“Bobby Armstrong (66) has revealed how he ‘feared for his life’ after two callous thugs broke into his home in Dromiskin, Co Louth, on the night of March 14,” herald.ie reports. “The retired fisherman was held at gunpoint with his own legally-held shotgun during a horrific attack which happened just after 8.30pm. Mr Armstrong was left with serious facial injuries after he was punched and slapped. The terrified pensioner revealed that he was given a ‘good going over’ by the thieves [picture deleted by the herald] who left with a substantial sum of money and one of his two shotguns . . . ‘They didn’t get the other [shotgun] because I have been keeping it under the bed for the past two years since the house was broken into before.'” As always, there’s probably a lot more to this story than meets the eye. But one thing we know for sure . . .
Mr. Armstrong didn’t have a handgun to hand. Well, not a legal one above .22 caliber; the Irish government banned centerfire handguns in 2008. So a shotgun was Armstrong’s best/only self-defense firearm. Not that he could legally own a scattergun for that purpose. The Garda doesn’t grant shotgun licenses for self-defense.
In any case, it was a moot point. Armstrong couldn’t get to either of his long guns at the time of the attack. The criminals got there first, and could have used one of his shotguns to blow his head off. I could link this anecdotal assault to “a 24pc increase in burglars committing a crime while in possession of a weapon [in The Emerald Isle]” But that would be a digression.
‘Cause my main point is the same as it ever was: home carry.
If you think that burglars (a.k.a., home invaders) don’t know the importance of speed, surprise and violence of action, then you don’t know the importance of speed, surprise and violence of action. If and when they come for you, your money, your guns and possibly your daughters (e.g., Dr. Petit), the bad guys are not going to wait for you to sprint to your gun.
We are lucky to live in a country where we have the right to keep and bear arms. If you’re going to do so, do so where you spend the vast majority of your time. Where your valuables live. At home.
Sure, home is where you let your hair down. But you’d be foolish to let your guard down. Yes, the odds are low that you’ll ever need a gun at home, perhaps less than the odds of needing a fire extinguisher. But if you do need a gun to defend your castle, you will need it in a great big hurry.
Be ready. And be humble enough to see the danger. As the old Irish proverb cautions, “Every dog is bold on its own doorstep.”
Exactly
Perhaps this time Mr. Armstrong has learned the value of having a .22 handgun in hand when needed and nothing else can be had.
Yes! I always home carry at least a .38 Special +P j-frame, but, depending upon wardrobe, maybe without speedloaders.
And, secure your home and its environs. I always lock my doors and, if I’m working in my upstairs office, I put on the household alarm system. (I can always disengage it from upstairs using an alarm fob.) I also have a “faithful barker” of a dog.
I’d also recommend locking your car, since car robberies are more likely than house robberies (at least in my neighborhood), and, if someone wanted to get you out of your house, they might break into your car and then try to catch you unawares as you might go outside to investigate. In short, houses and cars have locks, use them to extend your safety perimeter.
You do all that, AND carry a gun at home? Doesn’t that seem a bit excessive to you, really?
I know your rationale, if something did happen, however unlikely, the consequences could be so devastating that you must be prepared. It’s the responsible thing to do.
Why stop at the unlikely event of a home invasion that gets past your locked door, the alarm system and the dog? Why not worry about lightning strikes and meteorite hits? Are you prepared for them too?
My problem with this is not you, as an individual doing whatever you want in your own home. I don’t care about that. What I object to is the dissemination of such suggestions to all who will listen, many of whom are not trained or capable of handling it.
This blog does a lot of that. I’ll bet for every life you save with these extreme suggestions, you’re responsible for two deaths. That’s because guns do more harm than good in the long run. Just read the news.
Ah, yes, the news. Something we all know to have the agenda of reporting with no bias. Why don’t you just leave is alone and sit on your house with the doors unlocked because you have no worries.
