Your Conversion Experience?

[govnor]

NcongrunNT. What an awful story! I've heard so many things like this. A girl that was at a friend of mine's party one night was abducted on the way to her car and raped by a crackhead for three days as he drove her around making her take money out of her ATM so he could buy more crack. This was in the Fair Park area of Dallas. The only reason she's alive is because my friends all put a possee together to look for her car and saw it driving around. They actually called the cops and they got him.

Things like that make me want to start hunting people down. I wouldn't shoot someone that did something like that. That's way too fast...

[Trinitite]

It wasn't a single experience. It was growing up and learning there are bad people out there.

[hoot]

I did not even know there was such a thing as "anti-gun" until I was working on a graduate engineering degree at U.T.Austin. One of the electrical engineering professors was vocally and vociferously "anti-gun". At that time, I had been handling .22s and 12 gauges and 30-06s and .30 carbines since I was a child. I had already served almost three years (35 months 28 days) in the army. I wanted to tell him he was WRONG! But I wanted more to pass his course.

In the last year, four of my immediate neighbors have either been robbed or suffered a home invasion. In two of the cases, the invasion occurred while they were home. As a result of these incidents, I have become the "block captain" for a neighborhood watch group. One block captain responsibility is to distribute (email) crime watch bulletins. So I receive bulletins when anything happens within two miles of our neighborhood. Our neighborhood is averaging more than one event per week.

I guess I never experienced "conversion". But after recent events, I have experienced graduation.

[marksiwel]

Moving to Boston really opened my eyes. Riding public transit convinced me to get a knife. I couldnt get Pepper Spray,a gun, a club ect. Heck even the knife I had was WAY illegal by Boston Mass standards but it was the only thing I could get my hands on (Thank you Target Camping section, I didnt have the internet btw)
Later
I inherited a handgun (Silver Chrome Browning Hi Power 9mm, which I still have and carry with me sometimes) when I moved back to Texas (Second best day of my life) I learned to clean it (Thanks guys over at the "The Gun Store" in Cedar Park for teaching me), Shoot it, and fell feet first into "Gun Culture"

Got alittle off topic, what convinced me that disarming the innocent was a Ride in which there were 3-4 Crazy/Dangerous people on the Subway with me and the rest of the people on the subway were to scared/sheep to do anything, I ended up calling the police and getting them off the train, but I had a feeling that if things went bad no one else on that train would help me.

[PuntoQuatroCinco]

I sure hope this post won't be construed as being racially charged. It isn't. If there is any doubt, I would appreciate the opportunity to clarify any misunderstandings before being flamed.

I was born into a military / L.E. family. I was raised from the beginning with a proper attitude toward 2nd amendment, etc, but have had my predispositions proved correct numerous times.

The most influential for me...the incident that made my subconscious declare "you need to be carrying for your own safety and for the safety of those you love" happened on a Sunday at the office.

I came in to get some work done on the weekend. I left the locked portion of the office and headed down the hall to use the public restroom. I was in there a while... but as I flushed I thought "wouldn't I be tipping off a bad guy to my presence by making so much noise...but on the other hand wouldn't it be a little paranoid to leave the restroom, quietly check the hall, and then come back to flush...you're not James Bond, PQC...you're a boring office worker, so chill out and quit watching so many movies" So I washed up and made my way back to toward the office. Sure enough, as soon as I passed the elevator cluster a man began following me back toward the office. What an awkward premonition... bump-bump....bump-bump...heartbeat quickens...

So we get within 5 steps of my locked office door and I stop abruptly, turn, take a step toward him, and ask if I can help.
He puts his hands in his pockets, then stutters and stammers a bad, but plausible excuse as to why he's in the office on a Sunday afternoon.
(self...he's got his hands in his pockets...if you take the initiative you have the drop on him, you can probably close the gap, from there it's a wrestling match...or you could be wrongly attacking an innocent man with an alibi...or he could have his hands on a weapon and you're f00ked if you sit still and he draws on you...what to do, what to do..)

I don't challenge his shaky story; just enter my office, lock the door behind me, turn off my speakers, make note of any makeshift defensive items...then proceed to feel horribly ashamed of myself for profiling this guy on the basis of his race. (You were raised better than that, PCQ!)

