why do you carry/arm yourself

[beef84084]

i wanna know why everyone has made the choice to carry/arm yourself? just wanna share my views and wanna hear if anyone else is like mine or what everyone else thinks.

im not a very religious person, and i dont want to make anything into a religious argument plz. I have a view that there has to be an equal amount of good to an equal amount of bad in this world its 50/50, it may seem more bad cuz you hear about it vs the good. but in my mind the bad is becoming more and more unknown, and what i mean by that is they lash out at random things. i remember back in the late 90s andrew brennan i believe his name killed the police sheriff in a normal traffic stop with an m1 carbine and when asked why he stated " cuz he let me" , when i was in college i took a class for criminal justice and part of a test/assignment we had to watch the video and i still remember it. Andrew started going crazy saying hes a vietnam vet and etc and the cop should kill him and then he just snapped even more and went to his truck and loaded his gun and started firing. i was young then was just started high school back then when the incident accured so didnt think much of it till later in life. im 27 now and as i grow older i start to see how the world changing and its not the same as when i was young, and over the years you hear about these weird people freaking out doing random things to people. latest example is that zimmerman case in the south. i do not want a discussion on if he was right or wrong not my point. but the act of what happened got me thinking, as if anyone has read i have been looking for more training in pistol and currently scheduled to take my carry class. now i guess my point in this random babble is i have chosen to train and become the best i can to help protect myself in a case of either of say those 2 storys in this post. i dont want to get hit by a guy in a car and thinking its just a normal accident and the guy goes out to be crazy and i get caught with my pants down and have no experience to fight back. i work nights been that way for 6 years, and i drive a nice car and i dont want to be driving out to a friends house or on the way home and some person thinks im up to no good and does what zimmerman did, once again not trying to say hes right or wrong, this is not a tread for that. the more time goes by i belive some people start to lash out more and more and we might start seeing more and more of these problems and i dont want it to be to late then if i am to be put in those situations. as of right now i dont plan on carrying right away i feel kind of uneasy right now thinking its on me or in my car, so i would say 85% of the carry class and other training is the knowledge and experience that i will gain. i would rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it.

admin if this is in wrong section plz move. but didnt know were else to put this

[UtahJarhead]

Zimmerman claims he shot the kid because the kid flattened his face and was bashing his head into the concrete. Current evidence supports this.

So unless you mean that if you're ever out bashing someones brains into the ground and you don't want them to be able to defend themselves, I'm not sure what you mean.

[UtahJarhead]

HOWEVER.... if you meant that you carry in case you need to defend yourself in an immediate situation, well I can't argue with that.

[Hawk87]

Ok, just a friendly word of advice, paragraphs make reading easier when you have a lon,g post.

I carry for a lot if reasons, but to put it simply, i carry for the same reason i wear a seat belt. Its better to carry everyday you whole life and never need it, then to need it one day and not have it.

And i really like guns

[RoccoRacer]

I carry for a lot if reasons, but to put it simply, i carry for the same reason i wear a seat belt. Its better to carry everyday your whole life and never need it, than to need it one day and not have it.

And i really like guns

+1
It's my responsibility to protect my family, and carrying is a great way to do that.
And because it's my right (unalienable right to life).
And because I feel a little bit more empowered (guns are great negotiators)

[toothguy]

One of my coworkers told her dad, who is a cop, that I carry everywhere and OC most of the time. He told her, "Just because you can, it doesn't mean you should." It got me thinking. I asked her to ask him how often he is there to prevent a crime or how often he is there even while the crime is being committed vs. arriving after the crime has been committed and taking statements. He didn't have any comment on that. We've all heard the quote, "When seconds count, the police are just minutes away."

I carry because I want to protect my family and, more specifically, I OC most of the time because it is my way of letting people know that I will not be an easy target and to please wait until I and my family have left before you do anything crazy.

[UtahJarhead]

I like what toothguy said.

"It's not about the odds, it's about the stakes."

[gobbly]

I had several reasons to begin carrying. The first thing that really made me consider it seriously was taking classes at the U of U. Many of these classes are large, 130-280 students. From raw numbers (and the average undergrad being under 21 years old), I assume only a handful (maybe two or three) are armed, leaving a precious few to react if someone decides they have a beef against the school, department, professor, or fellow students. Given the choice between cowering under a row of seats hoping you aren't seen, or fighting back, I will take option two.

I am the sort of person who feels obliged to step into a situation where I thought someone was going to be severely injured or be killed. Be it a domestic dispute, robbery, bar fight, gang activity, or whatever. If I was forced to sit by and someone who was innocent was harmed, I would have a hard time working through that mentally. By always being armed, I have more tools at my disposal to handle such situations.

This is a little off topic, but one of the things I never expected about carrying, but have come to really appreciate, is how much it effects the way I carry myself, and how I think about situations. It tends to keep me more reserved. I get less upset with mistakes other drivers make. Without a conscious effort I feel more soft spoken. I can take a little more verbal abuse from random idiots without feeling like I have to respond. The weight on my hip is like a constant subconscious reminder that I must hold myself to a higher standard.

