Your personal experience that caused you to start carrying?

[oif0709]

Originally Posted by richpetrone

The Luby's cafeteria massacre took place in Killen, Texas in 1991. A mentally disturbed well armed male began randomly killing people in the cafeteria.....23 patrons were murdered, and another 20 were wounded before the madman committed suicide. An unarmed army Lt. Colonel from Ft. Hood was also one of those murdered....guess he never imagined he would die at the hands of an enemy in a cafeteria....

At that time, concealed carry was allowed only by issue of the local state attorney's office. In 1995, the state legislature passed a "shall issue law" which meant that anyone who fufilled the legal requiremnts for a permit could not be turned down. A female doctor who was in the cafeteria witnessed her mother and father's death:

The law had been campaigned for by Dr. Suzanna Hupp, who was present at the time of the shootout where both of her parents were shot and killed. She later expressed regret for obeying the law by leaving her firearm in her car rather than keeping it on her person due to the fact that it could have cost her her chiropractic license.[6] She testified across the country in support of concealed handgun laws, and was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1996.[7] The law was signed by then-Governor George W. Bush.[8]

Police protect society as a whole, and are not responsible for protecting individual citizens. It is up to each citizen to take the necessary measures to be able to protect themselves......this was paraphrased from a Supreme Court ruling, which "opened the door" for more states to allow concealed carry.

Fort Hood Texas november 2009. While stationed there I was helping build a pistol range. A major who for whatever reason burst into a room filled with soldiers and killed 12 of them and one civilian. I think another 20 or 30 were injured. Responding police were shot and injured. My unit spent all night guarding the crime scene and hospital.

Though we can't carry a pof on a military installation I realize if it can happen so close it can happen anywhere.

And people are just crazy. I moved out of the vampire state to Pennsylvania where in allowed to ccw.

[PNWguntalk]

My fiance and I had just left my house one morning driving my powerstroke, and about 1/4 mile down the road a late model SUV cut out in front of me. I almost hit a mailbox swerving around them. Got to the first intersection, red light, two vehicles in front of me, and dag namit, that SUV behind me. Tactically speaking, i was boxed in. Especially with the crappy turn radius of an f250. I hear a door slam and this guy comes over to the passenger door and starts yelling and cussing at me. He even at one point reaches across my fiance and tried swiping at me. Still boxed in, my options are limited. I grabbed his arm as tight as i could and rolled up my passenger power window. He remained there kicking and screaming till city arrived. I feel as though i sorta lucked out, but it could have been a lot worse.

Long story short I took a handgun safety class from Firearms academy of Seattle at a Norpoint facility and i now carry a j-frame .357 at ALL times.

[Busa Dave]

Originally Posted by CrackShot!

I have no REAL reason, I just like guns! and some times "karate" just wont cut it you never know when you'll end up in a bad situation with a person who is more bad@.. than you!

Sometimes you have to know Kapowiee!!

[Odinkar 105]

When I first started as a cop in the early 90s I would sometime carry off duty, but more often then not I'd leave it at home. One day I was mowing and went to my mom's to get some hoses. Three German Shepard type dogs came around the corner and decided that I looked like lunch and all I had to fend them off with was a plastic trash can with the hose in it. Luck was with me as they ran off. About two weeks later I went to a domestic call where the father scared the family with a shotgun and I took dad to jail. Two days later i was in the store where he worked and he decided to tell me how wrong he was. Luck for me I had my off duty with me. I decided then and there to always carry.

[Vos Parate]

The election of Obunghole.

[wornsmoothout]

unexpected life choices ...sorta...turns out mom was with alphabet soup guys. got dragged into same, didnt seem out of the ordinary. I prefer a good blade but I remember the line about a knife to a gun fight.

[turkey1911]

I liked guns and I knew that the world could be a very bad place sometimes. You hear stories of robbery, rape, and murder that could be prevented if the victim had a gun on them and I decided I wont be a victim. I'm not the kind of person who is going to let people walk all over me but there is not much I can do against multiple assailants or armed bad guys if I'm unarmed. I know my protection is my responsibility so I'm going to arm myself.

