Thoughts On Concealed Carry

Carrying a concealed handgun is not something that anyone should take lightly. I, for example, spent more than a couple of days thinking and praying about the decision before I even began the application process. From that time through now, I've had some very interesting discussions and debates with people who don't really understand why some of us choose to go armed.

So, while I'm thinking about it, I'm happy to write a little bit about the subject. Let's try to clarify some ideas, find the truth, and disperse some of the myths that keep coming up when I discuss guns and concealed carry with others.

Carrying a gun is not about "getting to kill somebody." I don't lie awake at night thinking, "Oh, BOY! I might get to shoot somebody!" That's just wrong on every possible level. Those of us with normal, rational brains and minds are genetically programmed to not kill other human beings. We're just like the four-legged creatures in that respect. Just thinking about taking another person's life makes me uncomfortable: it's definitely not something that I put on my to-do list.

When I'm out and about, I pay attention to my surroundings and to the people in the area. That way, I stand a good chance of noticing a hinky situation and getting out of it before I'm backed into a corner. Even before I acquired my Concealed Handgun License, I made a point of staying out of trouble. This - avoiding bad situations - is better than fighting my way out of them. Every time.

I don't believe that having a gun on my person means that it's a good idea to venture out into the more dangerous parts of my community. Horrifying things can happen anywhere, but willingly walking into a crime-infested area is not something that I feel the need to do. Sometimes we have to go into less safe areas, yes. But whenever I can avoid that, I stay as far away as possible. Just because I have a means of defending myself doesn't mean that I want to go out of my way to use it. My gun is like a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. I appreciate the fact that it's there, but I'm not going to forget common sense and basic safety precautions.

There is nothing wrong with being morally inferior to a bad guy. In the past, people have told me that fighting back makes me worse than the bad guy. I don't have any problem with that. At least I'll be alive - and, hopefully, the bad guy will decide that his profession of choice is not worth continuing.

Having guns in public does not create a "Wild West" atmosphere in which people have shootouts on the street. Here in Texas, something like 250,000 of us have our concealed handgun licenses. Just a few of us - not even two percent of us in all, according to the DPS Web site - have caused problems with these guns. The overwhelming majority of us do not flash our pieces in public. We do not draw on people for minor offenses like cutting us off in traffic or calling us four-letter words. We aren't the vigilante-justice types, either. We're the good guys, and we accept the responsibility that comes with our armed status.

I am not any less responsible at college than I am in other parts of the public world. I can carry my .45 in Wal-Mart, but I must leave it outside of my classroom. Do I become an evil, bad CHL holder when I set foot on my campus? Of course not. Those of us who passed the background checks and other requirements to get our licenses proved that we're responsible, law-abiding citizens. We're not going to turn into wild, crazy, shoot-'em-up types just because we're on a campus somewhere.

I carry because I am responsible for myself. It's my job to protect my life. Nobody else can do it for me - not effectively, anyway. And nobody else is quite as interested in preserving my hide as I am.