When did it all start.

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^Yea, a pretty good one.

I guess you could say it was pretty gradual for me, with a noticable change when CCW came around here in MO.
 
When I got married my father in law asked me what type of guns I owned. We lived in different states so I didn't talk to him much before the wedding. I told him that I didn't own a gun. He gave me a look at said "What!". I repeated myself. Then he asked me "so what would you do if someone breaks into your house in the middle of the night". Now, I hadn't give it much thought really so I said well I guess I would have to call 911 and if it came down to it fight him hand to hand. His response was, "Yeah, and you would lose". The next day we went to look at guns together. My first gun was a Smith & Wesson 686 with a 4 inch barrel.
 
It started when I realized how much it pisses liberals off... Just kidding.

I grew up in a house with my mom, my sister, and my stepfather (who is crippled, and hates guns). Our car was stolen from our driveway one night when I was 9 years old. Even my 9 year old mind knew that had they come inside, we would have been completely at their mercy.

The car thieves used my mom's Blockbuster card that was left in the car that very night. From Blockbuster's security video we learned that it was 3 teenage minority males. They could have overpowered my mom, my sister, me(at age 9), and my crippled stepfather in a few seconds.
 
I grew up with guns and could not imagine not owning a handgun when I reached 21 years old. I hope my daughter feels the same way when she reaches adulthood.
 
For me, it was pretty gradual with a few key landmarks. My family has always been VERY safety conscious, not just about self defense, but about everything. One of the first memories I have is of my dad explaining why, if I have to "shoot a bad person" not to shoot him in the leg or something because I had no way of knowing if the gun would shoot again. One of my first books was the Hatchet, so I got on-board the knife/ax bandwagon pretty young too. The big landmark was a couple years ago, when I broke my leg. I realized how defenseless I was on crutches. I also didn't like my stay in the hospital very much. I promised myself that I would never let anybody send me back there without a fight.
 
I was young, impressionable, and going to a public middle school in a nice, quiet suburb outside of Chicago. And, as everyone knows, it's just common sense that only bad guys would carry guns. When asked to pick a topic for a research paper, I decided I would write all about the wonders of gun control.

As it happens, I had a friend who greatly disagreed with my position. Being the argumentative type, the challenge was on! Of course, after a little research into relative crime rates of carry permit holders, average police response times, etc. etc., I ended up writing a very different paper than I originally intended.

I learned three life lessons:
1. I no longer believe what authority figures tell me until I do my own research on the matter.
2. I picked up a carry permit as soon as I moved out of Illinois.
3. I may be argumentative as ****, but I can admit when I'm wrong.
 
I was young, impressionable, and going to a public middle school in a nice, quiet suburb outside of Chicago. And, as everyone knows, it's just common sense that only bad guys would carry guns. When asked to pick a topic for a research paper, I decided I would write all about the wonders of gun control.

As it happens, I had a friend who greatly disagreed with my position. Being the argumentative type, the challenge was on! Of course, after a little research into relative crime rates of carry permit holders, average police response times, etc. etc., I ended up writing a very different paper than I originally intended.

I learned three life lessons:
1. I no longer believe what authority figures tell me until I do my own research on the matter.
2. I picked up a carry permit as soon as I moved out of Illinois.
3. I may be argumentative as ****, but I can admit when I'm wrong.
I currently live in Illinois so no conceal and carry. The republican candidate for govenor says he would back a conceal law but all we can do is vote. I hope that if Chicago looses it's ban things will change.
 
i started soon after becoming a correctional officer and part time jailor for the sheriff office. started seeing bg's on the street and we recognized each other, often they had friends and would make threats or try to act tough. i used to keep a gun only in my car and in my house. after the second time i nearly got jumped by a group of thugs i started carrying.
 
Gradually. I've seen bad things over the course of my not so long life. A few muggings as a kid. A home burglary while we were asleep at home, funding our stuff missing when we walked up (ask me how helpless one feels in such a situation, realizing to have been at the mercy of the criminals). Etc...

At some point I realized that now I live in a country when I could shoot and own a gun if I so wished. Initially I just wanted to go to the range recreationally, but I quickly realized that guns are great tools to have for protection, started looking at sites on the topic, found this site, bought a gun, etc... I hope to never have to use it, but I hope it will be of use of I ever do.
 
