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[JDPhx501]

I get the point the OP is making and a lot of them are valid. But a lot of it also has to do with the fact he does not have a CCW.
For someone who has carried a gun for many many years it's no different then leaving your house without your watch. It's habit and a comfort level, something just feels off without it. I still feel uncomfortable going to ball games and leaving it in my car. For god knows how many years I took it in with me, now I have to leave it in the car. Sounds stupid, but I don't enjoy my time at the ballpark as much as I used too. It's in the back of your mind.
We are creatures of habit, do something long enough and it is second nature. Dose not matter where I go, there's a gun on my hip or in my pocket. And I am very comfortable with it, if someone else is not, really could care less.

I agree with you and the OP.

Feel free to carry whatever you like. Just don't make a big deal out of it, tell everyone everywhere you carry a gun, share your "I'd like to wear armor and carry a gun" everyday status on facebook, complain daily how 20 guns is not enough of a daily selection, and it'll be fine.

[kaligaran]

Seems this thread has gotten off track and people have somehow come to interpret it as a anti-carry thread and keep making the same points that have been unchallenged the entire time. Maybe they didn't bother to read/understand the thread.

I didn't take your post as an anti-carry thread at all. Instead I took it as a 'why do you want to carry in unreasonable places where you should be safe' thread.

It sounded to me as though you though people were crazy carrying in places where you feel safe. Which is no different from what the anti's suggest.

You keep suggesting that it creates a false sense of security or that it turns people into vigilantes (as you suggested with the term 'brave cowboy').

I would suggest that stats aren't on your side with this the vigilante idea.

As far as the false sense of security, I would argue that living in a 'safe neighborhood' also gives you a false sense of security. Especially here in the Bay Area where you and I live. Granted there are bad areas and good, but no area is immune to bad people determined to do bad things. If carrying a gun makes someone feel less vulnerable, then so be it, after all it's our freedom to carry that is what it's really all about.

[Artema]

Just to be clear, I have NEVER carried to feel safe. I carry to make the person who wants to kill me or my family dead, even if that never happens, and I hope it doesn't. It is NOT about feelings.

[MrsR]

This is definitely good to make us think. I frequently leave the house with my EDC, but throw it in my Gun Vault in the car. I then proceed to drop my daughter off at school and go run errands leaving my pistol locked in the car. I assume that because I live in a small town and I'm just running errands that I'm safe. As a woman I feel pretty safe when I'm out and around a lot of people. But if I'm being real with myself, that is really a false sense of security. I feel most vulnerable when I get home, it's dark and I have to shuttle two kids into the house while carrying a diaper bag, my purse and a few bags of groceries. Being out in public is likely much more dangerous then my driveway. You never know when some crazy psych patient might decide to go off his rocker or some sicko might try and snatch your kid. Just like someone said previously, we wear our seat belts just in case we get into an accident. No one wants to have to use their weapon just like no one wants to use their seat belt but it sure is nice to have on if you need it!

[ConcealedKalifornia]

I realize I'm only quoting a small bit of your post, but this statement really irks me.

I've had a CCW for 14 years and carry regularly. I have had a few incidents that were a bit sketchy such as an extremely aggressive pan handler, a man road raging at me and a creep that followed me into a parking lot. But luckily, none of those incidents escalated to the point I felt my body/life was threatened. However, both of those situations could have turned quickly and had they, I would have been very happy to be armed.

Some antis would say that the gun could be taken away and turned on me. I would respond with, I'd rather take that chance. Because as a small woman, I do not want to ever leave my fate up to a (statistically) man which is larger and stronger than myself.

A firearm is the absolute best force equalizer.


It's extremely arrogant to tell someone that they are paranoid or crazy for wanting to carry <insert place or time here> just because you feel safe in that same situation.
Some people feel safe walking unarmed to their cars in a dark parking lot. That's fine, I don't.
Some people feel safe opening their front door to a stranger. That's fine, I don't.
Some people feel safe driving alone (especially at night) without a firearm. That's fine, I don't.


Do I avoid any sketchy situations? Yes of course. Do I LEGALLY exercise my right to carry a firearm for self-defense in the event the need arises? Hell yes.

By saying people shouldn't be scared or paranoid when doing X or Y doesn't help our cause and is no different than an anti asking why you need <insert gun here> or why you would ever need to carry a firearm.

Agreed. A gun won't solve all my problems. But It will give me a chance to solve the problems that a clear head and situational awareness won't. I do everything I can to stay out of bad areas/situations.

