Why carry a gun?

There is a long, winding forested area in Dallas called the “Katy Trail”, popular with hikers and joggers.  Recently, there have been several armed robberies of joggers there, so a number of people (with the appropriate licenses) have started carrying handguns on the trail.  Since open carry will be legal in Texas in about 6 weeks, some guns rights activists have started walking the trail with rifles (which is legal now), to promote to people that having a visible handgun will make it very unlikely that a robber will even approach you.

In relation to this story, a TV news crew interviewed a woman on the trail.  Her reaction was,

“Why would you carry a gun? What are you so afraid of, that you have to carry a gun with you?”

She was both perplexed, and clueless.  People don’t carry a gun because they are afraid, but because they are responsible.  Times have changed; it is not 1950 anymore, when this proposal would have been absurdly paranoid.  In these times, everyone who is legally allowed, physically capable, and psychologically prepared, should carry a gun everywhere it is allowed.  Both government and the private sector should get rid of “gun free zones”, as there is no substantive evidence that trained and licensed carriers are a danger to the public.

Consider it as insurance.  I have had fire insurance for over 30 years, but have never had a fire.  Most people will never have a house fire, but they have insurance (even when not required), because, if the unthinkable happens, the personal cost is unimaginable and catastrophic.  I have also never been a victim of a violent crime, but I owe it to myself and to my family to have a “Plan B” in that event. I am not going to be herded into a back room and shot like a dog.

Recent events in Paris should put a fine point on this issue.

Author: Sandy Keathley

NRA-Certified Firearms Instructor