My wife and I have discussed becoming licensed to carry a concealed handgun for some time. I think it is right to have the option should we decide to do so. There have been times in my past that I wished I had the extra protection with me, but by the grace of God, I have never been in a threatening situation where I feared for my life. Except maybe once...
About seven years ago now, I was in a situation where I innocently attempted to assist someone in the office where I worked. They were out and I was alone. A message come in and needed an answer. In my ignorance and haste to do a good job, I accessed the information and answered the question. To my surprise, when I told the person about the incident, rather than thanking me for helping, I was berated about my accessing the information. After discussing the situation and apologizing, I thought the event was over. It was not.
Later that day, as I was again alone in the office, the person's husband, an equity partner in the business, came in and confronted me. The situation become more threatening the more I tried to apologize. All of my desire not to fight this man or resist what he was saying resulted only in his becoming more enraged. I had no idea what was about to happen. All I could see is that he was between me and the only way out of the building.
After I realized that he was not going to let me out. I decided that if I was going to get beaten, I was not going down without a fight. Amazingly, I bowed up to this much larger man and it stunned him. I that moment of confusion, I made my exit and escaped the building without injury.
Several things came to light about that incident. One, there are times when non-resistance will not diffuse a conflict. Two, I didn't know a darn thing about self defense, and I needed to learn. Three, the reason for the anger and conflict is that they were embezzeling from the company and they thought I found out. Later on the next week, I was fired.
I don't know if having a firearm that day would have made a difference. I hope that I would have had the calmness to deal with the situation similarly and without injury to me or anyone else. I did enroll in a self defense class and learned a few things that I hope to never use.
We will, however, take this class. It will be a great responsibility if we decide to carry. I believe we have thought about it and are ready to accept it. It will be a busy week as we practice shooting and brush up on those skills before Saturday.
I sat my Texas class about three years ago, passed, and earned my permit. It took DPS the full allotment of time to issue the permit. I've carried every day since then whenever it was legal for me to carry.
ReplyDeleteI took the class for my Nevada permit and earned it as well. Again, I carry almost all of the time here, whenever it is legal.
My intent is to earn my Utah permit as well, or perhaps Florida, because of reciprocity with some states I don't have (yet).
My opinion is that it is a right to keep and bear arms and that rights go away if not exercised. I also believe that it is my responsibility to protect my family and myself and that I can never rely on someone to handle this responsibility. I might find help in a defensive situation, but I can never count on it.
I took a training course last summer that was excellent. I'm planning on another for 2009, and perhaps adding a rifle course to my training. It's fun and I learn a lot.
I can offer a lot of advice, based on my experience. To date, I never felt like I needed my sidearm. But it's there should I need it.