Before I got my gun and my permit, I made an emergency car bag. It has everything I need to get me home (My job takes me all over norcal and I work at nights). Cash, water, snacks, and other things like that to help me avoid bad situations. This is my first line of "defense". It saved me the other day when I left Oakland at 2am and realized I didn't have any cash for the toll road. It saved me from having to pull of the freeway in an unfamiliar town when my cracked lips from working in the sun all day became unbearable.

Ontop of these things I carry my shield pretty much 24/7. Its for the very unlikely scenarios where I can't talk, run, call 911 my way out of a bad situation. Statistics may say violent crime is rare, but it does happen. I have come very close to needing a weapon a few times in my life, and only once did I actually have one and I was sure glad I did.

Just a few weeks ago I was leaving a job site in milpitas and was driving through the parking lot to get to the main road. its one of those big parking lots where there are only a few exits, so they have essentially a road around the edge with stop signs and all that. I start to pull up to a stop sign and wait for a couple of cars to clear the intersection. I have the windows down. I glance over to see this homeless guy walking towards me from around this bush. He seemed to have his eyes locked on me so I start to roll forward a bit, waiting for the last car to roll by.
the second I moved, this guy goes into a full sprint and starts yelling. Hes less than 10 feet from me, but I was worried about hitting the other car so I knocked the baseball cap off my handgun that was tucked between the seat and center console.
I didn't draw or anything but looked to the right to figure if I had enough room to hit the gas. the car was close but the homeless dude was closer so I stomped the gas. Managed to cut off the poor guy in the SUV as well but luckilly he was smart enough to keep going rather than stop.

It worked out for me there, but what would have happened if the SUV was closer? Or in my adrenaline fueled state I dumped the clutch and stalled the engine. I would have been F$%ked thats what. And the cliff bars in my bag wouldn't have saved me

[ConcealedKalifornia]

This is definitely good to make us think. I frequently leave the house with my EDC, but throw it in my Gun Vault in the car. I then proceed to drop my daughter off at school and go run errands leaving my pistol locked in the car. I assume that because I live in a small town and I'm just running errands that I'm safe. As a woman I feel pretty safe when I'm out and around a lot of people. But if I'm being real with myself, that is really a false sense of security. I feel most vulnerable when I get home, it's dark and I have to shuttle two kids into the house while carrying a diaper bag, my purse and a few bags of groceries. Being out in public is likely much more dangerous then my driveway. You never know when some crazy psych patient might decide to go off his rocker or some sicko might try and snatch your kid. Just like someone said previously, we wear our seat belts just in case we get into an accident. No one wants to have to use their weapon just like no one wants to use their seat belt but it sure is nice to have on if you need it!

I live in the same county as you and I swear I have had more sketchy moments on the streets of Placerville than in the many times I have been to Oakland!!!! hahahaha
Spend a little time on the "El Doardo County Watch" facebook page and you realize there is a lot of bad stuff that happens behind the scenes of our rural little county!

[A-J]

I can see if someone lives in a legitimately bad neighborhood but the way many portray themselves here (up talk their social status) most surely don't live in the ghetto.

Most burglars don't burgle in the hood. They tend to rob houses where the good schit is, IE in the more affluent neighborhoods.

I work in Woodland Hills. That didn't stop a guy from raping, then kidnapping a woman and carjacking her, then driving somewhere and raping her some more. All in broad daylight at a big azz mall across the street. Woodland Hills is one of the richest hoods in the Valley.Explain to me why being armed all the time would be a bad thing.

[FromTheGrave]

I don't have a permit. But, I would think if you do you are not only carrying for your own safety, but for the safety of others as well. Doesn't seem like that is mentioned enough in this thread.

I thought the OP was about people who actually carry everywhere they go in their house.

Carry in the shower.

A post I read where the guy sleeps with a pistol in his pocket every night.

That's what I personally consider "over the top".

[Soginator]

OP, I agree and have often wondered about it too, some what afraid to go against what is widely accepted on gun forums. But the thing about crazy/paranoid people, is they are nuts, all the way up until the moment they are not. I don't have a gun in every corner of my house, I actually have never even bought a gun solely for the purpose of home defense. Most of my guns were purchased for the range/desert trips. But I still keep them loaded with JHP's when I'm home *in case* something happens. I don't expect it to. I have a home alarm system that will probably do more to protect me than any gun ever will. But I don't see the harm in having a gun or two loaded for the off chance that something bad comes your way.