A friend of mine was nearly kidnapped at gun point last week. He was walking on the road back to base when a man stopped his truck and asked him if he was military. My friend said yes and the man got out, pulled out a gun and told him to get in. My friend did not get in and the man looked around to make sure no one was coming. When he did that my friend punched him as hard as he could and ran away. He got about a block down some street before the man in the truck came looking for him. He came close to finding my friend a few times but eventually gave up. My friend thinks he was going to be taken to jaurez and killed and now he really wants to get his chl when he is 21.

I'm glad I have my mine because here in el paso, it's pretty easy to tell if someone is military, they are generally young and white and I fit that description. The majority of people in this city are hispanic and my friend is mexican so he has an easier time blending in than I do. Some of the gangsters in jaurez are looking for soldiers to kill and I could be picked out of the crowd in a second that is all the more reason for me to carry.

[crackshotsdad]

At age 9 my dad bought me a cheap bolt action .22 fitted with a cheap scope. He asked me if I wanted my allowance in cash or bullets. I always said bullets. I must have put a quarter million rounds through that thing. Suffice it to say, I grew up with a fire arm in my hand, so the moment I was legal to by my own side arm, I did.

I asked dad "if you were going to get a handgun for self defense, what would it be?" "A .45" was all he said to me. "What kind?" I asked. Being a man of few words he took me to a local gun store, asked the man behind the counter to retrieve a pistol he was looking at, and then handed me a 1911. Then he said two words that changed my gun toten' life forever.... "this one"

I've carried a 1911 ever since, and you know....dad was right!!!

[LFN]

about 25 years ago before cell phones, internet and shall issue laws. I was living in northern mississippi and working 7 on 7 off out of Louisianna, which ment once a week I was driving alone long distance usually at night.

back then I owned several big bore SA revolvers but no real carry gun, and the laws were confusing, and don't ask a cop for interpritation, I was told open carry was legal but even if I had it on the dash he could arrest me because the back side was concealed!

anyway around midnight on a bitter cold winter night I was traveling down the trace, not usually any traffic at that time of night and coming up on a T intersection there is a large sedan with lights on stopped on the side road and a person in the middle of my lane wearing a long coat was directing me off onto the side road.

I mistook this person to be a cop and after turning I stopped to ask where I was being directed to as I did not know the area.

A young woman approched my car and said her car had broken down and she was freezing and nobody would stop for her, could I give her a ride into town?

Now my head is on a swivel trying to make sure nobody is sneeking up on me and keep an eye on what she's doing, I'm in a pickle I don't usually stop for anyone but I couldn't leave her stranded, I had enough tools on hand maybe I could have fixed her car but that would put me very vulnerable to attack, so I decided to give her a ride.

Now she didn't trust me anymore than I trusted her, the first thing she said after getting in was "your not going to hurt me are you?". so now I'm driving miles down a side road I don't know to who knows where with who knows who in the passenger seat.

eventually we come to a small town with a closed store and a payphone, she gets out to call for a ride and again I am trying to watch 360 around the car, she says someone is coming and I don't need to wait, so I'm outta there.

No I was not attacked but I never felt that vulnerable before, the whole thing could have been a set up.

shortly thereafter I purchased a S&W M66 to ride with me. one thing bugged me though, the law that allowed carry while "traveling" specified in the glove box, but if I had one in the glove box, once she was in the car it would not have been accessable to me.

[1989oluo]

I lived through hurricane andrew it was completely lawless. I there were no emergency services. I saw the first patrol car in the neighborhood of homestead 9 days after hurricane andrew hit. But there were roaming armed gangs, group armed thugs that were robbing people of the water and food and the little people had left. When I told the cops what was going on they told me that I had do whatever I had to do to keep safe. When I was speaking with them I had a Ak over my shoulder. absolutely everyone had a handgun carried in the open. That was in 92 I got my carry permit, and I've carried a handgun ever since then. Everysingle day.