Let me just say that drugs have been illegal for over forty years. Yet I could go find about anything I wanted in under an hour. So, taking them away will do nothing because if you want to break the law, then you could care less. You’ll do it anyway. Guns aren’t the problem. The lawlessness of the thug culture is. Guns are just a tool. One that we could give them exclusive use of if they were banned. Great idea.
No.
I also follow @ leftshooters precautions…we lock our doors, the alarm is mostly set to on, I almost always carry (if not, then a handgun is nearby). Criminals almost always have the advantage, they pick the time and location of their attack, I hope my actions can offset their advantages.
+1 I don’t know where that gentleman lives, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. I have walked outside my house armed on more than one occassion, due to some mutant neighbors,
“Extreme” suggestions? LOL! Proof positive that “extreme” is a matter of perspective. I happen to think YOUR position (of not being armed) is extreme(ly) naive. But, I respect your choice, and I would not tell you that you are “extreme.” But, from my perspective you are. I understand that you would think I am, as well.
I have incorporated the practice of bearing arms to the point of it being like putting on my watch and brushing my teeth. It is not difficult. It’s not a burden. It’s not even a chore. I don’t find it inconvenient or a bother. Quite to the contrary, I feel UNcomfortable if I don’t have it, just as it feels weird when my watch isn’t on. Something’s missing. It’s a HABIT. A good habit, I dare say. 🙂
I’ve never been hit by a car, but I look both ways when crossing the street. That’s not “paranoia.” It’s simply good common sense. I own fire extinguishers. I wear a helmet when riding a bike, skating, etc. I have homeowners insurance. I have life insurance. I surely hope to not use any of them in the foreseeable future.
Carrying a gun at home is like wearing pants to me. I don’t walk around (most days) without pants on, even in my own home. Same goes with my gun. If I’m wearing pants… I’m wearing a gun.
I do so, not because it was “suggested on the internet” or anywhere else for that matter. I do so, because of my own volition, when I decided to take charge of my own safety, security, and well-being, I came to the LOGICAL conclusion that I cannot predict where trouble might strike. But, the two places I spend the most time are at work (self-employed) and at home. Statistically speaking, it should be self-evident that IF I am ever attacked, it will likely be where I spend the most time.
But, you can call me “extreme.”
yeah, I do.
I know Mike B. must get his statistics from the Brady Bunch. That sir is mistake one through 17. Mike we promise not to laugh when you eat your words. Keep on broadcasting that you are a gun free zone and sooner or later some bad guy or girl coward is going to check you out. My hope is that you are not taking innocents on this stupid journey with you. If you live, we will welcome you to the home carry community when and if you get out of the Hospital.
As usual, Mike. Your comment is beyond silly. I have a close friend who was the victim of a home invasion, where he suffered an attack by two guys with knives. Luckily, his girlfriend escaped from the house to get help and the attack stopped. Unfortunately, they didn’t have gun to defend themselves with. In the end he received a severe cut to his hand that severed tendons. And even after surgery and physical therapy, he never did regain full use of his hand. In addition he suffered from nightmares and sleepless nights, for many years.
And I myself, was the victim of an attempted home invasion. I awoke one night to the sound of someone pulling on the back sliding door, and soon after the sound of someone breaking open a bedroom window. I quickly jump out of bed and met the guy at the window, with, GASP! A GUN! When he seen me standing in the ready with a gun, his attitude changed rather fast and within an instant, all I could hear were feet beating pavement. And for the record, they absolutely, new that I was home before the attempted break-in started. In the end. I suffered know injuries or sleepless nights.
And your “guns do more harm than good” comment is most ridicules. I proudly believe, firearms are one of the best things to ever happen to mankind. And that gun control should be resisted at all cost.
Regardless of my disdain for your comments, I am glad, that you do comment here at TTAG. We need a constant reminder, that people like you are out there. So keep up the good work.
It’s fascinating how we can look at the same thing and have totally opposite perceptions of it.
My God! I agree with you, but your English is terrible!!
