While sitting here working on the layout for a future post on holster makers, such as ‘Simply Rugged‘ from Alaska, I began thinking about the act of ‘packing iron’ itself. Not the all-to-often debated points of why someone carries a concealed weapon, but rather what the effects are on said person’s mind.
Since I’m isn’t a bloody shrink I can’t tell you what other folks may be thinking. However, I’ll gladly tell you what is running through my little grey cells.
The Bull is – most definitely – a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America. I’m also very much in love with the rest of that most beloved of documents as well. I do have a pistol permit and I legally carry a handgun pretty much all the time. Here in my Pasture I don’t even notice the mass of the gun anymore. Regardless of how & where I’m carrying it on any given day, (and that depends on how I’m dressed for the weather or my destination). That is in the comfort of my very own home though…
When I step beyond my yard, be it in our car or on foot, I immediately feel the intense pressure of responsibility hit me. The first time I felt that weight I found it rather odd. After a lifetime of carrying weapons of one type or another back and forth to the range, or for days on end during the hunt, you’d think I’d be immune. No! This is different! This isn’t like before where only targets were in danger or where a missed shot at a game animal means nothing more than a missed meal. Carrying a concealed weapon means that I have shouldered the responsibility for something that could mean either Life or Death for myself and/or others. *IF* I should ever be in a situation where this firearm is drawn for use there is a very good chance that someone’s life will be lost – or at least be changed forever. Mine if I failed to see and stop a threat in time, or some other person because they presented a threat to my life or someone else’s. I feel that weight with every step I take in public. While I don’t notice the gun at home, when I’m out it seems that every tiny movement reminds me of the unique, (in today’s “modern” society), and heavy burden of responsibility I have taken on as a pistol permit holder.
There is some good, no, ‘great’ news in this though… The Bull, as a CCW holder, is now counted among the safest and most reliable of America’s firearms owners – already the World’s most responsible firearms owners, (and among the last). Despite the angry rhetoric from the Leftist, America’s legal firearms owners are law-abiding to an extreme, patriotic beyond measure, and exceedingly SAFE and DEPENDABLE. Out of curiosity I spoke with our local constabulary and asked if the issuance of pistol permits had caused and noticeable changes in crime such as robbery and assault locally.
I expected no straight answer, but I got one anyway.
The answer is YES. Crime is lower now that the citizenry is being legally armed against the criminals. Seems that thugs are thinking twice about violent crime when the possibility of getting shot down in the act is far greater. The Bull thinks that is as it should be.
Bull, out.
Keep up the comments….you are a real treat to read.
JCM