UPDATE:  I'm bumping this old post back to the top because some other folks have made similar posts lately, and I am adding links to them all from this post.  Scroll to the bottom for the links.  If you have a similar post, let me know and I'll add it, too.

---

I've been thinking about this some lately. It has lurking in the back of my mind for a while, and some thoughts were more recently crystallized because of this post at South Park Pundit.

I didn't always carry a gun. I actually only carried a concealed weapon one time previous to having a CHL, and then it was in my vehicle, not on my person. As if that makes any difference to the "authorities." Even after then-Governor Bush signed the law that established legal concealed carry in Texas, I didn't take advantage of it for several years.

I suppose many other people who carry have been asked the same question I have a few times: Why do you want to carry a gun?

My honest answer is: I don't want to carry a gun.

I don't want to do a lot of things. I don't want to hold down a regular job that drains me of all my energy so that by the end of the day, most of the time, all I can do is come home, eat, shower, and go to sleep. I don't want to rely so heavily on gasoline for my well-being. Having grown up in the country where there aren't many decent jobs, I have come to rely heavily on gasoline for commuting to the city where there are better opportunities. Having a family with two small children I have to do whatever I can to provide for them, which means I take the best jobs I can get, even if I hate them, which I usually do. Sure, I could move to the city and use less gas. But then I would also have to pay more for less land, be crowded into higher population densities, and my children would be exposed to a higher rate of drugs, crime and danger than they are now. I prefer to stay where I am.

Which brings me to the gun. I carry it for them. As a father, and as a more or less decent human being with a fairly well-honed conscience, I would be failing them if I didn't do what I had to to provide them with food, clothing, shelter, and protection.

I have heard people say that they are big enough and strong enough to handle anyone who threatens them or their family. Anyone who thinks he or she is big enough and strong enough to use their bare hands against a criminal armed with a gun is a fool. I am neither big nor strong, but I have dedicated myself to their protection, and I will do what I can and what I must, if I am forced to.

It means I must examine a number of guns to find the one that works best for me. It means I must weigh the destructive potential of a caliber against the number of times a given gun is capable of delivering that potential before reloading. It means I must carry different guns to discover which is easiest for me to carry, draw and wield. It means I must learn about different types of ammunition so that I can decide which ones are best able to deliver that potential.

My children already know this. I know they know it because they have both asked me something along the lines of, "If a bad person tried to get me, would you shoot them?" I answer them honestly, "Yes, if I had to, to keep you safe." This has not had the effect of making them paranoid, to my knowledge. On the contrary, it seems to be working for them. My very young son has even gone so far as to say that when he grows up, he will help keep me safe, too.

If something were to happen that abolished the Texas CHL law, I don't think I could go back. I know that their protection is my responsibility, and it's a responsibility that I can't rely on anyone else to provide.

If I lived in my ideal world, I would spend all my time puttering around a large ranch with nothing but a .22 hanging from a gun rack behind the seat of my truck. I would probably not own a handgun at all. Well, maybe a .22 handgun, just because they are so universally useful. But I don't live in my ideal world and I doubt that very many people do.

So when someone asks me why I want to carry a gun, this is my answer. I don't carry because I want to. I carry because it's the right thing to do.

SEE ALSO:
Confessions of a Deathbeast at Hell in a Handbasket.
Why I Carry at What Would John Wayne Do?
Last words on why I carry at When Your Only Tool Is A Hammer.
Why Carry? at Random Ramblings of a Republitarian.
Become Just. One. Person at Joe's Crabby Shack.

On April 19 the San Antonio Express-News published a list of state legislators who have concealed handgun licenses.  I have been wondering how they did this.  Are such requests for information about legislators different from everyone else?  Because under CHL law, they would have had to request the information for every single legislator and pay the fee for every name to be queried.  Does anyone know exactly what the fee is?

Anyway, 3 days later, they publish it again, with some corrections.

I'm probably going to write more about this in coming days, but just for now I will state that Super Special Senator Juan Hinojosa voted against the CHL bill when it was still under consideration.

As for Patterson:  dude, I'm thankful for some of the laws you've passed.  But don't tell that screwball reporter that you carry two guns.  Never admit to a backup gun.

From Oleg Volk.

Follow the link for lots more images on this topic.

Technorati Tags: Virginia+Tech, self+defense

Was anyone besides myself a little bit freaked out and/or grossed out by that photo on page 14 of the April Concealed Carry Magazine?

If you don't get the magazine, well, too bad.  I'm definitely not going to scan and upload the image, because I have a reputation to uphold, after all.

I got a search hit for "is a holster required when carrying a concealed handgun in Texas."

This is not a question I would have ever thought to ask, but the answer is no.  You just have to keep it concealed.

I knew of someone who once just stuck a snubby inside a velvet Crown Royal bag and carried it around in his hand while grocery shopping.  That's not how I would do it, but it worked just fine for him.

This happened a year ago or more and he is only now willing to talk with a reporter about it.  At KOTV.com:

A citizen shoots a robber during a grocery store heist. It happened more than a year ago in the Homeland store at 91st and Memorial. The man has never shared his story until now, and he spoke only to News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright. She reports it was a tough decision for him to make.

It was split second and life or death. The man and his wife had been to the movies and stopped at the grocery store on the way home. They were in the check-out line when the robbery unfolded right in front of them. Joseph saw the men walk into the grocery store and head to the store office with the managers as they pulled their t-shirts over their faces.

Even though he spent 21 years in the military, and believes he made the right decision, it's hard for him to talk about.

