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The Gravity of Owning and Carrying a Gun
On my walk this morning, I was wearing a neon pink t-shirt. As often happens, I approached two women with their dogs; we always
exchange pleasantries and I get my dog fix (scratching dog ears). Suddenly one of the women looked at my t-shirt and said, “Isn’t Smith & Wesson a gun company?” I answered yes, and followed with my first stupid comment, “Yes, I own a gun.” She responded, “Oh, you were the last person I would expect to own a gun!” Second stupid response: “I promise not to shoot either of you,” as I walked away.
Okay, okay, I made some foolish comments in a record period of time. First, wearing the shirt publicly wasn’t the best idea, although I often wear it to my workout facility where no one has said anything. Second, after answering that Smith & Wesson was a gun company, I could have smiled and walked away. (Hey, it was 7:00am!) Or I could have said, “Yes, why do you ask?” and been open to a careful but friendly conversation.
But no-o-o-o-o-o! That was clearly more than my brain could manage. My plan for future walks is to never wear the shirt (unless it’s under a jacket). Besides, trying to pursue an intelligent conversation, when my goal is to complete my walk in record time, is not wise.
In my defense, I may be a bit nervous about my plan to pursue a concealed carry permit here in Florida. I’ve read the Concealed Carry information, and have a better idea of what I’d be getting myself into. Most of all, even though I’ve practiced on a gun range regularly for a couple of years, I understand viscerally that a gun is for more than target practice. As one of my favorite judges on the TV show, Forged in Fire says, “It will kill.”
My husband was kind enough to organize the key information for me that I could study even before I take the Concealed Carry class. The sections that jumped out at me made me realize that carrying a gun could be a life-changing experience, in many ways. I already knew that I didn’t want to use the gun unless there was really no alternative; the threat to my life should be imminent. I knew that it made sense to practice with the smaller gun that I would carry (which I’ve owned for a while because I originally bought a smaller gun because it was lighter) so that I could anticipate how the gun would respond to being shot, and how I would respond to its reaction. And there were many other points that were familiar from the last couple of years since my husband and I are preoccupied with gun safety. My favorite trilogy: assume the gun is loaded, point it in a safe direction, and keep your finger off the trigger unless you’re shooting at something.
The points that shook me were that it was possible with a smaller gun for the person threatening me not to be deterred by being shot for a number of reasons, including thick winter clothing. One set of instructions suggested that if after two shots the person isn’t stopped, shoot for the head. Oh my.
Another suggestion was to keep my talking to a minimum after the shooting. Since I can be a blabbermouth, that might be a challenge. Then again, I suspect my reaction to shooting someone might be silence. The third suggestion was to have a lawyer ready. We have that availability through a program to which we belong. How sad to think that the threat to my life doesn’t stop when I shoot the gun; instead, I will likely be in a position of needing to further protect myself after the deed is done.
So I’m finding the whole process rather daunting. Maybe that’s a good thing. It shows how seriously I take carrying and what is at risk.
Meanwhile, we’ll see how the women act toward me on my next morning walk . . .
Published in Guns
That’s a #Metoo comment if I ever heard one – I like it.
This community is 55+ and Polk County is blue-colored. I think we have a mixture here, but where so many people have come here from the East Coast, I’d venture that many are on the Left.
Yeah, I wouldn’t make jokes about shooting people. As for telling people you own a weapon, I’d be careful not to tell any liberal friends, lest they “red flag” you for political reasons . . .
Susan, I can’t think of a better ambassador for the second amendment than your wearing a Smith and Wesson shirt and unabashedly talking about guns with your neighbors, after they bring it up. Normalizing gun ownership is very important.
@skyler, you make an excellent point. I can be non-committal about owning a gun, as @seawriter suggested, but be up front about it. Good to think about!
I can send you one of my NRA baseball caps to complete your ensemble. I think the problem in the encounter you described was a degree of uncertainty. The cap would resolve the perceptional issue as clearly as does an Obama bumper sticker on a Prius.
I got a free t-shirt from the local gun show earlier this year, and I often wear it around the house, but seldom when I’m out and about.
One time, I didn’t think about it, and went to a local restaurant, where one of the cashiers literally took a step back when she saw the logo on the front. She had a look of revulsion on her face that I would normally associate with stepping in dog poo.
Thanks, @oldbathos, but my husband is a member of the NRA and they do have scads of stuff. So far he prefers keeping a low profile, and I try to honor that . . . most of the time!
That is so pathetic. I wish I could think of something to do back at her. Stick out your tongue?
I have a shirt with a silhouette of an AR-15 and, in very large letters, “All Rifles Matter.” I’m confident that it probably makes some people nervous, but I also get a lot of admiring comments. I remember one time being accosted by the manager of the local HEB (grocery store) asking about my shirt. He wanted to know where he could get one too.
