By NCGlockin
On Friday September 18, something happened that changed my life forever. It was payday, so I decided to run to the ATM and get some cash. I work from home, so normally I don’t go out during the day unless I need something. I live about two minutes from the shopping center where the ATM is located, so I was expecting it to be a short trip . . .
I was on a conference call for my job that started at 10 AM, so I was very conscious of the time.
10:33 AM – I switched over to my cell phone, so I could stay on the call while I went to the ATM. It took me a few minutes even after I switched over to actually walk out the door, so I’m guessing it was around 10:37 when I left home. I talked to my neighbor for a minute who was outside taking a smoke, and then left to go to the ATM.
I got to the ATM, and made my withdrawal with no problem. I drove my wife’s van which needed gas. I decided to drive to a station that was a little further away than the closest one because it has much cheaper gas, and that’s when everything started to happen.
10:48 AM – My wife called me on my cell phone. She told me that someone is ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door. She was home alone with our 9-month old daughter. My other three kids were at school.
She called me because she didn’t recognize the car, and asked if I am expecting anyone. I tell her no. She was upstairs in our bedroom and able to look out the window and see the car, but couldn’t see the person ringing the doorbell. She described the car, and told me the car had backed into the driveway.
She then told me she thought they were leaving and she walked out of the bedroom and into the loft. Then I heard a crash through the phone and my wife yelling “GET OUT, GET OUT!”
10:49 AM – I hang up, dial 911 and turn around immediately. I got a message asking me to please hold. I’m thinking, “hold?, this can’t be happening.” The operator came on the line after what seemed like 20 seconds (I’m guessing it was half that), and I gave her my address and told her what I just heard. I was trying to stay calm and speak clearly, but it wasn’t easy.
The van was pushing 110 and the governor keeps kicking in and throttling the engine back down, so I tried to hold it at 100 until I got to the turn just before my neighborhood. Two minutes later I’m home and I pull up just as the first police car does. I identify myself to the officer as the homeowner, and he tells me to stay back as he starts to walk around the back of the house. My wife saw me pull up, and opened the door.
She was on the phone with 911, and I was still on the phone with the 911 operator I’d called. We both told the operators that the police were there, that we’re OK, and we hang up.
The police thought it was someone trying to rob us who thought no one was home. I live in a nice middle class neighborhood and I realize that criminals will go where they think people have something of value. Unfortunately, that time they chose my home.
10:55 AM – My next door neighbor called to make sure everything is OK because he saw the police cars outside. I’d been home for a few minutes by that time.
Now I’m a gun owner and here are the reasons I bought it:
1) Everything you just read
2) If it had not been my house, it would have been (and has been) one of my neighbors’. This was not the 1st time a house in our neighborhood has been broken into in broad daylight. I was looking at the times on my cell phone, and I realized just how fast everything happened, and it seems that this person was probably watching the street, waiting for someone to leave.
3) The next time, the burglar may not stop just because someone yells at him.
4) I can’t always be at home and I want my wife to have the ability to fend for herself if necessary.
5) Even if I had been at home, I would not have had more than a baseball bat. These days that’s not enough.
Conclusions:
1) I’m pissed off that someone would even try to come in my home whether I’m there or not. The fact that a person was able to kick the front door in so easily has made me reassess the security of my home. We’ve come to realize that there are certain things that we can’t do anything about, but we have made changes to how we secure our home.
2) The police said the burglar wasn’t looking for a confrontation. While I understand that was probably the case, there are too many instances of home invasions where the intruder doesn’t stop when someone yells at them. It seems that in the Charlotte area, this is becoming more and more of a daily occurrence. There’s at least one, and sometimes more, news story describing an attempted home invasion in the area every day.
3) I’ve never had a problem with guns, and it wasn’t something I was planning to do. I have since attended a safety class, and I had a chance to shoot some. I enjoyed it, and I will probably be going to the range quite a bit. The plan is for my wife and me to attend some additional classes.
4) Could I shoot actually someone? If it was between my family and them, YES!
5) My car was parked in the garage and my wife’s car was parked outside, so I guess it looked as if no one was at home (again, I took her car to the ATM). I have mixed feelings about this, and how I will operate going forward. Now my wife asks that I leave a car in the driveway whenever I leave without her.
