YabuUS wrote:"Do you carry" and "Why do you carry" are both good questions. I've answered the first, now I'll try to answer the second question. My answer to "Why do you carry" is a very personal one. Many years ago I was a victim. I was held up at gun point and could have died very easily on the spot. I was running a service station at the time and one evening about 7pm a young black man walked into my office and stuck a .38 snub nosed revolver in my chest and cocked it. He demanded my wallet and the money in the register. With every demand he shoved that revolver a little harder into my chest. Now you all know how easy it is to set off a cocked revolver. I was stone cold calm. I guess I had subconsciously resigned myself to dying and I was just waiting for the bang. He took my wallet and the money from the register and fled. Needless to say the cops never caught him. I have relived that scene hundreds of times in my mind since. I'm convinced that there was absolutely nothing I could have done to prevent what happened. Even if I had been carrying a weapon myself, it would have done me no good. Once the bad guy's gun is shoved against your chest, it's too late to reach for yours. This does not mean, however, that I am resigned to being a victim again if I can help it. A lot of things have changed since that incident. I'm 68yrs old now, badly over weight, a heart patient with a stent in my chest, and i have arthritis in my knees and hips. All this means I can't run and I can't fight off an attacker. It's not a sure thing - as the incident I've have just described shows = but I want the option to do something if I can to defend myself if I should ever need to again. Carrying a gun gives you "relative" security - not "absolute" security. So my approach to personal security is this - as any police officer will tell you - be alert, be aware of the people around me, evaluate as best I can the security risk of any situation, and have the option to defend myself should I ever have to. With the gun I "may" be able to defend myself and save my life or the life of someone close to me. Not having the gun practically guarantees you will be a victim when the bad guy walks up.
Man, I am sorry to hear that. Glad it turned out as it did.
I have always said that firearms are 'the great equalizer'. My father had a great line towards this end in his last months. He was suffering greatly from prostate cancer - it had spread to his bones. But none of us knew anything because he never complained. We found out about his prostate cancer when we had to take him to the hospital. For anyone that knows anything about prostate cancer you will recognize that as being ridiculous. He never went to the doctor from the time I was born until the day he died. And that cost him his life. Anyway..... he hurt when he walked and was terribly weak. He was not frail by any stretch - still a relatively beefy man - but just felt weak. His bones were like swiss cheese and any movement hurt. But it didn't stop him from going out and trying to lead a normal life as long as he could. On one of his last outings he had gone shopping and was walking back to his car in the parking lot. He started feeling weak and took a break by leaning up against a pickup truck in the lot. From behind him he heard "Hey old man, get off my truck".... he immediately responded, without turning around, "I may be an old man, but I've got a new .357". Turns out the harasser was actually a friend of his just giving him hell. The point is..... an old frail man felt he could equal an attacker because of his gun - the equalizing effect.
In other words, I am with you - I would rather have one and at least have a chance at defending myself even if I know that 90% of the time it will be useless. Having said that, I don't carry. Like goose, I never really felt the need. The only time I have wanted to 'carry' is near my home because there are frequently packs of feral dogs (basically packs of small wolfs) and they are known to attack. When I go out walking around with my kids I bring my Mak.
/long winded BS :p
"The waves which dash on the shore are, one by one, broken; but yet the ocean conquers nevertheless."
- Lord Byron