I saw Ted Nugent at an NRA convention. He said when someone asks him if he is carrying a gun, he replies, “No, I never carry A gun” (with heavy emphasis on the “A”).
My hero . . .
I one time mentioned to a co-worker that I owned lots of guns (in context, it made sense… She had asked some witness a question about owning guns, and had followed up the question with “why would you need 10 guns?” I told her it was a dumb question, and that I owned more than that.) She said “remind me to never let my kid come to your house again.” I said “I generally don’t let my kids’ friends play with the guns.”
It’s someone I keep at arm’s length, anyway, but my basic position is, really, if you are uncomfortable with the mere existence of guns, I don’t really want you at my house to begin with.
The funny thing is that, compared to some of the people I know, I barely qualify as a “gun owner,” because I could easily carry all of mine at the same time.
For example, the guy who had a custom safe room built into his house, because it was cheaper than buying a safe big enough to fit all of his firearms (up to and including the Barrett .50). He shoots competitive three-gun, and buys ammo by the pallet.
Having the benefit of rest and time, here are my proposed answers:
It is a T-Shirt company. See!
I try to have low expectations of other people, too. It avoids disappointment.
Very funny, @iwe! I think I need to start a list of clever retorts!
Carrying a concealed weapon comes with a great real of responsibility and implies crossing the threshold of being willing to take another’s life when necessary. This is no small step. It requires a real deal of circumspection and honest self examination. I admire individuals who can make this step.
But, once this threshold has been crossed, I consider it your civic duty to be armed.
Thank you, Susan for broaching this subject. It is a concern that needs to be examined. I’m anxious to read more responses from our Ricochet colleagues.
That’s really easy, says the “professional customer”. Your reply would be “Is this the way you normally treat your Customers?”, with the emphasis on Customer. Management is not normally fond of employees who mistreat customers, since they tend to tell their friends and might discourage friends from patronizing that establishment.
That is not true anymore, comrade. Your lack of faith in the movement is being noted.
Seems odd that the more people who get the privilege of attending college the more insular and tribal we’ve become. Education is supposed to open up attitudes, create an expectation of differences and nuances rather than a fear of them.
My parents did not own a gun and did not have any politics about guns. We knew people who owned guns and that did not mean they were different or part of a hostile element. There were dinner parties in which there were discussions about politics with different opinions and party affiliations. That was considered normal.
Second Amendment advocates do not try to compel people to own or love guns. But the privileged progressive class craves conformity on every issue they submit to as a class identifier or boundary. The inability of the lemming left to live with diverse opinions and beliefs is tearing up the country.
The wife and I both have our CC licenses and it was a bit daunting at first. But knowing the laws and how they applied made it much easier to transition from never carrying to carrying everywhere. And if a place that we need to do business with doesn’t allow weapons, well we have safes in both cars and it’s just second nature to us now to lock them up, do our business, then put on the holster and gun again when we get back to the car.
Yes, I miss those days. But the centralization of unlimited power has made every issue into a polarized life-or-death political fight because to lose on anything means losing on everything. The dynamic will not change until we can again curb the power of the federal government and restore it to the people and the states.
Except I won’t even wear a tee shirt that has a designer logo on it, let alone one with a political slogan. All part of my desire to be invisible, probably.
And that same cashier likely would not understand if you had a negative reaction to a “Che” tee shirt.
I’m quoting this just as a way of “liking” it a second time. And once more for the ultimate “triple dog like.”
I haven’t read all the responses, but I will…busy morning. I’m moved to respond anyway. You have gotten a lot of good advice and interesting thoughts in this thread, no surprise for Ricochet.
I teach NRA Basic Pistol, and in the last year I have started teaching Refuse to be a Victim seminars. Your thread and the responses are providing good material for my notes. Thank you.
I justify things like Second Amendment t-shirts (my favorite says, “Just because I’m old doesn’t mean you’re out of range”) and bumper stickers as conversation starters. I recognize the risk involved; I have been pulled over by a state trooper on the NY State Thruway for no other reason than my Beretta bumper sticker. Profiling! But I accept those risks to allow the opportunity to start a productive conversation. I rehearse those conversations, so I can be prepared to guide them in the ways I want them to go.
As to concealed carry, I have developed a personal rule. When asked if I am licensed to carry, I respond, “Yes.” When asked if I am carrying at the moment, I respond, “I never answer that question, because to do so defeats the purpose of ‘concealed.”
God made man and woman, but Col. Colt made ’em equal.
I appreciated your comment very much, @walterwatchpocket, but wonder about your comment above. Why is it “my civic duty to be armed”?
Yeah, that’s a bit much.
That might be so, @skyler, but he may have had a specific reason for feeling that way.