifists, they are just someone who would rather pay someone else to

take the risks for them. Not that this idea of paying the police to enforce the law by being ready to do violence on our behalf is a bad thing. At least, as long as we are honest about it. As soon as we as a society start kidding ourselves about the situation the laws get twisted and police get treated as a necesary evil rather than the heros they could be.



I have met one true pacifist in my life. This woman is a quaker and truly would try

and talk a bad guy around rather than call the police. Thank God her husband

is mean as a snake and carries a weapon..... and no one gets to take advantage of this

nice lady.



I have carried a weapon for most of my life, in the spririt of self defense and self responsability.

I am thankful that I've never been called on to the gravest extreme. Along with the right of self defense comes a lifelong comittment to avoidance, de-escalation, and deterrance. (a phrase

I heard some place and believe in). By following this principle I have managed to avoid most troubles and I hope to keep it that way. On the other hand, should I fail, then I remain prepared

to protect and defend if needed.



Yup..... thats why I carry.



You?

 

[Keech]

I've worked in professions that required me to be armed since I was 18 years old. First, as a Security Police Specialist in the Air Force (Vietnam veteran), then after I got out nine and a half years in civilian law enforcement in KY and southern IN. Now about ten more years in Corporate Investigations for an International Corporation.

This job doesn't require it but after years of people being jailed or losing their jobs because of their own actions, and them blaming and threatening me directly on several occassions, I choose to carry for my protection and that of my family.



Keech

 

[comet66]

I know it is my responsability to protect my loved ones, and time was I felt confident I could do that with pretty much what ever was at hand. As I get older, slower, and more fragile, I know that is no longer the case.



So now I carry my self defense tools with me.



and



Because I can!!

 

[Arizona Smithshooter]

Because I am an American, I live in the great State of Arizona and it is legal for me to carry a concealed weapon. The nearest law enforcement personnel are 30 miles away and calling 911 might not get a response.

 

[PR1]

I carry for the safety of my family.

 

[Buckshot]

I carry because I refuse to be a victim! If it is within my power and ability, I will not let myself or my family become a victim(s).

 

[ConcealedMP]

The reasons I carry....



1) I love Rambo and idolize him...



2) I love the action in movies when guys are blown away...



I crack myself up sometimes... :mrgreen: In all seriousness these are the reasons I carry:



My wife and I are both deaf and it becomes extremely difficult at night time to recognize things that go bump in the night (hence why we have 3 very good Boxers for alarms). I also noticed that I am way more alert being deaf than the average person and this tends to be from my firearms training. My wife feels so much better being with me when I am armed than unarmed. I think a lot of this has to do with her feelings that BG look for vulnerable people and she thinks BG's see our signing in public as a sign of weakness and prey. She will soon be CCW'd as well. We used to live in Phoenix, which was the worst city in the world to be deaf in as I was mugged one time downtown while exiting a movie. We had JUST started dating and I was not comfortable carrying my CCW that evening on a "date". BIG MISTAKE of my life. I am armed 24/7/365. No ands ifs or buts.



Get this, my wife's family lives in California... I dread going to that "country"...



Cheers-

Erich

 

[ConcealedMP]

Because I am an American, I live in the great State of Arizona and it is legal for me to carry a concealed weapon. The nearest law enforcement personnel are 30 miles away and calling 911 might not get a response.

Where are you at in Arizona?? From your description it sounds like the middle of nowhere. I am guessing you live out in the western parts of the state? Like Surprise or even Yuma? I used to live in Mesa off the 202 near Power Rd. Nice to know there's another ccw'er from Arizona in here.



Cheers-

Erich

 

[Arizona Smithshooter]

We live close to Quartzsite, but the Sheriff has to come from Parker, 45 minutes away. We are basically out in the Boondocks and love it....wear a Cowboy hat and gun everyday...just like in the "Old" days!

 

[bcook75]

I live in a city. The crime rate nor the police are too bad. I carry because I refuse to be a victim. Hope to God I will never need it, and probably won't. I will do everything in my power to protect myself and my family.

 

[DixieThunder 24]

I also carry for the safety of my wife and I. If we were to be put in some kind of situation I'm not going down without a fight and the 1st rule of a gun fight is to have a gun. As all of you wish, I also wish to not ever be in such a situation but in this day and age you have to be ready for anything.