Yes, she’s still upset from the incident, and I’m sure it will take some time for her to become comfortable again in her own home. So until she says otherwise, that’s what I’ll do. When she leaves, she wants me to make sure my car is in the driveway. I don’t care if it looks like I’m home or not. The next person that comes through the front door (or the back) uninvited will have one chance to do the right thing, or they get to say hello to my little friend.
6) I found out the reason the police arrived so quickly is because they were at a traffic stop at the same shopping center where I went to the ATM. I was very surprised to see them there so fast.
Joe
A gift that just keeps on giving.
Welcome to the real world.
J is spot on. (Much respect sent in your direction) Having worked for a staunch Conservative for the last twenty years, I have seen company profits sent to good causes numerous times. You can sometimes help a cause way, way more by using your companies blood, sweat and profits to further it. You help no one, especially your employees, by going out of business. Talk and condemnations are cheap. Staying in the fight usually never is.
We are one generation away from being put into the ovens again.
One.
Never Again.
Your company makes good, solid products. That is why they are sought after. They are sought after by police, LE, and other enforcement agencies across the country. LEO’s want your product because they know it is reliable and they trust it. IF you stop selling to them, you will have them screaming to purchase your products. Who are they going to be mad at? Politicians! They are going to start pushing back against the corrupt politicians that put these laws on the books. As long as they can still readily get your product, even ahead of the LONG wait that everyone else is seeing, why would they care? Deny them a product and you have leverage from the inside. This is what the other companies are doing. You are not endangering any LEO for denying them purchasing of your product. They have PLENTY of steel mags. Would they prefer yours? Sure… But to say that you are doing this “For the good of the LEO’s” is just BS.
You DO know talking on the phone at an ATM is a terrible idea, RIGHT? When you’re at an ATM, you need all your senses on the alert. Just sayin’.
Does this mean they’ll start recognizing Georgia’s WCL?
Hmm, my CCW class is in April…I wonder if this will pass before or after I get my permit, that I now may or may not need?
Am I reading this right BTW? Are they stating that you can carry CONCEALED? I thought Constitutional Carry was usually on the hip, and in plain sight?
Open carry, for all intents and purposes, is a strictly different concept in this context (at least from everything I’ve read). Constitutional carry specifically refers to concealed (perhaps any form of?) carry without need of a permit.
Home carry… few defenses are better than chosing to do so.
Every arms & accessories manufacturer has financial incentive to join the boycott. If these gun control laws pass, and continue to gain strength over time, the civilian market will be destroyed. We would not have as many companies as we have now if it wasn’t for the 2nd amendment & a strong civilian market. We would not have innovative companies starting from humble beginnings. We would have a handful of large government contractors.
Do they have something to loose short term? Yes. Do they have more to loose long term? I say yes.
It only takes one incident for an anti-gunner to do a 180. Anyone ever been victimized yet remained anti-gun? Way too many people take for granted the fact they haven’t been victimized yet.
This happened about 3 years ago. I came across it a couple of days ago while I was reading through some things I had written and decided now was as good a time as any to share it. I got my CCW permit about 2 months after it occurred. My wife has been a slow convert, but she is scheduled to take her CCW class this spring.
I was definitely living in code white at that time – “talking on the phone at the ATM” and just generally being unaware of my surroundings. That’s definitely not the case anymore.
I try to do the right things to make myself better, by practicing on a regular basis. I shoot IDPA, read TTAG, and I’ve just started the slow process of building an AR. (It’s slow because parts are difficult to come by. The other problem is even when it’s finished, it will only serve as an expensive club unless I can find some ammo.)
I’ve been following this site almost since it’s inception, and I appreciate all that it has and will become. I don’t agree with what everyone says, but such is life.
Bottom line – I am now a proud gun owner and now you know why.
“Regardless of political views, these guys face violent criminals, make 2 am traffic stops, serve felony warrants, raid meth labs, etc. We refuse to punish LE collectively for the anti-2A beliefs of some…”
I have a serious problem with this statement, Magpul. I work in Fire/EMS but my rights, AND SAFETY, seem to take a backseat while LEOs get a pass. The people in 2 am accidents aren’t pulled to safety by LEOs. Those midnight house fires aren’t extinguished by people in squad cars. EMS personnel encounter more drug addicts, ODs and even domestic violence cases than LEOs. Why, because people don’t call LEOs when they need a doctor. Many of those meth labs LEOs heroically go into are cleared by Fire/HazMat BEFORE LEOs are even allowed entry.