It turns out he wound up stealing several thousand dollars worth of computer and projector equipment from an unlocked office in my building that day and was wanted in connection to a series of break-ins in the area. After reading DeBecker's "The Gift of Fear" I later analyzed the encounter and found several non-racial reasons why my "gut instincts" were going haywire...I just (deliberately?) misinterpreted the signals in the interest of political correctness. In other words, I only thought I was profiling him based on race at the time, but there were more than a few things about his presence that didn't add up which were completely independent of race. Those things only became clear upon later analysis: the elevator "down" light was activated, indicating he was waiting for the elevator...but he abandoned his elevator call in order to follow me to his "new" office to put some things away, but my company occupied that whole side of the floor...he was waiting on his new boss to give him a key to the office, but then how did he get into the building in the first place? ...There wasn't another car in the parking lot, so there shouldn't have been another person in the building (no near-by bus stops)...etc, etc

Given the outcome, I don't think I would have done anything differently regardless whether I was in possession of a heater or not. Even a scumbag's life isn't worth a few thousand dollars' worth of office equipment. But if he had decided my life wasn't worth the risk of getting ID'd to the police...then I'd have been up the creek without a paddle. At that point I decided I needed a louder voice in case of any such difference of opinion (metaphorically speaking).

The closer I get to marriage and the concept of "owing" my kids a duty to protect them, the more consideration I have given the matter, and the more steadfast I have become. I'm still not over that feeling of vulnerability (which, oddly, only set in after the incident, after I discovered the stakes of my encounter).

I guess that's about it.

PQC

[jmra]

I did not need to be converted to get a chl I just needed motivation. That motivation came on super Tuesday of 08. Also motivated me to go to my first TX gun show the following weekend where I bought my first AR and a bunch of ammo. Of course the place was packed with other people doing the same. My brother, my wife, myself, and a friend all signed up for the first chl class we could find. Had plastic in hand 3 months after the elections.

[grumble]

Mine was recent - I've been living in NJ for the past 17 years, and for many various reasons (divorce being one of them), found myself *needing* to get my behind back to the Great State of Texas.... I won't say it's a conversion, because I've never been anti-gun, but didn't own my first one until 2005.

Anyhow, first week of December, 2009, I packed and secured all of my "personal" belongings (including my pistols) into a 6x10 foot trailer (leaving the soon-to-be-ex with everything), hitched it to my Jeep Wrangler and headed south for Collin County. The drive was going very well, and I was very comfortable making the trip...right up until... I passed through Memphis, TN, heading west, went across the river and it was around 5:00 p.m. Planned on staying in Little Rock that night. At 5:00 it was dark (in December, remember), and I pulled into a little convenience store (not well lit, and run down) and gas station to fill up.

I stepped out of the Jeep, put my CC in the pump and started to fill up. Thought I'd give the whole rig the once-around (tires, check the hitch, etc.) while pumping. Just as I step around behind the trailer, I noticed that some dude in a run-down car had pulled in RIGHT behind me - and was out of the car. He approached me (rather quickly), and asked if I had "a couple of dollars for the turnpike" - Now here I am, on the wrong side of the vehicle, no keys in hand, a trailer full of all of my personal belongings, and a pocketful of cash (and more stashed in the car), as VULNERABLE as one could possibly be, with some smarmy dude asking me for $$. My alarm bells FINALLY went off and I reached into my pocket for my cell, and told the guy "sorry man" - and tried not to look intimidated. I offered to call 911 (he saw me punch the number into my phone), and he just sauntered back to his car and drove away. I think I got lucky. It was THAT few moments that made me realize that there ARE BG's out there, and no one is immune, including me. I took a deep breath and was thankful I got out of there without incident, and I did so by doing EVERYTHING wrong.

I had a wake-up call that evening, and have modified many behaviors. When I got to TX, as soon as I received my TDL, I applied for my CHL. Received it this week.

Lessons learned.

1) Watch where you get gas. Get it BEFORE you need it so you have a CHOICE as to where to stop.

2) Situational Awareness - I had ZERO. That has changed. A read of The Gift of Fear has really opened my eyes (as well as all my other senses).

3) Take responsibility for your own protection, that of your family and loved ones, and your property. No one else will.

[PJK]

I was never anti gun, but I grew up in a family where guns were not even a topic. I did have a BB gun as a kid, but that was all of my experience around guns until I was an adult. Over the years I have gone shooting with people. Some pistols, shotguns and a few rifles. It was fun, but I always could rationalize other things to spend money on.

