[jdandy]

Originally Posted by cma29

I lived in Chicago (the nice part ) for several years and never felt like I needed a gun for anything

Carlos.......That's fine. Lucky you. Do you buckle your seat belt only when you think you might have an accident? I would rather wear my seatbelt and never need it than to crash one time and not be wearing it. The same is true with self defense. I would rather own a gun, be proficient with it and never need it than to need a gun to save my life and not have one. It is a personal choice and a serious responsibility. I respect those who do not wish to own a gun. I expect the same respect for my position.

In thirty years of concealed carry I have never shot or killed anyone. I pray I never have to use deadly force to protect my life or the lives of those I love and care for, but I am not so naïve to believe a cell phone will save my life should I need a gun. In thirty plus years I had to display my weapon twice to protect myself from harm. I both cases that's all that was necessary to end the confrontations, i.e. attempted robberies, one a white male with a knife at 5:00AM in a Shoney's Motel parking lot in Georgia, the other with two black males in a Howard Johnson motel parking lot in Alabama late one afternoon. No one died, no one went to the hospital, but the situation was brought under control when it would have otherwise been violent. In addition to those two incidences I had my life threatened on two different occasions by two different employees that I had to terminate from employment on two different projects, one in Beckley, West Virginia and the second one in Palm Harbor, Florida. Trust me, when a man says, "I know where you are staying. I will kill you", it raises your threat awareness level way up for months, even after you report it to the police. Owning and carrying a gun provided some measure of comfort for my safety during those times.

Owning and carrying a firearm is a personal choice and one not to be taken lightly. I do not force my opinions about gun ownership on anyone but I believe in protecting my personal safety by whatever means is necessary. I am a strong supporter of the Constitution and particularly the 2nd Amendment. The 2nd Amendment also protects the other Constitutional Amendments like the 1st Amendment, the one that protects free speech for anyone including those who wishes to disagree with me.