A quote:
Don’t believe me? Just ask yourself this, why would anybody go through the three-ring circus of getting a permit, forfeit their fingerprints over to Uncle Sam in the process and then spend the rest of their days becoming an armchair attorney just so they can navigate the labyrinthine system of state-to-state carry laws, if they didn’t have a well-thought out reason for concealed carrying? Just to waste time?
It’s my informed opinion that most folks who carry firearms do not do so because they are looking for altercations or because they’re afraid or exasperated by life, as Obama insinuated when he said people “cling to guns… as a way to explain their frustrations” while on the campaign trail in ‘08. They do so simply because they do not feel safe in 2012 America and no amount of data is going to change that. They know that a violent criminal isn’t going to be convinced to abort his felonious mission because of a bunch of statistics that show the crime rate he’s contributing to is actually going down; instead they take every individual story they hear about these horrible acts of violence seriously.
And no wonder—does it hurt any less to get shot during a downswing in crime? Do you think some eloquently delivered rhetoric about fewer robberies will convince your attacker you don’t have to hand over your wallet to him? Does a plummet in statewide gun crime change the fact a man was murdered down your block? Of course not.
While here in an undisclosed location in the Atlanta metro area, Mrs. PolyKahr wanted to visit the Atlanta Aquarium, having heard how fabulous it was. As we approached the ticket counter, Mrs. PolyKahr said "They won't let you take your gun inside," whereupon her friend blurted out "You have a gun?? You can't take a gun in there!!" I approached the unarmed guard, explained the situation, and was told I would have to leave it in the car. Now, I have become pretty expert at slipping it out of the holster and securing it in the car. North Carolina has a list of places you can't carry that would make any gun grabber's heart swell with pride. But her reaction disturbed me none the less. In all fairness, I could have simply not gone into the aquarium, but didn't want the hassle of hearing Mrs. PolyKahr complaining that I had ruined the day for them.
Yesterday evening, I attempted to engage her friend in "reasoned discourse" on the issue. She said "Well, I don't like guns." "Fair enough," I pointed out, "but I never said you had to have one if you don't like them." I pointed out that concealed carriers are among the most law abiding citizens, exceeding even police officers. I don't think she believed me, but statistics show it to be true. "I just think that if some criminal decides to shoot me, then my time is up," she said. "But what do I do, if I am disarmed because of some policy, and I feel just as surely that it is my duty to defend my life, and that of Mrs. PolyKahr?" I asked. She pointed out that you can't take a gun to a hockey game, as if that non sequitur should settle the matter. I pointed out that I did not attend hockey games, but the principle holds that while I am being disarmed, a criminal would find a way to get a weapon into pretty much any venue he wanted. I pointed out that they didn't check my ankles, so that someone could very well have been carrying in an ankle holster. I also pointed out that the guards were not armed, so they would be very little help in saving her. Eventually, she returned to "Well, I just don't like guns."
Unfortunately, that is the attitude of a typical gun grabber and gun bigot. If she had been brutally honest, she would have blurted "Tough! Because I don't like them, you can't have them!" Also, unfortunately, no amount of evidence is likely to change her mind.
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