Over the last two years, I did buy a Glock to go and shoot with some friends, but I never intended on carrying it. I have always been situationally aware having studied multiple martial arts, and I had convinced myself I could protect my family with what I knew. Then 2009 happened. I live in a very nice suburb of Houston, and you don't hear much about crime. This further helped me live in the fantasy that where I live crime does not happen. People are friendly and nobody will come into my area. Here are the events that solidified me to get my CHL:

1 - In November 2008 there was a home invasion 7 blocks from my home where an elderly mother and daughter were both murdered.

2 - In January 2009, every car that was left in a driveway on my street was broken into, including my own.

3 - Two weeks later I am driving to the ATM at my local bank on a Saturday. It is 6 AM and I am going to get my daughter money for a school event that started just a few minutes later. As I pull up the the ATM, I see a guy in a hoodie. He starts to run towards me trying to get something out of his pocket. I back up and get out of his way. He ran past me still with his hand in his pocket. After he is gon I notice the ATM was half open with a pole on the ground. I call the police and they find the guy 2 blocks away within 20 minutes. He had a loaded pistol in his pocket. REALITY!!!!! I buy my first shotgun that week.

4 - In February my mother in law's house (4 miles away) is burglarized. They pulled a truck up to her house and filled it up, left and then came back to fill up a second load 20 minutes later. We know this because her neighbors have a camera system. They finally catch the guy, a young man that knew she was at a local resident's funeral.

5 - About 2 month later in April while sitting in church, I get a call from the alarm company that my alarm is going off. I get home, and the police noticed someone had tried to get into my front door. My dogs went crazy and they set the glass break sensors off. REALITY AGAIN - My wife and I both decide to get our CHL's!

Now that we are very aware we are noticing things regularly. Our neighborhood has a lot more crime than anyone hears about. The developer does a great job keeping things quiet to keep our home values up. Here are my lessons learned:

1 -The police are not here to protect me. It is my responsibility to protect myself and my family.
2 - Keep vigilant, watch everyone. Just yesterday two men came up to us on bikes. I ushered my wife away after I noticed they both had empty backpacks, hammers and vice grips attached to their bikes. This may have been innocent, but safety first.
3 - Keep all of your doors locked all the time.
4 - Get your CHL. Having a gun on you reminds you to keep your head up and eyes open at all time.
5 - Become the nosey neighbor. This is how you hear about all that happens where you live.
6 - Most importantly, the suburbs are where the criminals go to for their jobs. They go to places where there is a false sense of security, many flat screen TV's and unlocked doors.

[rebel8ball]

going to bed the night after hurricane ike hit, no power, all the windows open, and not a gun in the house.

[Kevinf2349]

going to bed the night after hurricane ike hit, no power, all the windows open, and not a gun in the house.

The first 'wake up' call for us was Katrina and seeing the anarchy that resulted from that, but we did nothing...after all that was Nawlins not League City, that couldn't happen here could it?. Then Ike hit and my wife and I were returning from evacutating to family in Tennessee and my good lady aksed what we do if looters are in the house. (We got back on the Tuesday folowing Ike), and that settled it. We bought a HD shotgun.

While we were 'outbound' for Ike we had our truck loaded to the gunwales with our precious belongings and we got to Jackson, MS before we couldn't go any further and the hotel was less than comforting. (travel hint: Never stay in a hotel where they hand you the towels, remote and toilet paper when you check in!). That convinced us that we needed to be able to legally carry so we researched the CHL requirements and costs and eventually and signed up for both gun lessons and CHLs (Thanks Tom Estep )

Having the CHL and carrying a weapon is somewhat comforting but the increase in situational awareness really makes a huge difference. People get sloppy with their awareness but that gun strapped to you keeps awreness at the forefront and therefore we tend to keep ourselves out of bad situations that previously we didn't give a second thought to.

[Sinton]

After retiring from the Navy I went to work for the Army as a contractor in Afghanistan. I submitted my resignation from the company for but my boss asked me to stay a little longer, just to fill in a gap. I agreed. The week I would of been going thru CRC (CONUS Readiness Center), FT. Hood happened.

That made me think about the almost three years I spent working for Uncle Sam in Afghanistan and just how much of a 'peaceful" religion Islam really is.

I took my class as soon as I could after getting back. I don't want to be in a helpless state if I can help it.

[williamkevin]

I was born and raised in California (no comments please ) to parents who are from Texas and Oklahoma. I don't remember ever having a conversation about guns with them as a child except for the discussion about "putting your eye out" with the new BB gun I got for Christmas one year. My father always had his 30.06 "deer rifle" in the house so there was not any aversion to them. I became a Marine shortly after high school, and even through my 8 years in the Corps my interest in them was purely professional (it was a LARGE part of my job).

