Defining moments - what made you decide to carry?

[Stupid]

Not sure if we had similar topics before, but I find it quite enlightening. Here's my reasoning/moments behind the whole CHL thing. Nothing glamorous nor dramatic.

Hurricane Rita evacuation. First time i ever loaded my M4 in my house, then I realized that I couldn't carry - not the M4, but my handguns because I didn't have a carry permit, nor did TX allow car carry back then. Followed my wife all the way through the jam-packed traffic that moved at 1 mile/hour under 110+ heat and with all my guns locked in cases on my back seat - not a very comforting thing, but luckily things did not turn bad.

Got my CHL right after. Another reason was because I am not a citizen and i am always subject to elongated checks when illegals could have just lied on the form.

Didn't carry for a long time and only did some car carry. Then one day 4 of us went to a club which was located at the far end of a very dark and deserted parking lot, far away from all the traffic. The club was terrible - no customers, so we decided to leave. Once we got into my car, a black SUV suddenly pulled right behind me and blocked us in. I could only drive forward into the club. For a long time, the SUV just sat there with no light no movement. It's dark, silent and with nobody around us - I guess you would have been there to understand. I went to my gun stored in my console, but realized that i had left it with a gunsmith despite the fact that i had multiple guns at home. I was sweating and was fully expecting some guys to jump out and proceed to rob us. Should that happen, I decided to drive into the club. Luckily, it was a carload of some girls who jumped out and the driver finally saw s/he blocked me.

Since then, always carried.

Most importantly, the whole carry thing also gave me more interests in understanding America. Through research and reading especially on how the constitution was created, I can see those founding fathers were truly for the people and they were trying to designed a nation of the people; however, as the time goes by, more and more people become sheep and politics is all for money and greed - like you now even have some President openly against the constitution.

I guess from seeing guns are just my expensive toys, i now become more political and more involved in American society.

read more at:
http://glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=750154

[nitrogen]

For me, it was when my now-wife moved in with me.

Previous to that, I never really worried about myself or my safety. I just figured, "I can handle it" and previously always have in other ways.

After we started living togeher in California, I saw the world through her eyes. There's a lot more danger out there than I ever realised; she's used to living in condition yellow; I wasn't.
She also had some incidents where the police wouldn't help her, once she was being followed by a car w/o a license place, and once there was a suspicious car parked near our apt. Both times, the police refused to help her.

more importantly, though, I had a reason to keep MYSELF safer; her. I want to be around for her, so I decided it was time to leave CA and move to a state that would let me defend myself, and her herself.

[txinvestigator]

I was a cop for ten years.

[Greybeard]

After a weekend in 1977 when one of the beefcakes I'd been supervising (and repeatedly reprimanding for sloppy workmanship) succeeded in taking his ex-GF's head off with a butcher knife.

[AFJailor]

Because I like guns.

[Lodge2004]

The birth of my youngest child.

Had three older children that grew up traveling around the country/world while in the military. Always owned firearms and enjoyed visiting the range on a regular basis for traditional target (i.e. bullseye) shooting.

Was living in Houston when my youngest child was born and noticed that certain people (predatory type) began to treat me differently. I am a big guy and so are my older kids, so it's rare for me to get approached by strangers. When I had my youngest on my hip, suddenly everybody needed to know the time or if I had any spare change. It was like she was a magnet.

Soon after getting my CHL, I sat on a jury for a week-long trial of a "driveway robber" and heard lots of testimony regarding their tactics. It confirmed what I suspected. They would specifically target people carrying groceries, loading/unloading car trunks, carrying a baby, puting kids in carseats, etc... In one instance, where a complete family was attacked, they went straight for the infant knowing that holding a gun to its head would make the rest of the family comply with their demands.

That trial experience gave me a huge incentive to get serious about training. Luckily, Houston has several good instructors and numerous places to shoot.