[bltdonahue]

It’s easy. The reasons I keep and bear arms are:
-To defend me and mine. Not just from petty crooks, but from an increasingly insane world.
-Because they’re fun
-Because I can

[UnderratedF00l]

This is a little off topic, but one of the things I never expected about carrying, but have come to really appreciate, is how much it effects the way I carry myself, and how I think about situations. It tends to keep me more reserved. I get less upset with mistakes other drivers make. Without a conscious effort I feel more soft spoken. I can take a little more verbal abuse from random idiots without feeling like I have to respond. The weight on my hip is like a constant subconscious reminder that I must hold myself to a higher standard.

+1.


As for me, I carry to have options.

I sincerely hope that I never, EVER, have to use my firearm. Besides the financial ruin and likelihood of being charged/going to jail/etc (as outlined by Divegeek; a line of thinking I subscribe to), I never want to have to live with another human being's blood on my hands, regardless of whether or not it was a "good shoot" or not. I don't ever want to kill another person. I always have the option to run away, fight back with other means, or even talk myself out of the situation rather than use my firearm, and I will do everything I can not to shoot someone.

I don't want to be the "hero", or the guy that stops the masked man from robbing a bank. I would much rather be a good witness for the police. However, I will not hesitate if my life -- or someone I care about -- is in immediate danger, and I have no other options.

The Trayvon Martin shooting is a firm reminder that we must be judicious in our use of force. I don't know all the facts about the case, but I don't need to know all of them to have sympathy for everyone involved. The only facts that I know are correct is that a 17-year-old kid is dead; taken from his family. That's a tragic and sad thing, regardless of how it happened, and I have a massive amount of empathy for his mother. Zimmerman has to live with that on his conscience for the rest of his life.

The rest is for the courts to figure out.

[NormanXDm]

I can sum it up with an experience I had late last summer...

My wife and I frequently walk on the Lagoon trail - from Farmington Pond down to the campground and back. It's good exercise, pretty and outdoors. She'll been fairly neutral about me carrying a pistol, and most of the time doesn't even pay attention. I always carry when we're walking, since many times it's dark before we get back to the car.

During the summer, it's not unusual to see groups of kids on the trail around the back parts of the park, trying to figure out a way to "sneak" in. Last summer we came up on a group of kids that were dressed to make you think they were gang related (I'm not profiling, just making an assessment based on their dress and behavior). They were standing in the trail with major attitude, acting as if they weren't planning on making way for a couple of folks out for a walk. My wife didn't say a word, didn't even look at me, but reached her arm around me and I felt her pat my hip, making sure my compact 1911 was there.

We ended up passing by with no issues what soever (I suspect now that they were gang "wanna bees") - but it was nice to know that if required, I was ready and able to protect myself and my wife. This is why I carry.

[pedman]

Ok, just a friendly word of advice, paragraphs make reading easier when you have a lon,g post.

I carry for a lot if reasons, but to put it simply, i carry for the same reason i wear a seat belt. Its better to carry everyday you whole life and never need it, then to need it one day and not have it.

And i really like guns

I like your thought, but keep in mind that it is the law to have your seat belt on, not to carry. I follow your concept, so don't take it wrong. I liken it to 'I am trained in CPR, I hope that I never have to use it, but if I do, I have the knowledge and skill to do it if needed.' The same goes for carrying, I hope that I never have to use it, but I have the knowledge and skill to use if ever needed.

[Tenuki]

I like what toothguy said.

"It's not about the odds, it's about the stakes."

I really like this viewpoint as well. Since I have heard that I have brought it up several times - including last night - when talking to friends and associates about the subject. It is an absolutely irrefutable point.

I carry because my life, as well as those around me are the stakes, and I cannot trust such a wager to anybody but myself. I practice and train for the same reasons.

[Hawk87]

Ok, just a friendly word of advice, paragraphs make reading easier when you have a lon,g post.

I carry for a lot if reasons, but to put it simply, i carry for the same reason i wear a seat belt. Its better to carry everyday you whole life and never need it, then to need it one day and not have it.

And i really like guns

I like your thought, but keep in mind that it is the law to have your seat belt on, not to carry. I follow your concept, so don't take it wrong. I liken it to 'I am trained in CPR, I hope that I never have to use it, but if I do, I have the knowledge and skill to do it if needed.' The same goes for carrying, I hope that I never have to use it, but I have the knowledge and skill to use if ever needed.

You have a point about seatbelts being required by law, and granted it was a better analogy before we had to wear them. I still like it though because its something that everyone can relate to, and most people would wear one anyway. That said I really like the CPR comparision, the only problem is that I am not certified in CPR anymore.

[The Armed Female]

I practice and train for the same reasons.

I wish that everyone who carries did these things--practice and train. But from the reality of working with many on the public and private range, pulling the trigger is about as far as some people go. Things like drawing, aiming and actually hitting their target are lost.