Why I Carry A Gun: A Personal Anecdote

By Daniel Miessler on July 22nd, 2008: Tagged as Freedom | Guns

concealed_carry

People often ask me why I choose to carry a concealed weapon. When I respond that there is real crime being committed all around us, and that I refuse to forfeit my chances when confronted with it, the answer is usually the same.

That’s just sensationalism. It’s very safe in America. The times in which you would ever need to protect yourself with a gun are mostly fantasy, constructed merely to support your argument.

No, they aren’t.

A buddy of mine recently underscored why carrying a weapon is not an outlandish idea. He had just purchased a Nintendo Wii, at a Walmart in a small town, in broad daylight, when someone came up behind him and his girlfriend.

He said, “Hey, is that one of those new Wii’s?” My buddy turns and says excitedly, “Yeah, man, they only had a couple more — you better hurry up if you want one.”

The guy responds, “How about you sell me that one?”, and my friends says, “Nah, man…I’ve been waiting to get one for months…” — not realizing there was any danger. At that point the guy says, “No, you don’t understand — how about you just GIVE me that one…” — as he pulls a knife on him.

In a flash, my buddy drops the Wii, pulls his Glock, and keeps it trained on the guy as he reaches for his mobile phone to call police. The guy didn’t take long to make his decision; he bolted and was gone within 30 seconds.

The police took over seven minutes to get there.

Some may say that the situation wasn’t worth it. Just give the guy the Wii, right? Wrong.

That’s not the country I want to live in. I, as an American, want the right to repel those who attempt to infringe upon my freedoms. And pulling a knife on me, while I’m with my woman, in order to steal from me, most definitely qualifies.

Keep in mind: this happened around an hour from where I live, less than a year ago, and similar things are happening nearly every day in my area. The threat isn’t theoretical. It’s not fantasy conjured up to support an argument. It’s real. And its foundation in reality is simultaneously the foundation of my logic for carrying.

If crime was extremely rare I’d be as anti-gun as you can imagine. But it’s not, so I do what I have to. I simply refuse to rely on the government for my security. And as an American, I shouldn’t be asked to.:

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Viewing 14 Comments

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    you and your friend rock.

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    It's been proposed that if there were gun carrying students inside the buildings at Virginia Tech, someone would have had the chance to take the attacker down before he got through so many victims.


    Whether or not I'm using a tragedy to advocate for more gun rights, I am utilizing my observations and reasoning to a logical outcome. Less gun rights, and more gun restrictions, would be a move in the opposite direction.


    Criminals do not have the motivation to obtain weopons legally, so they won't, and to expect restrictions on gun ownership to delay them is unreasonable. Guns are available on the street.


    When the illegal element is armed, and your grandmother runs in their path, wouldn't you hope someone decent would be nearby, enabled to give her a chance of something better than fear or death?


    Nowadays, it isn't fearmongering as much as reality.


    -=T=-

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    Anyone who claims it's safe in this country hasn't lived in the "sketchy" parts of town or known people who were pretty desperate. Maybe they're living in those well-to-do, low-crime areas where the most visible civil offense is pit-pocketing. Unless you have Jedi skills, the odds aren't in your favor when the other party has the weapon and you don't.

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    "I, as an American, want the right to..."
    Every time I hear or read that phrase, it sends shivers down this Canadian's spine. From our general perspective, there seems to be something 'broken' in how Americans view guns - and their rights - seems to be an "us vs. them" vigilante, distrustful mentality. Our homicide rate is less than half that of the USA and barely anyone I know has ever owned, let alone held a gun. And the vast majority would like to keep it that way.
    Arming everyone doesn't decrease crime - it just makes everyone afraid of everyone and gives power to people who should not have it. Look at South Africa (where I'm originally from).

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    The outcome that I wish would've occurred would've been two to center mass on the perp. Now he just lives to rob some other sheeple another day. Scum.


    Problem is, if your friend had put two into this guy like he deserved, he would've been arrested, possibly charged and then even sued in civil court by the offender's family. What kind of screwed up world is that when the victim gets penalized? I say one less thug the better.