MikeyB? In the US today, as in suburban detached-villa areas in much of Europe, it is entirely normal to lock your car and your house doors. If you have valuables, an alarm system is not unusual, and many insurance companies here and in Europe require one to keep coverage. Mine does. As for having a dog, I can’t remember visiting a German or English house that didn’t have one. So, it comes down to the gun. You dropped by to tell folks you don’t like guns. Even Justice Kagan recently went shooting and said it was fun. What happened to you Mikey? Did your self-proclaimed drugs and felon-friends days have a frightening ending? Why do you associate guns with extremism? Teddy Roosevelt liked guns. Shooting pistols in the White House basement was a secret pleasure of Eleanor Roosevelt! Mikey, take a Xanax. Nobody wants to shoot you anymore. Your California days are over! It still stuns me that you claim to have been a Marine (site scrape available on request). Were you honorably discharged? Or did the guns get to you, scare you? I’m truly curious, MikeB302000. Why can’t you distinguish between criminals and the law-abiding folks? Do you think, ah, they are all the same? Why not tell us how you live? You never do. You are an internet voyeur with a third-rate past.
You don’t sound “truly curious,” Rope, you sound like you want to use trumped-up innuendo to take shots at me. Please notice I have no interest or curiosity about you personally or your history. I’m taking you at face value. Your continual stabbing at me and my past makes me wonder what IS your problem.
I find arming oneself at home to be extreme. That’s my opinion? In spite of your few personal experiences mentioned in the comments above, it seems to me the chances of your gun saving the day are lower than the chances that it will be misused someday.
That’s my personal opinion after reading what you guys have to say and others like you every day for a few years now. Why does my opinion about the way you use guns bother you so much?
Because it’s not based on fact. Because your opinion influences others who may remove or amend our right to keep and bear arms. Because you want to change U.S. laws which don’t apply to you as an expatriate. Do you want me to continue?
Well, those could be the reasons it bothers you so much. But, I thought maybe it’s because what I say makes sense and you know it. It shakes your resolve which is best maintained in an echo chamber of like-minded gun-rights enthusiasts.
Whatever the real reasons you and some of the others get so bothered by me, I thank you for allowing me to participate.
My quoting and paraphrasing your own statements about yourself made by you on other sites in other years is hardly trumped-up innuendo. My few personal experiences? With European households? I’ve been there at least twice a year for 32 years, including every August over that period, speak three of the languages and still keep houses there. It’s possible that I’ve spent more time in Europe than you. You hide. You don’t share your own personal experiences. The Daily Kos had the same experience of you, and said “Get lost.” True fact. Wouldn’t it be better if you related your own experiences instead of simply criticizing? So many people bring different views to the site. They don’t all agree, by a long shot. But they discuss their own experiences. You share nothing. Why? As to “the chances of your gun saving the day” of what importance is that to you? The site covers hunting rifles and target arms, as well. Why do I continue to call you out? Because you ruin an interesting page with BS, and yet you do not provide something useful, like accurate statistics carefully sourced, or incidents from your own life to lend credibility. FLAME DELETED
“My few personal experiences? With European households?”
Where’d you get that? By “few personal experiences” I was referring to the other commenters who recounted break-ins and the like in which they needed or could have used a gun. I continued with, “it seems to me the chances of your gun saving the day are lower than the chances that it will be misused someday.”
What did you think, that I was ridiculing you for being one of those Americans who lives and dies within 50 miles of his birthplace and knows nothing about the outside world?
FLAME DELETED
Dear mikeb302000,
Wow, where shall I start? I have visited this fine TTAG blog for a while now and have seen many, many people take you to task for your comments. I have chosen not to be one of them as I fervently support your right to freely express yourself. In short, I support both the NRA and the ACLU. That said, I would like to exercise my right to respond to a couple of points you raise in your comment. I promise to be nice. Here goes.