[Mike 139]

Originally Posted by 1989oluo

I lived through hurricane andrew it was completely lawless. I there were no emergency services. I saw the first patrol car in the neighborhood of homestead 9 days after hurricane andrew hit. But there were roaming armed gangs, group armed thugs that were robbing people of the water and food and the little people had left. When I told the cops what was going on they told me that I had do whatever I had to do to keep safe. When I was speaking with them I had a Ak over my shoulder. absolutely everyone had a handgun carried in the open. That was in 92 I got my carry permit, and I've carried a handgun ever since then. Everysingle day.

I remember going down by Saga Bay ...The water mark on the inside walls were as high as 4 feet....NG didn't arrive for several days, took another several days until they were issued ammo...Country Walk subdivision was wiped out with several deaths due to shoddy construction and houses coming apart during the storm...A very rough time for law-abiding citizens, busy time for us..worked 12 on and 12 off, freebie time for the trash that took advantage of no electricity, no alarms, blown-out stores,houses,people that could not defend themselves, etc.

In the S.W portion of the County, I saw concrete utility poles broken in half...It was a war zone,especially at night. Several homeowners had spray-painted in large letters on the outside of their houses " You loot, We Shoot" . And some did.(shoot).

[Chief1297]

The wife and I had come home one Sunday afternoon from her sister's house to find our back door kicked in and in pieces. I was already half way in my house when I came upon it. I instantly felt danger and being helpless (well not completely helpless being 6,1 and 240 but you know what I mean). Since then, I carry every time I leave the house and have activated my alarm system and have a 70lb lab waiting for me when I get home.

[beachbum45]

I spent 8 years in the military. i traveled the world, saw things and did things most people wont dream of. need i say more?

[wonderdog451]

I grew up in the City of Detroit when it was even more dangerous than it is now and when the state would not give out a CC license unless you had "special connections", politician, millionaire, etc.... And seeing the aftermath of several stabbings and shootings really influences you too.

[Texasbdog]

Originally Posted by QHhorseman

Don't really have a story. Over the last few years, I have just come to the realization that I am not "bullet proof". In my younger days I felt I could physically deal with most any threat to myself or my family (the thought of a BG having a gun never really entered my mind). I no longer feel that way. So now I carry a gun.

Exactly my reason as well.

[sstephns]

I went to Virginia Tech.

The first year I was there, a convict got hold of a deputy's gun at the hospital and killed him, then fled.

The second year I was there changed my life. After I lost 32 of my classmates I didn't immediately start carrying but I started to learn about it as much as I could.

Fall of 2008, my third year, I started to carry. A girl was decapitated in a cafe on campus in front of her peers. I can't remember if I was carrying before or after that event but I didn't receive my permit until Feb 2009.

My last year there a young man and a young woman were camping in the national forest and were both shot. That one hasn't been figured out, but I was in those woods where they were shot every night checking my rabbit traps before that.

[Bayou Boy]

Originally Posted by bensec01

I didn't have an epiphany, but more of a slow realization.

1) The country I live in and the world at large is becoming more violent
2) The people around me care about each other less and less
3) A certain segment of the criminal element simply doesn't care what they do
4) That segment is growing

I have lived a blessed life, through a combination of living in decent areas for the most part, being lucky, and instinct. Eventually, that luck will run out. While carrying isn't a guarantee, I intend to stack the odds in my favor as strongly as possible. And so does my wife.

Brother, you are SPOT on!

I carry for the reasons you mention. I had a guy in broad daylight at a bank at 1:30pm try to rob me. Right out in front of the building. He walked to me yelling for me to give him money. He had a knife. I had my hand on my pistol (Wilson Combat Protector) but never drew. It was concealed at my 5. He stopped immediately and said "Please don't shoot me! I'm not a bad person!". He turned and took off running. I would have shot him with ONE more step. I wanted to shoot him in the back and pee in my pants all at the same time. He would have died or I would have trying. I've got a wife and 2 young kids. I plan on going home to see them everyday.

