So, Why do you carry a gun?... And your response...

[IN_Sheepdog]

Hey Ingo,

Although I have carried for years(CC), I have recently started OCing, as much a political statement as it is a comfort and ease reason... Because I can....

So, I have had a few people ask me, (really an amazingly few number over the past two months) Unfortunately it comes unexpectedly as I am not really looking for the question and it has now become almost second nature to do so (OC) , and therefore I hesitate and may stumble searching for a response....

I am NOT looking for Pithy, or sarcastic responses, (ie. a cops to heavy to carry.... because I can... or why do you want to know...)
I am looking for the best one or two liners, that EDUCATE and INFORM a populace which has become unaccustomed to seeing a weapon in public...

I see it as much a Public Relations action as I do, the exercise of a basic God-given right....


Usually its a one or two line exchange and then its a dropped subject.... So, what is your favorite response intended to promote and encourage the positive image of the gun owning American?

Remember, no Trite stuff. I am really looking for the best responses to friends or acquaintances, (and clients) most of who it is important to me to maintain their respect and association (and who are usually the ones to ask, not the strangers) so I don't want to come off as an arrogant jerk...

How do we promote the 2A as a respectable right to exercise...

Also any references to similar threads would also be appreciated.
Thanks.
IN_Sheepdog

 

[mcafeesd]

My response is sometimes, "Did you vote in the last election?" If they answers yes I ask them, "Why." Almost invariably they say because it is their right. If not I steer them towards that issue. "I carry because it is my right."

The other answer is, "Because I care too much about people to stand by meekly and watch them be hurt." If they point out that this is what police are for I respond that they are correct, "But when seconds count, the police are only minutes away." I admit that some of this borders on the sarcastic. I guess I'm just getting cranky in my old age...

 

[KLB]

I tell people that I have chosen to not be a victim or allow my family to be a victim without at least having the opportunity at defense. I never want to be one of those people that stood there and let someone kill them or others.

 

[Hookeye]

Yup, I just say that "I refuse to be a victim".

If they can't grasp that concept then further dialogue is pointless.

 

[Classic Liberal]

When seconds count, police are just minutes away.

 

[Outlaw]

"For the same reason you wear a seatbelt, just in case"

" because if I don't exercise my rights they will probably be taken away."

 

[youngda9]

For little Lizzy.

Why do you carry a gun?

 

[backfire]

Because I can....

It's true..

 

[indyjoe]

I would simply say that twice in my life, having possession of a gun and the know how and will to use it have kept me on the right side of the dirt. Both times I won by being more prepared than my attackers or robber. Both times I did not have to fire a shot.

 

[gungirl65]

Because bad guys don't wear signs identifying themselves as such. And my GPS doesn't tell me where they hide. Since I don't know when or where they will be I prefer to be prepared.

 

[eldirector]

For as long as I've OC-ed, I don't think I have ever been asked "why". I've got all sorts of smart responses. Most learned on INGO.

So far, the answer that comes first is the one you already gave: Because I can.

After that, I suppose I would fall back to the good old "I'd rather be prepared and not need it, than need it and not have it." I've got a whole bit about fire extinguishers and first-aid kits rehearsed as well.

For folks that REALLY want to know why I carry, I'm happy to talk about my wife and daughter, and how much we all mean to each other.

 

[indyjoe]

I always did like the old: Because a policeman is to heavy to carry.

 

[NavyVet]

Because a right not exercised... Becomes a right lost!

Along with all the obvious reasons that revolve around refusing to be a victim.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

I just really like guns.

 

[CathyInBlue]

Pithy is sometimes the best means to educate.

I carry a firearm, because I can.

I carry a firearm, because a cop is too heavy.

I carry, because when seconds count, the police are just minutes away.

I exercise my rights to keep and bear arms, because a right unused becomes a useless right.

I choose to carry, because I choose to not be a victim.

I choose to carry a gun, because if I'm in a situation that calls for it, I would rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.

If confronted with "Are you expecting to shoot somebody/get in a gun fight?", respond with one or more of:
Do you wear a seatbelt? "Yes." Do you expect to get in a crash?
Do you have health insurance? "Yes." Do you expect to develope a disease?
Do you have fire insurance on your home? "Yes." Do you expect your house to catch fire?

I don't carry a firearm, because I expect to use it. I carry a firearm, because, like safety equipment and insurance, while I hope I will never have to rely on it, it is better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

 

[handgun]

Security detail.

 

[eldirector]

Security detail.

Who was it that commented "I run security for a very important family."? Referring to his own, of course. I thought that was a great response!

 

[Justin Case]

Just in case.

 

[Mark 1911]

Reason 1 - Self-defense and defense of my loved ones - or other innocent person who I see in trouble.

Reason 2 - It's time to stand up for our heritage as Americans before we lose it!

Some additional detail on Reason 1 - I don't want to spend 2 weeks in the hospital again recovering from broken nose, orbit (cheek bone) and severed facial nerves inflicted by sap gloves and chains by some drunk outlaw bikers who were pissed at me because I missed taking one of their bikes out with my car by about 2 inches when they ran a red light in front of me. That was in May, 1985. The bikers followed my car as I drove to a buddy's house. Didn't think they would actually assault me, but they did. One of them came up from behind me as I was walking from the car to the house. I saw his shadow in the streetlight and turned to confront him, he was already swinging the chain at the back of my head, I got it in the face. I dropped to my knees from the shock as he punching me in the face with sap gloves, all I could do was mutter f -u after every punch. Lucky for me my best friend heard the racket outside his front door. He came out with his dad's 45 auto and put it to the head of the guy now kneeling over me as I was slipping out of consiousness. I remember the guy jumping off me with his hands up as my buddy backed him away. The guy kept saying, "take it easy man, relax". My buddy said, "I am very relaxed, just get the f out of here". If not for my friend and his dad's Colt, they would have killed me, I would have not been here today. Things would have turned out much differently that night if I was armed. I got a permit to carry as soon as I got out of the hospital.

Since then have never drawn in self-defense, but have shown it once as a deterrent in the same neighborhood only 1 block away.

Believe it or not I let my permit expire when I moved out of there in 1999. I re-applied in 2009 after I got married. My friend from the above story was in my wedding party. Intend to carry for the rest of my days.

 

[led4thehed2]

Who was it that commented "I run security for a very important family."? Referring to his own, of course. I thought that was a great response!

CLASSIC!