First some background: At university I teach a subject that entails a lot of risk analysis. I make a very nice income from my teaching and from my consulting to industry. I own nice cars and have nice places to live, and a family that I love and enjoy. I also have a firearms training company and hold a Distinguished Expert pistol rating (more about that later). In short, I probably have an appealing profile for a robber (recent neighborhood break-ins would seem to confirm this) and, although I don’t advertise the fact, I do own guns that might also be appealing to the criminal element.
I also have a spinal cord injury, which, in over 15 years I have recovered from moving just my left hand in a power wheel chair to walking with two canes and appliances on my right leg and sometimes right hand. As luck would not have it, I am right-handed, but I learned to shoot left-handed and earned the DE rating some time ago. As for mobility I can ambulate OK but I would be in serious jeopardy if I were knocked down or assaulted. These are major reasons why I spend some time with scenario analysis. I’m not paranoid, just prudent. This is also the reason for the layered defense. I can’t jump up immediately to meet a threat.
Now for your questions: “Why stop at the unlikely event of a home invasion that gets past your locked door, the alarm system and the dog? Why not worry about lightning strikes and meteorite hits? Are you prepared for them too?”
In a word, no. I am utterly ill-prepared for a lightning strike or meteorite hit. Here’s why:
According to NOAA/National Weather Service (which I feel is a good use of my tax dollars), about 40 people die from lightning strikes each year and about 360 suffer injury, which makes the odds of death or injury from a lightning strike in the U.S. about 1 in 775,000. (I still wouldn’t stand in a field with both of my metal canes pointed to the heavens, though.)
As for meteorites, the odds are, well, astronomical. They range from 1 in 700,000 over a lifetime (astronomer Alan Harris via WikiAnswers) to once every 7,000 years (the UK Telegraph paper). I know the UK has less population but we’ve got way more land area, so I called it a wash, or a “SWAG” (Statistical Wild-Assed Guess). I also treated that question’s answers less seriously, because I think the question was less serious.
Now, why else would I take the precautions I do? For insight, I direct you to The National Crime Victimization Survey. “Crimes Against Persons With Disabilities, 2008-2010-Statistical Tables” (more good use of my tax dollars, in my opinion)
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/capd10st.pdf
(Note: Please read the section on page 2 of the report detailing the age standardization data adjustment that must be made because the disabled as a group are older than the general population.)
Here’s a sampling of data from that report, with my comments in parentheses:
In 2010, the age-adjusted rate of serious violent victimization (rape/sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault) was 16 per 1,000 persons with disabilities, compared to 5 per 1,000 for persons without disabilities. (So, however unlikely a violent encounter is, it is 3.2X more likely for persons with disabilities.)
In 2010, victimizations against persons with disabilities (30%) were more likely than victimizations against persons without disabilities (21%) to involve an armed offender. (Needs no explanation, right?)
The offender was armed with a firearm in about 14% of victimizations involving persons with disabilities, compared to 8% of victimizations against those without disabilities in 2010. (In other words, 1.75X more likely that the cowards would use a firearm to assault a disable person over an able person. Pathetic, no?)
Persons with disabilities who were injured during a violent victimization (20%) were more likely than persons without disabilities (12%) to receive medical treatment in 2010. (Needs no explanation, right?)
Last, I also take issue with what you said here, with my comments in parentheses:
“What I object to is the dissemination of such suggestions to all who will listen, many of whom are not trained or capable of handling it.” (I am a teacher, in every element of my life. I hope that my blog comments are well-considered and food for thought and, if necessary, will compel someone to seek training, which I strongly endorse. I promise I will work hard in the future to ensure that my posts are informative and not invective.)