It wasn't until I came home and started working as an armed security supervisor that both my passion for firearms and personal protection took root and started to grow. I don't know how it is now, but at that time (mid 1990s), CCW permits were issued by municipalities and counties from Chiefs of Police or Sheriffs respectively. In other words, you had to "know" someone. I was already armed on the job, so I didn't really have good cause to get one in the eyes of the issuers.

Fast forward to 2004 when my wife (who is native Texan) my son and I moved to League City Texas. We were all fed up with CA life (the politics, school system, etc. ad nausem). We took the opportunity in 2009 to get our CHLs (all three of us).

If I had to point to a "conversion" or event that spurred me into making the decision, I would have to say there are two. One recently and one from the 90s while working security. I won't bore you with the details of the security event, but the recent one has to do with a certain national level election.......'nuff said.

Cheers!

[Dragonfighter]

Like many, I was raised around firearms. My dad was Ohio Highway Patrol. My uncle a champion competition shooter from the Army's pistol team. As I grew I was allowed to carry and shoot a .410 in the woods and was given a rifle (.22) at eight. All I had to do was get permission and let dad know where I was going, grab a box and go, the bad thing was my parents had divorced so I only was with him during Summer and some holidays. Safety had been hammered into my head since I was old enough to ask, "What's that?".

I lived with dad from 8th grade through to my high school years when we spent a month every summer at a cabin in the backwoods of KY shooting and romping through the woods along the ridge. Carrying on the hip was expected.

I went to the Army from high school and began cross training in some pretty exotic hardware as well as hand to hand techniques. I came out anti-social, not really caring about what happened to me and a tad mean. I was quick and would not hesitate to defend myself so this was the period I did not carry or see the need. I did carry on duty as a patrol officer for a security company while in college.

I became a Christian, married and started carrying while traveling and I insisted we keep one in each vehicle. My wife managed a distribution center in a not so nice part of town and I bought her a model 36 and taught her how to use it, she carried at work everyday. I went to work in a bad part of town for a large city and had to take guns away from several people as well as grapple with others, waiting on police to arrive. As I got older, fatter and slower the need to carry was becoming readily apparent. When CHL first was introduced I jumped on it and have been close to 24/7 ever since.

It was interesting, when I bought my wife's model 36, dad called it a "sneaky gun". When he retired to Florida, he got his CHL (Only had to produce copy of DD-214) and carried for several years before he died.

No conversion really...and I've shared too much. But there you are.

[drjoker]

I was a born anti.

My parents were immigrants who were afraid of guns. They thought that guns were evil death rays that only police officers and army could use to presumably to "protect us". They had never touched a gun before in their lives. They wouldn't even buy me a toy gun. No Daisy Red Rider in this buckaroo's childhood.....

I had childhood asthma and was too weak to take P.E. Lucky for me, ROTC rifle marksmanship counts as a phys ed class so I took it. Who would know that you can store guns on a school campus and the kids would be responsible enough to not shoot each other with them? For those of you who live in the DFW area, Plano Senior High has a really nice 100 ft indoor rifle range with 22lr bolt action Remingtons and Anschutz rifles. Ammo is provided for free of charge to the students, too.

Good times....

[btaylor]

We always had guns in the house growing up, and I was given a .22 rifle for Christmas when I was 12 - My dad taught me firearm safety, how to shoot straight and clean up afterwards,but at home the guns were stored under my parents bed with the ammo in the hall closet.

The concept of personal defense was foreign to me, and the only time I shot a handgun was in the Boy Scouts (unsanctioned, but the Scoutmaster thought it was important we know how a handgun operates).

My 'conversion' to the fact that I am responsible for my own defense and safety, and that of my home, came when I first moved off campus from college.

Some roommates and I decided to find an apartment close to campus, and the apartment complex we chose was on Midway & 635. We were stupid to think about anything other than price when picking a place to live.

Our immediate neighbors were friendly enough, mostly immigrants and working poor, but one night a detective came by and told us it would be a bad idea to go further into the complex at night because of some rampant gang activity in another building.

I had never thought of something like that being right outside my window where I sleep at night, those kinds of things were for ghettos and downtowns (or so I thought.) It really jarred me, and the next week I sold a bunch of DVD's and xbox games and bought a mossberg 500 w/ a Knoxx Folding stock and never looked back. Three Years later I'm married, living in the gulf coast area, and with more to protect than ever I try to be constantly aware of whats going on around me.

P.S. I love this forum. I read it daily.