flintknapper wrote:Great post DH, I am pleased to see a gentleman have a feeling of responsibility for the safety of his girlfriend. I was beginning to think that actions like that were being lost more and more with each generation.
I hope that my own daughter will choose to date a young man of like mind.
I carry every time I leave the house (unless I'm going to work, where there are legal questions about car storage). I always feel responsible for the safety of me and mine when're we're all out in public, or when we're all here at home.
And yet... I feel anxiety and guilt that I can't convince Mrs. Me to get her CHL, and to carry. Her workplace doesn't prohibit carry (I checked the employee handbook, and it specifies "illegal possession"). But, because of the physical nature of her job (hot and sweaty, with uncomfortable uniforms), she would be unlikely to carry on her person at work. She doesn't have a great track record of always locking the van while at work, so I don't want her to rely on "travelling" to carry in her vehicle.
(The most serious crime in that part of town is vehicle burglary, and I wouldn't want to arm a thief. We live 7 minutes from her job, and the route is a suburban FM, then an interstate frontage road; no stops.)
I especially feel that twinge of duplicity when I slip on my pistol to take my daughter to the mall. I feel obliged to be armed, because I love her and want to protect her. And yet, I'm not even getting out of the vehicle on the 15 minute round trip; but, I'm turning my beautiful 16 year old babygirl loose in the mall for 2-3 hours, with nothing more than a cell phone.
Okay, a cell phone and the fighting ethic of a cornered cat; she's a girly girl, but she has nails, and she grew up with an older brother. She doesn't fight fair. Exactly like I would hope!
She stays inside the mall until one of the parental units calls her to come out to be picked up. I believe she's taken to heart our admonishment that it would be better to die resisting being forced into a vehicle, than to die after suffering "whatever".
If she could carry, I'd feel sorry for anyone who presented a deadly threat to her, if he offered a target larger than a 6" falling plate at 15 yards. She's a great natural shot. First time she ever held a pistol (at 14), she dropped eight plates as fast as she could swing to the next target. The she declared that she wanted a pistol "just like Mom's. But purple!"
It is a dilemma. We who are protectors, cannot always be there. Those we love and protect cannot always have the same tools we would prefer that they have.
We look at the big picture and weigh the risks. We pray, and then we trust.
Kevin