I'm from East LA. Almost enough said. My father moved us to a small town in Arizona when I was 6. The last two years I remember living there, I couldn't play outside with my friends unless my dad was home, sitting on the front porch with his Tokarev. The kids four houses down and the gang they were in were pretty much warring with my family after my dad got them on 8mm video having a shoot out on the street corner with another gang. M dad gave the police the tape, and after or during their legal issues with that, the police told them who provided the evidence.
Since then I have a hatetred for gangs and any one that promotes a gang mentality. I am very protective of my neighborhood, in keeping gangs and gang types out. I am currently having some issues with some renters next door. the male renter has already threatened to shoot the land lord, but the land lord wont do anything because they are affraid of him.
I don't fear him, but he and his careless and ignorant types are why I carry, among all the other low lifes out there.
 
Well, I've always had an interest in guns.

As for the self-defense mentality, it is innate, but was reinforced after my father and stepmother were murdered in their home. I was 11 at the time, and living with my mother.

Two things that might have made the difference are a firearm near by (his were locked up in another room) and a dog to wake them up.

That's why I have a 110 pound German Shepherd and multiple weapons in the bedroom and around the house.
 
Every person has the right to express his displeasure or objections to careless actions of others. They might be ignorant of the reasons and need reminding , if he takes offence, tough puki We have rights too and if the culprit whiches to esculate to confrontation so be it. I'm ready and willing to answer the call at the level necessary. That willingness to confront the BG's is the difference between Victims and Non-victims.
 
October 5, 2004

Started for me the day my first child was born and I realized that I needed the mindset, skill set, and tool set to protect someone that was completely unable to protect themselves.

I was a pretty happy go lucky guy before I started raising a family. I still am, but I have a new sense of what my role in this world is, and it is mainly focused on getting my little rugrats to the point that they can take care of themselves and start the process all over again!
 
My mind was made up that I would be an armed citizen when I was 20 years old.

I had always been blessed to lived in very safe suburbs of beautiful cities, and never had to worry about crime as a child. After High School, I left home and went to live in Philadelphia. Being young and broke, I had to live in some very unsavory areas. Places where you would get use to the sound of gun fire at night and sleep through the police search helicopters buzzing overhead.

One week in the summer we had come home to find our place ransacked as well as the 2 other neighbors in the row home. Nothing was taken that we could find, but it shook everyone up pretty bad. There was such a sense of violation and anger that someone had been in my apartment when they shouldn't have been. We replaced all the door jams that had been kicked in and got new locks and tried to forget about the whole thing since everything had seemed in place.

Fast foward about a week and my roommate and I were sleeping on the couches in the living room. We had no a/c in the back of the apartment so we would often crash on the couches. It was close to 3AM, and out of my deep sleep I am woken up by the sound of our front door being kicked. By the time I became aware of what was going on, the door was flying open and a group of young men were pouring through the dark opening into our living room.

I don't know if it was a sleep induced stupor, of fear that caused it, but I leaped off the couch and let out the loudest most angry war cry I could muster in the middle of the night, and started waving my arms frantically. My roommate followed suit, and it must have been convincing enough, because the young men all turned and ran out the door, down the stairs and out the front of the house.

I never was able to see anything more than 3-4 shadows, and the whole event was over as fast as it had began, but it left us unable to sleep for several nights. I felt very fortunate that we were not hurt, and extremely lucky that they hadn't called my bluff. I realized that I couldn't be ignorant to my safety situation any longer; not just because of where I was living, but bad things can happen anywhere. I made up my mind that I would do everything I could to never become a victim.
 
It's been a evolving thing with me. I have no recollection of specific catalysts along the way that changed my mindset. We installed an alarm system after a burglary about 18 years ago, but weapons have always been primary.
 
As a third generation COP security was/is second nature to me, just something you do without having to think about it. I take my families and my security seriously but I refuse to be paranoid about it.
 
I grew up out in the country, but less than a half hour from town, where you had to deal with all problems on your own or with the help of neighbors until help from the county arrived.
 
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