“This blog does a lot of that. I’ll bet for every life you save with these extreme suggestions, you’re responsible for two deaths.” (First, I’d like to see your statistics (SWAG?) on that. I guess extreme is in the eye of the beholder, but I sure hope I would be helping save rather than ending lives. I am writing a book with the working title of “Armed Defense for the Disabled and Physically Challenged.” I’ll sell you a copy to review once I’m finished. You decide whether I’m hurting or helping)
One more thing, this “you’re responsible for two deaths” comment really does cut, so I need to employ some humor to get over it. I’m thinking “how about a duel?” J-frames at 10 meters? 😉
Mike:
To reply to your post point by point:
Only honest people respect locks. Criminals will enter after kicking in the door or breaking a window. Residential burglaries are most common during the day because the burglars expect no one to be home. When they discover otherwise, many will leave promptly. They are more brazen where privately owned firearms are rare and self defense is prohibited.
All an alarm system is good for is notifiying you, if you are home, that someone has broken in. Our neighbor’s alarm goes off periodically and no one responds — neither the alarm company nor the police.
When I was young, my family had a cocker spaniel that was the entire neighborhood’s watch dog. Howver, she would have been helpless against an intruder. A 150 lb attack dog might do better but do you think it wise to harbor an animal trained to chew up any stranger who enters univited?
If we lived on top of a hill, our house would have lightning rods. Another neighbor, who does live on a hill, had a fire started by a lightning strike.
I’m not worried about meteor strikes. I can remember only two or three instances of property damage due to meteors and one intance of personal injury. If violent crime was as rare, we wouldn’t be worried about self defense.
I pay careful attention to incidents of self defense reported by the local media. The untrained and, in your opinion, incapable gun owners you denigrate do very well against criminals. It’s the unarmed victims who suffer the worst.
I read, watch and listen to the news every day. It is filled with reports of violent crimes. Occasionally, an armed citizen thwarts a crime. Even with supposedly permissive gun laws, relatively few people are armed at the critical instant. Suicides or mass murders with firearms are actually quite rare. Hunting accidents are more common.
My wife and I are fortunate to live in a safe, upper middle class neighborhood on the outskirts of our city. No one here has been the victim of a violent crime and property crimes are rare. Our precautions are limited to keeping our doors locked and our posessions indoors. We don’t have an alarm system or a dog. Although we have guns, which we would use against a violent intruder, getting them out takes a couple of minutes.
Other, poorer parts of the city are less fortunate. They are plagued with burglaries, home invasions, muggings and drive-by shootings. Most of it is gang related. If we had to live there, we would have bars on all the lower level windows, an alarm system and a big dog. We would also keep handguns within reach at all times and a shotgun or AR-15 type rifle readily accessible.
I have a problem with the sentence, getting them out takes a couple of minutes! What do you do first, hold up your hand as they break in smile and Holler FINZEES TIME OUT??
You are correct that, if someone kicks in the door, I won’t be able to get to my guns soon enough. I realize I am taking a calculated risk based on my neighborhood’s history. The next paragraph outlines what I would do if my situation changes for the worse.
Locking your doors seems excessive to many of my friends. I still do.
They’ve been the victim of burglars who may have chosen them for that fact alone.
My decisions are made on the best risk assessment I can make as an individual.
I am no klutz, and I tend towards the extraordinarily careful side with anything that’s potentially lethal. Home carry, for me, is all benefits with no downsides.
It is disingenuous, at best to make the claim that others can’t think for themselves and will be so swayed by what they read that they’ll end up dead for it.
For you personally, you seem to think that just because bad things don’t happen to you, they never will. You live a charmed life or don’t pay much attention to the world around you. I think it’s a foolhardy way to live life, but it’s yours to do with as you wish.
“This blog does a lot of that. I’ll bet for every life you save with these extreme suggestions, you’re responsible for two deaths. That’s because guns do more harm than good in the long run. Just read the news.”
Uh huh. May I ask for numbers again? What is this now? Number one hundred?
I bet you would be terrified of the amount of able bodied, able minded individuals out there that live like this everyday and you know nothing about them and what kind of defensive setup/mindset they have. I bet you would be terrified to know that most of them are following laws to a tee and never hit ‘the news’.
I bet with just a couple of the two cents you put in here trying to tell people how it is (without any data) that you could save an entire village in Africa from REAL lawlessness and gun related activities.
