Recently an individual asked me why I carried a firearm in little old Pullman. He was an elderly gentleman and I went through the standard statements:
- No where is safe, I probably wont need it but it’s better to have it.
- It’s like a fire extinguisher or first aid kid.
- It’s a lighter burden than regret.
He made a comment that a fire extinguisher was safer than a firearm. At which point I chuckled and said, CO2 in a confined space in a basement can easily kill you. It’s just that the fire can kill you just the same. My firearm has never jumped from its holster or magically discharged without my somehow being involved. Though fire extinguishers if not properly maintained can burst on their own.
I bring this up because I saw this come across my news reader:
Now why would an individual rob Pizza Hut?
So here’s the deal folks. There is evil in the world. There are those who would hurt others merely for the thrill of doing so. These people don’t just exist in particular geographic or social areas, they can be found anywhere. This incident occurred earlier this year in Pullman.
The bottom line is the real world isn’t wrapped in bubble wrap. Sometimes evil shows up not just in your neighborhood but on your very doorstep. Some would rather not worry about self-defense and consider the probability of evil finding them so small it is not worth the effort. That is their choice and their choice alone.
My issue with that choice is that the effort to prepare for a fight against evil isn’t that difficult a task, recovering and becoming whole again after encountering evil is a mountain. That mountain is even more treacherous if you were un-prepared to begin with.
As Sean said,
So why do I need to carry a gun? Because I want to stack the deck in my favor as much as I possibly can. I will do this so I can fight every last step of the way against anyone that would bring violence to my door.
Why? Because I am worth it.
TMM is the owner, editor, and principal author at The Minuteman, a competitive shooter, and staff member for Boomershoot. Even in his free time he’s merging his love and knowledge of computers and technology with his love of firearms.
Many know his private name and information however due to the current political climate, many are distancing themselves due to the abandonment of Due Process.
As my hubby puts it “it is better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it.”
I’m sure if you go digging around the archives long enough you’ll find that written somewhere on this subject too. If not, they I don’t know why I haven’t written it because I’ve been using that line since high school.
Though I think I prefer the “lighter burden than regret” version.
Excellent points all, and it’s STILL hard to get people to believe the cops are not there for them ‘instantly’… sigh
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away…
Ha! I just wrote a post this morning called “You Have Worth” it really shouldn’t matter. A gun in a holster on the body of a law abiding citizen is harmless, so who cares why? I realize it is in the best interest of those who carry to educate others, but there are no stories of a conceal carry person’s gun deciding to go on a lone shooting spree. It takes a person. A person who is a criminal, not one who simply is in possession of an object.