Do you carry personal protection?
MSW_SatelliteBeach
Posts: 212 Officer
I know this is a touchy subject for some, but...
Been reading a lot lately about break ins, stolen equipment, confrontations, etc. I fish a whole lot out of my kayak and, of course, wind up launching all over the place - in some spots that are real remote.Never really thought about carrying anything with me but beginning to wonder if I should.
For my own edification, do you carry? If so, why or why not? And what is your personal preference?
Again, not trying to stir a pot or anything. Just curious what my fellow anglers are doing.
Been reading a lot lately about break ins, stolen equipment, confrontations, etc. I fish a whole lot out of my kayak and, of course, wind up launching all over the place - in some spots that are real remote.Never really thought about carrying anything with me but beginning to wonder if I should.
For my own edification, do you carry? If so, why or why not? And what is your personal preference?
Again, not trying to stir a pot or anything. Just curious what my fellow anglers are doing.
Replies
I worry about leaving anything valuable in my truck so I probably wouldn't carry while wade fishing for instance.
I want to blend in and be left alone so I choose not to open carry. I'll stick to what makes me feel secure.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
NRA:thumbsup
I haven't carried to this point because, well, I've just never thought to. Lately though things seem to be... crazier to me.
Breaking it down, the odds that you'll ever have the opportunity to stop a crime in progress are very remote. Thieves do not break into cars while anyone is around to see it, so carrying a gun to prevent or stop breakins has to have a potential success rate of pretty close to 0%.
But let's suppose the very rare instance happens that you inadvertently happen upon someone in the act of B&E....odds that it is your car out of the whole parking lot are even more microscopic. Do you intend to get into a gun fight to protect the glove box contents of a complete stranger?
Suppose you hit the lottery and you surprise someone breaking into your vehicle. Are the possessions in your car worth enough to you to kill someone? Are they worth enough to you to be killed yourself trying to protect them? Are they worth having a little kid or pregnant mother or father of three get shot to death in the crossfire because they happened to be walking by when you and the their start shooting guns at each other? To me, the answer to these is always "No" because if I have possessions worth enough to me to die for or to kill for, I would never leave them in my unattended car in a remote parking lot for many hours. They would be at home under lock and key or in some secure facility.
These are the questions - and to my way of thinking the ONLY questions - that each individual MUST ask themselves before deciding to carry a gun in scenarios where only property is at risk without it.
For me personally I never go anywhere without he most powerful and potent personal protection known to man: the brain. If I happen upon someone stealing my stuff out of my car, I can shout at them from a safe and sheltered distance and observe their appearance, get-away vehicle (and plates) and have law enforcement take care of them as they are trained to do. Personally I hold my life (and the life of a thief, too - I'm not about to kill someone over some fishing equipment) as much more precious than whatever replaceable stuff I have in my car that someone might steal. Deadly force never enters my realm of considerations unless there is deadly force threatening my life or the life of others. And I've been in situations where an armed potential assailant approached me with designs of ripping me off or worse, and I've never needed a gun to get out of those situations 100% unscathed.
But again that's a set of decisions and priorities everyone must make. As long as they consider the facts, reality and consequences involved, then they are free to make their own choices. Heck they're free to choose even if they put no thought to any of it, but that would be very irresponsible. Carrying guns or having one in the home because "something might happen" is to me not a good enough reason to outweigh the huge inherent risk. Statistically speaking, a personal protection handgun at home is 43-times more likely to be used against a member of the household than to ever be used in self-defense. But if you live in an extremely high crime area where breakins, murders and rapes happen all the time, then a gun at home could be worth the risk. But again, I strongly believe the brain is a much more powerful defense than the gun. Being aware of the relative safety of your location is an easy preventive measure. Not having anything worth stealing left openly visible in your car is another. I mean you're fishing - anything of value is going with you on the water, so leave everything else at home. Thieves only break into cars if they see something worth stealing in them.
You did great right up to here...... BUT...
Thieves break into cars all the time with nothing in view...once in the car they can hit the trunk release and rifle not just the ashtray for coins...and the glove box / center console...now they have access to where some people mistakenly think belongings will be safe.
In my time, I wrote so many auto burg reports...I can see them in my nightmares.
Don't leave anything in an unattended vehicle...that you want to keep.
Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
No property is worth killing someone over, however I will not sit by idly and watch a crime be commited and if the burglar become an aggressor, then it is not about the property, it is about the safety and/or live of those around. I carry a gun because most cops I know are too heavy.
Now as for the fence sitter "it may be ok to have a gun close by if maybe there is rain on a sunday in panama, but other than that Im a against them" types. Yes a gun in the home does increase the likelihood of a gun accident happening in that home, in the same way having a knife increases the chances of being cut etc. But growing up in the various places I did, A gun is often the only thing between you and someone who does not even consider you a human being, but a target/source of income.
However, Don;t just get your permit and throw your gun on every day. Practice/drill/take safety and/or training courses to help you better prepare for what if. Muscle memory goes a lot further during your brain crisis sequence than knowledge gleened from youtube videos.
Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
^^^THIS.
I don't want to carry in order to prevent crime. I don't want to carry because I'm looking for a fight. I want to carry for the same reason I have a hurricane kit in my house, and a mini-survival kit in my truck - what if?
I don't plan on a hurricane or tornado knocking out power for weeks on end, as I lived through after Hurricane Frederick in Mobile (79). I don't plan on being stuck on an Interstate somewhere for an overnight while_insert-accident-ahead-here_ gets cleaned up. But what if it happens? In my case, I and my family should be just fine.
I think 99.99999% of the time I'll be fine launching at some of these spots. And if my truck gets smashed into, I won't be playing Barney Fife and rushing to citizen-arrest folks. But what if someone actually threatens my life? Or my wife's? It's a scenario I hope I never have to go through, but one I am now prepared to go through.
PS Anyone who picks up a pistol without being trained in its use and practicing, A LOT, is a moron. Firearms training is prevalent and relatively cheap. Practice. Train muscle movement to avoid accidents and such. And PLAN. A carry permit and weapon is for a very, very specific purpose. Don't be stupid.