Good luck and God bless, Mike.
P.S. There were 375K worth of page hits on this site according to the article on here. I am pretty sure you lost your bet.
“Numbers? We don’t need no stinkin’ numbers”
Mike,
A thought for you. Anyone of those “excessive”ly home carrying is a firearms owner. (Duh, otherwise they would not have one to carry at home.) They are exercising extra caution to prevent thier property (that includes thier guns) from being stollen. There for they are preventing criminals from illegally getting more guns that the criminals may then use in criminal ways. Please explain how preventing criminals from steeling more guns is bad.
I spend most of my day in front of my computer. I’ve got a nice seven round .357 within hands reach under the desk on with a Hide-A-Gun mount.
For most americans, feeling the need to carry a gun while in the home is laughable. Anyone who believes they should carry a gun in their home has more problems than home defense. This story is about an old irish man, either in an apparently crime-ridden area or one previously targeted for easy break-ins, either due to that man’s circumstances, or perhaps he lives in a senior area, who knows. There’s so many other possible issues involved in this, that there’s no way to draw a meaningful lesson from it.
You’re just jealous because your teachers won’t let you carry in Remedial English class.
Statistics are just that until they happen to you. Why wear a seat belt? Why lock doors? Why look where you’re going?
Your life is the only one you have. Take good care of it, protect it and watch out for it by exercising caution and prudence. Scoffing at such is the mark of inexperience.
“koolaidguzzler says:
April 1, 2012 at 14:50
For most americans, feeling the need to carry a gun while in the home is laughable.”
Until someone has three men break in while eating dinner in Parma, Ohio. Until a wife or daughter is raped or killed. Until you come home with an armful of groceries and you are facing a pipe stealer with a crowbar and wrench.
“Anyone who believes they should carry a gun in their home has more problems than home defense.”
Such as? The odd want for the need of security? Those that live in bad areas but are too old or too young to run away to a nicer area? The single female who was just tailed by that greasy guy in class this evening?
“This story is about an old irish man, either in an apparently crime-ridden area or one previously targeted for easy break-ins, either due to that man’s circumstances, or perhaps he lives in a senior area, who knows.”
All I know is he has the right to defend himself as he sees fit no matter the circumstance.
“There’s so many other possible issues involved in this, that there’s no way to draw a meaningful lesson from it.”
For you, maybe. For me it is to always be relaxed and ready.
Weird… I had copied my long(ish) comment, as it is habit in case the internetz eats it. And, sure enough it did. So, I tried to paste the comment, and I’m getting a pop-up that it’s being marked as spam. I don’t want to type it all over again!
I have had similar problems copying text from Open Office into a comment area (but not here at TTAG). Sometimes it helps to do some further editing or addition to the copied text. That seems to convince the anti-spam tool that you are not some kind of robo-spammer.
If I am wearing pants, I’m wearing a gun. And fortunately for my neighbors, I’m wearing pants most of the time.
@gen4n9……”Most of the time”???
LMFAO. I promise, I never go outside without my pants on. Is that better?
I’ve been slowly and carefully getting into home carry ever since the ‘break in’ next door. There’s been zero crime in my neighborhood to date and many folks can see much of other folks houses and front/back doors and we look out for each other. Middle of the day on a Friday the wife and I are working from home, she calls me over as a truck we’ve never seen pulls into the driveway next door and we watch a guy in sweatshirt & jeans (does it matter what he’s wearing? I dunno) walk around the house to the back door, pulls out a small crowbar/cats-paw and pries the back door open in like 5 seconds and walks in! The wife called 911 and the cops came (many and very quickly which was nice to see) and it turned out the guy was there to change the locks as the house was being foreclosed. So he was pretty much legal (or at least no charges were pressed) – except he was there a month early! The woman that lived there had the place for another month but she spent most of her time at her new place as she continued to move her possessions out.
