Last week, we asked our Facebook followers, “Why did you start carrying?” There were almost as many answers as there were readers. Some were so truthful and moving that we decided to immortalize a selection of them here on the site. Enjoy.
“I very nearly missed being present at a shooting in a mall shortly after buying my first handgun, and I realized how worthless it was to have a gun in my car.” – Jordan Linscheid
“Because as a father and head of a household, my family’s safety and security are ultimately my responsibility.” – Charles Mawson
“Someone threatened to kill me because I fired his girlfriend. He just got out of prison recently after being convicted of felonious assault, where he beat a man into a coma.” – Todd Merkel
“At the time, I was a truck driver primarily hauling steel, and they don’t build steel mills in the good part of town.” – Tom Dreher
“Been a longtime gun owner since the 70’s. I got robbed at gunpoint and was a victim because carrying a gun was illegal. Decided right then and there I’d be carrying my gun from then on because criminals don’t follow the law. And they prefer unarmed victims.” – Alan Ryan
“Got robbed at gunpoint while working midnights at a gas station. Now if I get killed it won’t be for lack of shooting back!” – Michael Allen
“Thieves broke into my house in the middle of the night, and I had to chase them out with a knife. I never wanted a repeat of that experience, so I bought my first gun.” – Joe Siwek
“Because I live in South Africa, where our homicide rate is more than 6 times higher than the International Average.” – Stefan Alberts
“Wife, stepchildren, and grandchildren.” – Jim Gibbons
“For the same reasons I have fire extinguishers and first aid kits… Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.” – Joel Henderson
“I moved to a free state, and MSM started telling me I shouldn’t.” – Han Liu
“To protect my family while we’re away from our home.” – Tommy Morgan
“Had a mountain lion tracking me and my then 4-year-old daughter. She’s nine now, never been out in the woods without a sidearm since.” – Lars Jensen
“I became a citizen of the United States.” – E-rock E-rock
And finally, the most popular response:
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