[seamusTX]

Hurricane Rita evacuation. First time i ever loaded my M4 in my house, then I realized that I couldn't carry - not the M4, but my handguns because I didn't have a carry permit, nor did TX allow car carry back then.

Good topic. For me, it wasn't a single moment, just the accumulation of news stories of carjackings and other random violence.

One minor point: Texas has always allowed travelers to carry weapons, and no one could argue that fleeing a hurricane is not traveling.

I wish more people who were born here had your understanding of our rights and our history.

- Jim

[jimlongley]

I grew up believing that carry was a right.

[dmac]

My son made me do it...:-)

I have carried for a long time. I never cared whether there was a law for carry or not. I have always figured it was my right based on Aristotelian morals and constitutional grounds. When CHL came around I refused to get one because I didn't (and still don't) like the idea of having to be finger-printed in order to exercise a constitutionally guaranteed freedom. I always figured that if I got some (insert gastro-intestinal metaphor here) cop who wanted to hassle or arrest me; fine, I'd deal with it.

Then my son was born...

My wife works retail hours, so my son and I spend a lot of time together. We run errands, go to parks; I take him the movies, the doctor , etc. I started to wonder...what if I get some guy who wants to arrest me for illegal carry now? What happens to my boy? Does that add to the cahrge? Does he have some sort of CPS record? Well...the consequences were too great. I "folded" and decided to start carrying "legally." I still don't like the fact that the state now has my finger prints. And sometimes I feel that I have fewer rights as a result of my CHL. Furthermore; had I known that the car carry law was just around the corner I probably would not have done it, as most of the time that is the only place I carry.

It is comforting to know that I am "legal," but disheartening to think of the hoops we must jump through in order to gain that legallity.

[propellerhead]

I bought a pistol to go plinking at the range. After reading about how twisted the traveling laws were, I decided to get the CHL so I know for sure I'd avoid complications when driving to and from the gun range. This forum gave me more insight into the whole CHL thing. I was hesitant at first and took it in stages. I took the class without deciding if I was going to send it in or not. Shortly after the class, I mailed the packet.

[dukalmighty]

I carry because I too am ex LEO and military,the world isn't the same as it was.I actually know people that think if you don't hang out in bad places or around bad people that you won' t need to defend yourself and that the police can protect you.The police are usually the last ones at a crime scene,I became handicapped from a spinal cord injury 5 years ago ,I can't run from trouble,and when you watch the news and see all the random acts of violence,I would like the choice to defend myself and my loved ones in the event somebody wants to rob me etc.I also enjoy shooting and have several different firearms to choose from

[zeroskillz]

For me it was visiting my sisters place in New Orleans a week or so after Katrina. We got through the check points by a stroke of luck, and once you were beyond them, the place was mostly a ghost town. Mostly.

I had a knife, but really wished I had a gun.

We left without incident, but I had that eerie feeling all day like something could happen at any moment.

That did it for me.

Then of course the CHL lead to an FFL, the FFL's leading to a Class 3 FFL...good times.

[tbranch]

I'm retired military and thought I'd put that part of my life behind me. I sold all the handguns and started my new life as a civilian. I had had carry permits in other states but after retiring and moving to Texas, I did not bother to get one here.

It seems like things are getting worse, not better and there is no respect for life on the streets. I'd give a thief my car and wallet--both can be replaced. These days that is not enough and you get killed for cooperating. There was a news story several weeks ago about a person getting assaulted and almost killed so some punks could steal her IPOD--that's tragic.

Anyway, decided to get a CHL again to protect myself and family.

Happy Holidays!

Tom

[Photoman]

Cars crash so I wear a seatbelt. Houses burn so I bought a fire extinguisher. The electricity goes out so I bought a flashlight. Cars break so I bought hand tools. People are robbed and raped so I carry a gun.

[milodog]

All my friends carry and I didnt want to be the only one without a gun...

Seriously though, I never really thought about getting a CHL until I was enlightened by a couple friends who carry.