My uniform may be bunker gear or a Tyvek suit, but like a LEO my need to protect myself does not end when I disrobe for the night. While I do not carry a
weapon while on duty, I still encounter the same people off duty as LEOs; people I’ve helped put in jail for arson, drugs, domestic violence etc…
In states like New York, emergency services personnel are being stripped of their rights and abilities for self-preservation. You say you’re not endorsing the punishment of LEOs for the actions of a few, but you are writing the rest of us off.
My job may be saving others lives, but I still have the need to save my own. If you continue to sell to LEOs, particularly those in agencies that support the
anti-2nd Amendment movement, nothing will change. The politicians and chiefs won’t change their opinion as long as their officers still receive preferential treatment. You say you don’t want to harm the LEOs who may support the 2nd Amendment. What about the rest of us?
All I want is a little equality, and it’s a pity you’re siding with those who are stripping it away.
Great. But I prefer to carry openly most in most circumstances. Does this bill recognize that right? Open carry is illegal in SC right now, even with massa’s permission slip.
The real problem here is “pro-gun” kitchen table dealers spent decades trying to make sure there was no profit in the industry…. I mean helping other pro gun guys not support that thieving dealer who is trying to pay normal business expenses like sleeping indoors, eating, gas and insurance… the sorry evil bastards.
That situation is allowing for price spiking, Over requesting and hording which destabilizes the industry further. There is no retail price gouging Manufactures and importers are making a killing.
The next phase will be the surplus dump that the federal government just ordered and it will be back door “surplused” to companies like MI-WAY (NOT MIDWAY) who shows up to large gun shows and sells ammo below whatever is price is normal at the time to ENSURE no dealer at that show will make money. Meanwhile our “pro-gun” brothers stand in line and help them out with hordes of cash.
Then you have the sorry SOB’s who actually stand in your store and TELL you they are buying an AR-15 HOPING they will get banned…. Dude I hope your ass is out of business next month so I can make a $1000 selling something I don’t know a damn thing about or even want…
We need to redefine who is “pro-gun”
I get it. We were burglarized last July. The only reason that my wife did not drive up on the burglars is that we decided to go to lunch at a local restaurant instead of going home to eat. They were in and out in 9 minutes and the police never found them, or even so much as a fingerprint.
Within a few months we became firearm owners. Would it have helped against a daylight burglary with no one home? Nope. But I now make certain that if something happens when I am home that I will stand between my family and the world with more at hand then just harsh language.
Slowly filling up the battery. Each weapon is a tool with a most effective range, just like a golf club. Got a “pitching wedge” and an “8 Iron”, just need to decide on a “putter” or a “driver” next. Of course, I’ll trust my 00 and .45 carbine more than a Titleist or a Ping anyday.
Yea that’s why rescue is alway staging somewhere down the street or around the corner until LEO secures the scene. I have NEVER gone to a domestic violence situation where EMS is already on scene handling it. Give me a break. Stop lying about aspects of your job, you don’t put people in jail cops do.
Home carry. A j frame airweight in a pocket holster is so easy to carry you forget it’s there after the novelty wears off.
The elusive and all-important issue of shower carry once again raises its mighty head. Believe me, I’ve tried it all — suction cups, ziplock baggies, rubber enema bags, you name it. Nothing really works.
I’m going to write a letter to Joe Biden, our favorite gun guru, to see what he suggests. With all the great advice he’s given us lately, I’m positive that he’ll be able to shed some light on the most insoluable problem of our age — shower carry.
I’ll be certain to post his response.
If the SAFE act had been any more hastily put together, the state of New York would have become the first jurisdiction in the world to require a background check to purchase a gnu.
Anyone have a link to what Johanna Johnson-Smith originally wrote/said to provoke this response?
Did Mr. Marston imply that he is an Eagle Scout? If so, he is breaking The Scout Law (#4. Friendly; 5. Courteous; 6. Kind; and 8. Cheerful)
Let us hope everyone in his district gets to read his scholarly effort.