[BeFrank]

Back in the day, when I was growing up in rural California most folks (us, my friends and neighbors) had a varmint gun and a shotgun behind the door and another in the truck (empty window rack, rifle behind the seat) and maybe a pistol in the glove box. It was very common. When you answered the door you had a loaded firearm within hands reach. When you were on the road it was just a few paces to retrieve the gun from your truck. Most women that were adults in the 40's and 50's had a "purse" gun. Nowadays that's considered reckless child endangerment and illegal concealed carry (in the car or purse). So you get a safe and the act of locking up the weapon reminds you of how long it would take you to get it if you need it. Now to have the same level of defense you would have to retrieve the weapon from the safe before you answer the door or carry it on you through the day. The "over the top" carry is a direct result of the gun control laws, folks are just trying to get back to the feeling of comfort that their grandfathers and grandmothers took for granted. The fact that now we have to consciously find ways of having a gun accessible does make it look obsessive but that's the government we voted for

[Fishslayer]

People who describe themselves as sheepdawgs & talk about a trip to the store in condition yellow make me a little nervous...

I prefer somebody who just answers the door with a coat of oil & a katana any day...

[ccmc]

http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1534765

[morfeeis]

I've seen several threads that have made me wounder this question. One thread a guy is considering quitting his job because he can't carry at work. Another someone says they always answer the door armed at all times. Others who refuse to go shopping (or out in public) without carrying a gun. I have seen some were people keep a gun on 24/7 as some kind of security blanket. I have even seen threads asking about carrying while in the shower (like WTF is that?).

There was another thread were It was asserted that answering your door with a shotgun was normal in other states and it must be a CA thing if one were to find that abnormal.

I can see if someone lives in a legitimately bad neighborhood but the way many portray themselves here (up talk their social status) most surely don't live in the ghetto.

Sometimes when I read about people and their fanatical need to carry it comes across as kind of crazy/obsessive. Couple that with all the "what if?" ninja stories and those who have a palpable fantasy of being some kind of super hero bad guy hunter/prepper and it sometimes makes us as a group come across as kind of gun-kooky nutcases.

It's as if there is a door kicking-car jacking-robbing-murderer-rapist-thug (thug is used far too often by the way and I have come to except it to mean either someone who could kick your azz or someone who looks different and people apply bias to their fear/stereotype).

Many of us live in some of the safest neighborhoods on the planet and crime has been on the decline for years now. It seems as if much of this over the top "gun nut" activities/beliefs is fear based rather than rooted in a second amendment/sports shooting/hunting base.

You'd think we were living in a war zone by the way some people talk.

House hasn't burned down yet and i still pay insurance every month; haven't been in a car accident in almost ten years and i still insure my pos Toyota. saying you shouldn't carry or make sure you carry at every chance you can is like saying i only need health insurance when i'm old cause that is when it is most likely that i'll need it.

I have one pistol with in arms reach of anywhere i sit in my home, i don't live in a ****ty area i just understand that i live in a world where **** happens quick. as for going outside of my home without being armed, that hasn't happened since i left CA.

[44fred]

Most burglars don't burgle in the hood. They tend to rob houses where the good schit is, IE in the more affluent neighborhoods.

I work in Woodland Hills. That didn't stop a guy from raping, then kidnapping a woman and carjacking her, then driving somewhere and raping her some more. All in broad daylight at a big azz mall across the street. Woodland Hills is one of the richest hoods in the Valley.Explain to me why being armed all the time would be a bad thing.

Just not true regarding the hoods going into better neighborhoods.
I've lived in Bakersfield for 5 years now. When I first started looking for a place to live, I was told to stay away from anything East of the 99fwy. I looked up the mapping of crimes and discovered that violent crimes are pretty much an East side problem. Not saying it's not city wide. Go far North West and the violent crime/B&E is almost nill.

[kaligaran]

Just not true regarding the hoods going into better neighborhoods.
I've lived in Bakersfield for 5 years now. When I first started looking for a place to live, I was told to stay away from anything East of the 99fwy. I looked up the mapping of crimes and discovered that violent crimes are pretty much an East side problem. Not saying it's not city wide. Go far North West and the violent crime/B&E is almost nill.

The area I live in is similar. The crime reports for about a 3-5 mile radius of my house is very empty. However, things do still happen, although much more rarely than others. Go outside of that 5 mile radius and the map starts to light up like a Christmas tree (It's the Bay Area after all).

Regardless, things do still happen even in my 'safe' area albeit much less frequently.

I minimize my risks everywhere I go to the best of my abilities.
Situational awareness, locking the doors, avoid high crime areas, park in well lit areas, etc.
I'm not in 'code yellow' all the time as someone else described it. Although I'm reasonably vigilant while still enjoying my life.

It's all about minimizing risks and being prepared.

The two sayings come to mind:
Hope for the best, be prepared for the worst.
Better to have and not need, than need and not have.


Perhaps being female gives me a different perspective since bad guys often go after the 'easiest' target and sometimes see women as vulnerable and less likely to fight back. Plus sexual predators are everywhere.