"I carry a gun..."

"...because a cop is too heavy."

This is the response I normally give people when they ask me why I have a Concealed Weapons Permit and carry a concealed firearm. I give this answer when a) I'm not in the mood to go into lengthy explanations as to why it's a good idea to be able to protect your own life instead of relying on someone else to do it for you, or b) the person asking the question is a borderline idiot and/or a "Brady Bunch" kinda person whom I'd rather not waste my time with.

But just for the sake of the argument - that, plus the fact that this is my blog - let's take a look at that simple statement, shall we?

"I carry a gun because a cop is too heavy." So just what, exactly, do I mean by that? Simple - I'd rather be able to protect my own life right then and there, at that moment in time when it needs to be protected, than wait for a police officer to arrive on the scene and assist me because by the time he'd get there, I'd already be dead and my killer would be long gone.

Before I get too deeply into this, let me state right now that I have ZERO problem with the police. Hell, I was a Law Enforcement Specialist in the Air Force for 19 of the 23 years I was in, so I know just what police work is all about. I know about response times and things like that, and for that reason alone I'd MUCH rather be able to protect myself rather than wait for the SEVEN TO TEN MINUTES it will take a police car to reach you when you make the 911 call. The bad guys ain't gonna wait that long, count on it.

Aside from that, the courts have stated in plain language that the police have no responsibility to protect you from harm or act as a bodyguard. That's because it's not their friggin' job! Their job is law enforcement, NOT personal protection. Anyone who thinks that the job of the police is to protect you from harm 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is living in a dream world. There is a HUGE difference between "law enforcement" and "personal protection," lemme tell ya! And it is NOT the cops' job to protect you...that's why we have (drum roll, please!) THE SECOND AMENDMENT. It's YOUR job to protect YOURSELF, and our Founding Fathers gave us the means to do it.

My life is worth protecting, and it's so valuable to me that I absolutely refuse to entrust that duty to anyone else. Period. I'd rather do it myself, and I absolutely will and do arm myself to do just that. I also think that the lives of my family and friends are equally as valuable and worth protecting, and I absolutely would not hesitate to pop a cap in your ass if you threaten me, my family, or my friends with serious bodily injury and/or death. It's just that simple.

Okay, so for all of you nice folks out there who disagree with what I've said so far, lemme paint a picture for you: it's 9:45PM, and you're just leaving the mall. You walk out into the parking lot and approach your car when you notice two punks leaning against your car. You don't want your car beaten to death by all of the mall parking lot morons, so you park in Outer Mongolia rather than park next to the building, which means that you're on the far end of the parking lot and way out of casual view by the other folks leaving the mall. As you approach your car, the two punks stand up and approach you, one standing in front of you and the other placing himself off to your right, far enough so that you can't see them both at the same time. The one standing in front of you produces a knife and snarls, "Gimme the money, muthafucka, or I'm gonna cut you!"

Pop quiz, hotshot: WHAT DO YOU DO NOW? Your choices are:

a) Ask the young man to wait while you call 911 on your cell phone
b) Give him your money and hope that he doesn't cut you up like a loaf of rye bread anyway
c) Tell him you don't have any money and hope that he doesn't cut you up like a loaf of rye bread anyway
d) Draw your legally-carried concealed .357 Magnum and chide the young man for bringing a knife to a gunfight.

True story, folks. Happened to me coming out of the Coliseum Mall in Hampton, Virginia one hot July night in 1994. As soon as the pistol came out, the knife hit the ground and the two punks ran for their lives. Thankfully, I didn't have to shoot anybody. But I would have, count on it. Had the punk not dropped the knife or had he taken so much as one step towards me, I'd have blown his fuckin' head right off and not felt bad about it for a microsecond. Protecting my own life is that important to me, and it always will be.

Want to know a sure-fire way to lose my business forever if you're a business owner? Post a "No concealed weapons" sign on your door. Basically, what you're telling me is that in order to do business in your establishment, I have to give up my right to protect my own life.

Sorry, what you're selling isn't worth it.

Face facts, people - it's a tough world out there sometimes, and you better be able to take care of yourself when the crap hits the fan. All of the gun control laws in the world won't help you when you have a punk in your face with a knife or a gun, threatening your life and the lives of your loved ones. I'd be willing to bet that if that particular situation ever happened to Chuck Schumer, Ted Kennedy, or Billary Clinton, they'd be wishing to God for a pistol right about then.

As for me...well, I won't be wishing for a pistol.

I'll be deciding WHICH ONE to use.

IHC