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I've been pro-gun my whole life as well. My family raised me hunting and taught me gun safety and respect. Although my experience didn't change my stance on guns, gun-control, etc, it did change the way I look at life and the necessity of being prepared to protect yourself/family.

For most of us I'm sure there has been a time in our lives (if only for a moment) were we acted like lost little sheep, oblivious to the world around us. Then comes the time in our lives when an event or series of events shocks us out of that naivety and awakens us to the necessity of situational awareness, obtaining our CHL, protecting our families, and acting as sheep dogs to the remaining sheep in the world.

What was your "conversion experience" like? For me, the first real time I became aware of the big bad world was in college. I took a girlfriend out to the movies in South Dallas and had to stop to get gas on the way home (it was somewhere between 11pm and 1am... my memory's a little hazy). While I was pumping the gas, a woman approached my then-girlfriend on the passenger side and asked for money. She shook her off, but the woman persisted and began rapping on the window. I told her we didn't have anything for her, but she continued asking- aggressively. I finally stopped worrying about the stupid gas pump, turned it off and got the heck out of dodge.

Although there was never a threat of physical violence, the fact that I was completely oblivious to my surroundings, that the woman could have easily had a weapon or worse- an accomplice with a weapon- and had her way with us, and the fact that I had NO idea what I would have done had the situation escalated shook me up. Although I didn't change right away, I made a decision that night to always be alert no matter where I was or what I was doing. Several years down the road, and here I am with my CHL and a healthy respect for the crazy situations life can throw at you at any given time. I’m a changed man.

What's your story?