All this occured in a "upper scale" part of town with most folks as good as you could want to be associated with. But there's always the one. Will you be prepared when you meet him?

[sunnymw]

January 1, 2011 I made a resolution to get over my fear of guns. I had a lot of cop friends and they all kinda teased me about it.

March 2011 I walked into a gun store and said to the firearms instructor "Hi, I've never held or shot a gun before in my life." He spent the better part of a few hours with me, starting from the basics, then let me shoot his Glock 19.

I got my Georgia Weapons License in August 2011 when I got a promotion at my job but had to move to a location in Albany. We get robbed every 3 months like clockwork it seems. Never with myself (or my other two carrying employees) on duty because though we conceal, word is out and no one messes with us.



I thought 1911s were hideous and horrible and outdated. Then when I paid a visit to that instructor I shared that sentiment while I was shooting a Glock 36. So, he laughs and hands me his Kimber. He says "this is a professional's gun. Once you shoot this, you won't want anything else."

That Glock 36 got traded not long afterwards for my first 1911.

[knightkrawler00]

When I was 6 years old, a man attempted to murder my dad with a 12 gauge shotgun, just because my dad wore a badge. A bullet in his spinal column just above his shoulders paralyzed the POS from that point down. My dad walked away unhurt and I learned very young that there are evil people walking this planet that will kill you for any reason.

[Red Dirt Dave]

Cogito ergo armatum sum

[DivePanama]

Originally Posted by Red Dirt Dave

Cogito ergo armatum sum

"I think, therefore I am armed."

Nice

[Itshak]

I grew up in Israel and joined the military at age 17.5 of course carried an FAL the whole time including coming on vacation home and including the Six Day War and after it and during the reserves. But at that time there was no handgun culture in Israel and almost nobody had handguns.

But after seeing the terror attacks and hearing about others it was like a light bulb lit in my head and I wanted to have something to protect myself and others and succeeded in getting a handgun (a Star 9mm) and a license to carry which was almost as hard to get as the crown jewels (but that is another story) when I was 21 years old due to my connections with the Israeli police department.

I have never been with out a handgun since then.

[Lt.Smoke]

My story actually started when i was 18. I was out of town with my father and his side of the family on a Drag Racing trip and we had stopped at a truck stop because we were driving a large RV. I went in to use the bathroom and get some drinks and food. When i came out of the bathroom there were 2 guys in the hallway and they were acting strangely. As i walked by them one of them grabbed me from behind and pulled out some kind of makeshift blade and tried to press it to my throat but do to the fact i have been in martial arts my instincts kicked in and I was able to disarm/disable this goon before things got worse. His Partner ran out the store after the altercation between myself and the would be attacker. It was at that point that i started to carry with the Glock 23 40 that my dad had given me. I think about that day all the time and realize how lucky i was to have made it out the situation with no harm....

Since that day i have been involved in 2 other Self Defense scenarios 1 being in my home and the other took place while on duty.... Had i not had a means to defend myself things could have been MUCH worse... So that is why i carry now

[john45]

I was supposed to meet a lady I was chatting with that I met on the Internet. It was during the day and a good part of town but a male showed up and I was forced to go get some money. I was not hurt but my pride was and I got myself in that situation. Within that week I took the class and applied for my permit and bought a carry gun. I have been ever since receiving my permit.

I even carry on all dates. Times have sure changed.

[Hellsing76]

Well, I was born and raised in San Diego, California, spent 27 years there, family in L.E., saw & did some things, I didn't agree with Cali or it didn't agree with me, lol and had my house built and moved to Arizona when the build was completed....It'll be nice when we have the Arizona Bay here soon, we'll have the carry laws AND the ocean, win-win!