"The gentleman I shot produced a handgun and placed it against the manager's head like this and I thought, I need to do something, so, it's harder to talk about, I pulled my weapon, sighted him and fired two shots," said Joseph.

He hit one of the robbers once. Michael Curly, dragged himself out of the store. Another suspect, Mark Brown, ran off. Both men were arrested months later.

Joseph had gotten his concealed carry permit 7 years earlier, and had practiced shooting regularly.

"The only time you can use deadly force is when you believe a life is at stake, and my belief was that manager was about to be killed and I had to do something about it," he said. Joseph had a Smith and Wesson 357 revolver that night, with five shots and would've been outgunned had the robber shot back. Now, he carries a glock 357 semi-auto with 14 rounds and a laser site.

"I don't regret having shot him,” Joseph said. “I also am pleased he didn't die, for a couple of reasons. Nobody likes to take a life and the other is, maybe he'll tell his friends they need to think twice, or three times about doing what they've been doing."

Joseph never faced any charges in the case, and police returned his gun to him a week later. The man he shot had been given a 40 year prison sentence in 1995 for crimes in Oklahoma City that involved rape, robbery, torture and scalding, but he got out after serving only eight. He is now testifying against other robbers so he hasn't been sentenced for this crime yet.

Follow the link for pictures and a link to the video clip of the interview.

P.S.  "Gentleman"?

Virginia:

An editorial writer's botched attempt to highlight an open record -- the list of Virginians licensed to carry a concealed handgun -- resulted Friday in the record being closed.

Acting on the advice of Attorney General Bob McDonnell, the Virginia State Police said they will no longer release the information under the state's open records law.

Oops.  Hard luck, Chris, looks like you won't be able to use your press pass to harass innocent people anymore.  And it's all your own fault.

P.S.  I voted "yes."

Texan musician Billy Joe Shaver apparently shot someone in a bar fight:

A few hours earlier, Shaver had surrendered to local authorities after two warrants were issued for his arrest following a shooting Saturday night at a Lorena bar. He was arraigned by McLennan County Justice of the Peace Kristi DeCluitt, who set bail at $50,000.

Shaver posted bond and was out of the jail by about 2:20 p.m.

He faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawfully carrying a handgun on the premises of a business with a license to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption.

Whatever the facts of the incident were, one fact remains clear to me:  He was consuming a substance that reduces inhibition and self-control while carrying a firearm.

Two Texas CHL holder idiots in one week.

Which I guess we could call the "just trust me" bill.  H.B. 992 is nasty.

C.S.H.B. 992 amends Chapter 52, Labor Code by adding Subchapter G, which prohibits, except as otherwise provided in Section 52.061, a public or private employer from penalizing, discharging, or disciplining in any manner an employee that transports or stores a handgun in a locked vehicle, owned or leased by the employee, in a parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area provided by the employer for the employees, so long as the handgun is hidden from plain view in the vehicle's glove compartment, console, within a locked gun case, or other locked container within the vehicle, the employee is licensed to carry a concealed handgun under the Government Code, and the employee has filed a copy of their concealed carry license and a written statement, signed by the employee, with the employee's immediate supervisor stating that the employee is licensed to carry a concealed handgun under the Government Code; that they intend to store a concealed handgun in their locked vehicle while parked in the provided parking  lot, parking garage, or other parking area; and that they may not remove the handgun from their vehicle for anything other than self defense within the immediate parking area.  The employee does not have to submit a written statement that they are licensed to carry a concealed handgun under the Government Code if the employee transports or stores a handgun in a motor vehicle the employee is actively using in the course and scope of the employee's employment, which does not include travel between the employee's home and place of employment.

So I'm supposed to trust my employer not to discriminate against me or, especially, not to break into my truck and steal my gun.  Trust him not to blab about it to some ne'er-do-well cronies.

This is what happens when you have to get a "permit" to exercise a constitutionally protected right.  This law goes too far.  I've never notified an employer before, and I'm not about to start.

Does Rose have a dual personality disorder, or what?

JR notified me about this in comments.

Full text of bill at HB 991 - House Committee Report version - Bill Analysis.  Under current law, anyone can discover if anyone else has a CHL by submitting that person's name and paying the required fee.  They get a simple yes/no answer.  Full lists of all CHL holders in Texas are not available to anyone, including allegedly "authorized journalists," so publishing a list of all CHL holders isn't legally possible, although I suppose some real scumbag could leak it if they really wanted to.

H.B. 991 removes the requirement that DPS (Department of Public Safety) disclose to any person, other than state and local law enforcement agencies, whether an individual holds a concealed handgun license.

I'm trying to think of what the Brady Goon Squad is going to call this in their next lie campaign, but I can't come up with anything.  I guess I just don't have that mind-set.

I could say I hadn't commented on this because the blog was offline, but honestly, I was keeping my mouth shut and waiting for the other boot to drop.

But it looks like there is no other boot.  A CHL holder unjustifiably killed someone when he should have just said, "Sorry, dude," and moved on.

I hope the justice system nails him to the wall.  If this story happened as reported, he had absolutely no justification whatsoever for using deadly force.

For possibly the first time since I have begun reading Xavier's blog, I have to disagree with him on one thing when he said, "As gun owners, it looks like we have innocent blood on our hands."

This murder was committed by an individual, not society, nor even a segment of society.  I am not in any way responsible for it.  The fact that he at first thought to use a knife means to me that he most likely would have attacked this person by the best means possible.  If he hadn't had a gun, I'm sure he would have stabbed the victim.

My opinion only, take it or leave it.

UPDATE:  Xavier changed his wording.  I now agree with him.