 

[josh]

I had a 65+ year old man threaten to kill me and my 5 month old daughter one day after he side-swiped me in traffic. It was that day that I decided to get my CWP to carry for the protection of myself, and my family. It was about 2 weeks after that day I bought my M&Pc 9mm for CCW.





I'll do anything in my power to protect myself, my daughter, my fiance, etc.

 

[tjq]

I carry because I have the right and priviledge to do so. I also carry to protect the rights and lives of my loved ones and myself. There are many, many bad people in this world. Being prepared for the worst while living a good life is another reason that I carry.



I am just your ordinary CCW holding armed citizen who refuses to be a victim or go down without at least a good fight. If it ever comes down to a gunfight with some crackhead/felon/etc., I may not win, but I will know that I fought to protect what I believe in. As much as I practice, I doubt that I would absolutely lose.

 

[bravada]

+1 on tjq's reasons. What prompted me in the first place was my wife and I , fiancée at the time, being held up at gun point when I was 20 by 3 *&^%$#^ $%^*!#'s with 3 guns. Thankfully all they wanted was money that time but from that point on my wife lost her aversion to me having a gun, prior to this she was very antigun, and I never wanted to be in a situation like that again with no way of defending my wife or myself against armed goblins. So as soon as I turned 21 I had my CHL application filled out and was at the first CHL class I could attend. It was a lesson learned the hard way about situational awareness, which had I had some would have kept me from being in that predicament in the first place, and about how the world wasn't quite as rosy as I had previously thought it was. At that point I had only shot a gun once before in my life, a .25 auto

6 years prior to this, and wasn't even interested in guns.

 

[ConcealedMP]

^^^ How much money did you lose that night?? Just curious as I lost all my credit cards and 50 bucks in cash that night to those scumbags in Phoenix...



Cheers-

Erich

 

[bravada]

I couldn't tell you, more time than money really. Maybe 20 bucks cash.



At that point most every place including whataburger started accepting visa so I didn't have much need for cash with a checkcard at my disposal. That said all the time spent canceling credit cards/checkcards, closing bank accounts since they got checks to both of our accounts, getting new DL's and SS card's, replacing the pager, cell phone, and moving was the biggest hurdle. The money and inconvenience was nothing compared to being afraid to go to the grocery store, which is what we were returning home from at the time of the robbery. Not to mention being at home wasn't very comforting either since they got the home address from the DL's and a key to the apt. when they took the wife's purse. Of course the lock was re-keyed that night but that didn't help our uneasiness.



They got into the complex via a broken security gate and not feeling very comfortable there anymore we moved to a more secure apartment within 3 days, with only one point of entry/exit and that point of entry had a 24/7 concierge and security gates. The whole time we lived there no one got in that didn't have a gate clicker or residents approval via the phone from the concierge. I haven't moved a whole apartment worth of crap that fast since then.

Looking back I'm just thankful that they didn't need to make their bones that night for their gang and kill us.

 

[Mdnitedrftr]

Just turn on your nightly news and you'll see exactly why I carry.

 

[TacticalMind]

I carry for the security of my wife, and 2 young children and because it is my right as an American citizen to do so. These days it appears to be unpopular for a man or woman to refuse to become a victim at the hands of some lowlife. But carrying a gun at least gives you that fighting chance you always wish you had when you are unarmed. And lastly, I did not coin this phrase but the longer I live the more sense it makes is "it is far better to die standing up rather than to live on your knees."

 

[Sgt4474]

"It is better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it" these are words to live by.





Semper Fi

 

[choochboost]

I carry because I can. My personal safety is my responsibility. Some think I am paranoid and fearful for carrying, but the way I see it, I would only to be paranoid and fearful if I wasn't able to take steps to ensure my own safety. I am thankful to have the option to defend my life. I don't need to hope that someone else will come and save me if I find myself in a life-threatening situation. I think the chances of me becoming the victim of a violent crime are slim to none, but I am prepared nevertheless. I am fortunate to be able to carry in this state, and CCW is only a pipedream where I used to live, so I do not take it for granted, and it makes me want to fight for CCW rights even more.