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    If you want to know how silly gun laws are, consider this:


    Let's just make a law that says criminals are not allowed to carry or own guns. That should solve all our problems, since criminals are the ones using guns to commit crimes.


    :-)


    Oh, wait...


    Great post Daniel, I agree with Jon: you and your friend rock!

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    So, for the peanut gallery, what are you packing these–a–days?

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    @Steve


    Glock 23c.

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    @k.


    Here is the biggest problem with your understanding of America. When I hear "I, as an American, want the right to…", it sends shivers down MY spine! American's do not want rights, they are not "given" rights, rather the Constitution merely reaffirms the preexisting rights granted to every human. So I do not "Want the right" to anything, I already have 10 guaranteed rights to work with ;-)


    Further more to your assertion that an armed populace is full of scaredy cats/is just afraid/does not affect crime/etc., I would direct you to John Lott's book "More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun-control Laws" or "Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-carry Concealed Handguns". I think you will find the statistics shocking. In places where gun control is strictest, crime is highest. (See Washington, D.C., Atlanta, GA, and Chicago, IL.)


    Also, can your theory explain why Luby's Dienr, Virginia Tech, N.I.U., Columbine, Trolley Square, etc. all occured in places were lawful possession of a firearm for self defense? How is it that so many massacres occur in "Gun Free Zones"?


    Further, you are correct in your assertion that GUN Violence is lower per capita in Canada, Austrailia, and Britain. Oddly enough, Stabbings, Muggings, and other Violent crime is far greater than that of the US. I'll let you draw your own conclusions to that.

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    I'm with you on the part about just handing over the Wii. To merely hand something over says that time and effort which equals my money is worth absolutely zero. I wouldn't have wasted my time getting a job if I were going to give everything away. Pacifists say to just give in to the criminals in hopes that after they are through robbing or raping you that they just leave. That really worked well on 9/11 didn't it? Statistically we're running at around 50% in Atlanta for getting shot in the back by a carjacker once they kidnap you and have you empty your bank accounts at the ATM. I'll go down fighting since you really have nothing to lose at 50%.

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    Holy crap, an issue we agree on!! Awesome stuff.

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    There are so many ways to resolve this situation that don't require a gun.

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    @Derek


    Please look at this page illustrating "how to write strong arguments." What you did is called contradiction because you state an opposing case and provide no supporting evidence. It may be in the middle of the pyramid, but that's only because so many types of arguments are poor.

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    First of all, I'm sure people's views on this depend on their personal experience. I've never worried about crime much. In college I was slightly unrealistic about where was safe to walk at night, and one time I had my backpack grabbed off my back with my laptop in it. I still don't worry about crime much. I have several thoughts on this matter.


    One, turning it into a gun-fight just isn't worth it. The guys who mugged me certainly didn't have guns. My laptop was insured, and my work was backed up. I moved on. I don't think slaughtering some poor black kid and his friends would have made the situation easier. And what if the gun had turned on me in the struggle?


    Two, if everyone typically walked down the street armed with a gun, you can bet those guys who mugged me would have had one. It's like an arms race. As far as I'm concerned, the fewer guns there are in the world, the better. Which brings me to...


    Three, it just isn't practical for me to defend myself from all possible harm. If someone wants to assassinate me, for example, they could snipe me from a window or poison my Starbucks, no problem. I live in the heart of a city, and if I feel safe walking down the street by myself, it's because the neighborhood is safe to a certain extent, not because I'm carrying superior firepower. If I'm not worried about being overpowered by people shouting slogans at me, it's because my neighborhood rarely has people standing around with megaphones, not because I always carry a stick of dynamite in my back pocket that makes a much louder noise.


    Anyway, just some thoughts that occur to me.

 

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    This site is an avatar for my own self-assigned life purpose--an attempt to model the world in the most accurate way possible, and to do so without bias or fear of unpleasant truth. I desire to develop, articulate, and perpetually improve models of how things work, and then to use that understanding to increase happiness and reduce suffering. I seek those on similar paths and thrive on sharing an appreciation of the interesting and beautiful with others.



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