Until you see how quickly someone can enter a house the reality of the crime might not sink in for some. It’s easy to be lulled into feeling safe i.e. if I haven’t been the victim of crime for 40+ years and nobody else around here has been either then why should I think I’ll become the victim anytime soon? I felt that way for many years. I’ve since changed how I protect myself and my family at home.
Hi KC,
“…………..if I haven’t been the victim of crime for 40+ years………………why should I think I’ll become the victim anytime soon?”
When I was twenty (20) I was absolutely positive I would live forty (40) + more years, and I was right.
I bought the life insurance policy just the same.
If I may ask how are you “slowly and carefully getting into home carry”?
Hey Ron, I hear ya, when I was early 20’s we’d shoot at the sand pits but I never gave a thought to a gun for protection or security. That was just the environment I was in at the time. Life insurance was just a check mark on the work form that deducted a couple bucks from each paycheck so that was easy for a 20-something to do. As I’ve aged I’ve stopped being lulled (I hope) into a false sense of security (thus the foray into guns and the better life insurance policies.)
Regarding how I’m slowly and carefully getting into home carry:
Like most folks, I’m sure, having a finite amount of time & money is part of reason behind it being ‘slow’. My limited experience is what’s contributing to the ‘carefully’ part – not that most folks aren’t careful (to varying degrees.)
So what’s taking me so long: Getting training for the wife and myself as we were both greenhorns, getting a large safe and some small quick access safes and installing them all, reading books & websites and judging the quality of and absorbing the information, finding the perfect gun (ugh, don’t even get me started with finding the perfect holster.) Basically a lot of the same things that the articles and comments here talk about.
Just that I’m facing them all at once while I suspect many folks here have been doing this for years and are just refining things.
The caution part, well, it just takes time to learn to do something properly, to have good instincts and good habits. More time at the range, more training, etc.
I’ve started carrying when I’m home alone or out on walks or on short trips to better understand how it feels both mentally and physically – to understand the issues I’m going to run into and to fix them before I’m around others. With practice comes confidence and over time my home (and outside) carry has become more frequent. Eventually I’ll probably even feel like I’m missing something without my gun. I’m sold on the idea of home carry, I’m just not ready to strap one to my hip full time at home, not yet.
Hi KC,
In my humble opinion, I think you’ll do just fine.
You certainly have the right mindset and are proceeding down the right path.
The right mindset is the most important part of self defense. The best equipment and training are of little importance without the right mindset.
I was curious only because I have talked with many who were apprehensive about carrying concealed or having unattended firearms in their homes.
You are the first to express concern about having your firearm on your person at home.
Or at least that’s the way I read it.
For most CHL holder, home carry is not removing your EDC.
YES ,you will become oblivious to your EDC in time.
Mine has become just another accessory to be obtained in the morning. On the rare occassion when distracted and I don’t have it with me, I never make it out the door. It’s kind of like my wrist watch, I don’t need it and wearing one is outdated, but I’m just not comfortable without it.
Glad to see your wife is with you on this. Having a partner adds to the enjoyment. Especally when it’s your most important partner. Also it’s a good feeling knowing she can protect herself if your not around. And protect you if need be.
I’m glade you changed your mind about self defense.
Obviously I think it’s the right thing to do. I wish everyone would. With the right mindset of course.
Your family is a welcome addition to the community.
Gee…sounds like a .22lr or .22 mangnum handgun is looking real good after reading this story.
always have the Glock ready to rock in a remora holster inside the house
I just got my concealed carry permit and started carrying everywhere. I’m a mom so I’m mostly at home but make occasional trips to the school (where my permit allows me to carry). I’m new to guns so it took me a while to “graduate” from carrying completely unloaded, to a loaded mag but empty chamber, and I just started carrying with one in the chamber. I love my gun and I feel naked without it now. I’m dreading my upcoming trip to California where I can’t take it with me to the places where I would most need it. My MIL whom I’m going to visit lives in a seedy part of town and I’d be glad to have it on me, but it wouldn’t be legal, and besides she hates guns.