All of you people worshiping Magpul for this really are naive and stupid and you do not deserve to own a firearm, let alone Magpul magazines. Really. You are really that stupid. Judging from the responses so far, most of you have no idea what is going on in this country. Nor are you familiar with history, either of the world, or of US history. And you are too lazy to think for yourself, or get off your computers and do something positive for the country. In fact, I bet almost anything most of you work in the government, or are dependent on government checks to sustain you. Well guess what geniuses, someday you can rest well at night knowing that the police which disarmed you will have those super duper plastic magazines which you couldn’t buy from your favorite company, Magpul. Personally, I hope each and every one of you enjoys your self created hell, but my guess is someday when it is too late, you will realize that hell isn’t such a great place to be and gee, someone should have done something about this. None of you treacherous cowards deserve to live in this country. Now go back to worshiping the “brave” statements of Magpul and convincing yourselves that the lives of police are worth much more than your own. You deserve what you worship.
Wish they hadn’t cheated, they didn’t need to to make the point. (they intentionally shot slower on the first series w/ 15 rounders)
Biden is on a roll, this has all come out in what, a week? Maybe by the end of the month (if Obama dosnt tell him to SHTFU) Biden will have a huge meltdown. He already looks on the brink in this pic.
I’m an Eagle Scout and this is someone I’d rather not associate with.
“In 1964, Colt introduced a semi auto only version of the M-16, for civilian sales.”
( advertisement wording as follows )
superb hunting partner…Colt’s new AR-15 Sporter
With Colt’s new AR-15 Sporter, you’re ready for a new hunting adventure.
The AR-15 Sporter weighs only six pounds, its .223 cal., 55grain bullet has a muzzle velocity of 3,100 fps. Every AR-15 Sporter is factory targeted at 100 yards.
If you’re a hunter, camper or collector, you’ll want the AR-15 Sporter. At any Registered Colt Dealer
$189.50
Worth a look, if for no other reason than to see the pic of an original advertisement.
http://www.notpurfect.com/main/ar15.htm
Interesting to consider that the semi automatic AR and its variants, having now been available on the ‘Civilian’ market for well over 40 years, are erroneously defined as ‘Assault Weapons’ when owned privately by Citizens.
Persons advocating the necessity for more ‘gun control laws’ have referred to them in a variety of manners, including but not limited to machine guns, evil killing machines, implements of mass destruction and weapons of war to name a few.
When used by persons in Law Enforcement they’ve been referred to as ‘patrol rifles’.
Colt designated their full-auto / select-fire weapons purchased by the Military and branches of various alphabet agencies as ’defensive platforms’.
More recently, the Department of Homeland Security defined the 5.56x45mm, select-fire M4 with collapsible stock, pistol grip and flash suppressor as a “Personal Defense Weapon”.
Most people who either own or are actually familiar with them simply call them AR’s.
As for DB Joe, given the vast amount of evidence he’s so conveniently provided, as an entertainer, he’d be only mildly amusing. As a man in a position as Vice President of the United States, the best that could be said is that he’s an embarrassment to the office he holds.
From only a slightly different perspective, any rational person would have little choice other than to conclude — “Yes, he really is that stupid.”
When you talked about the stock touching the barrel when using a bipod you said it was a “quick fix”. What did you do exactly? Just sand out the stock at that point with a rotary tool until the flex didn’t make contact?
Thanks for the article.
Well I must say, how quite refreshing to see two fools congratulating themselves on their foolishness.
Oh, get a room already!!!!
In a perfect world, these 3 groups could consolidate their resources to become a better , bigger fighter for our freedoms. But that is not likely, of course. The NRA does stand strong, I became a life member early in adulthood and believe they do scare the bejeezus out of some political types!
So I gave a membership as a Christmas gift to a 13-year-old family member and will continue to promote membership year ’round to others.
Yes, they aren’t perfect but they are the biggest influence against tyranny we have. Fight the good fight NRA, SAF and others! Readers, please join to make that 5 million number look small in 2013!
Liberals will not care, especially black liberals. They will just call this poor guy an uncle Tom. Thats what they have done to Allen West and that poor black lady Mia Love. She was actually threatened with violence from liberals. Liberals are some of the most racist people I have ever met. They will find racism in just about anything.