You spent your hard-earned money to attend a concealed carry class, along with money for meals, travel, ammo and a whole lot more.
You bought the gear you need, including the proper gun, holster, belt, self-defense ammo, and a whole lot more.
You spent $153 to apply for your concealed carry license.
And now you leave your gun at home on those days when you don’t think you’ll need it for fill-in-the-blank reason.
You’re not alone. According to one gun group’s survey, barely 50% of hard-core gun owner respondents said they carried either constantly or every time they leave the house.
Our advice: Carry your darn gun!
Why? Here’s an example:
Lancaster, Ohio (10TV) – It happened along a walking path in Lancaster.
Dinah Burns is licensed to carry a concealed gun, but she’d only recently started taking her weapon while walking her dog.
Based on what happened, it looks like she’ll make a point of carrying from now on.
“I think if they’d gotten any closer, I probably would have fired,” said Burns.
Here’s a woman walking her dog on a footpath near a school. Two guys appear out of the woods and tell her that she’s coming with them. Do you think they were going to take her for a romantic steak dinner?
Well, they might have had “romance” on the mind in a twisted sort of manner but they weren’t going to take her out to dinner.
She pulled her gun and the two would-be rapists decided it would be best to scram.
This woman’s decision to carry her gun while doing the routine saved her from getting raped or maybe even killed.
I remember one day back in pre-concealed carry days that I consciously left my fannypack at home. I had forgotten it and decided, “Eh, I’m just going to breakfast”. A half-hour later, I’m chasing a purse snatcher for almost a mile through west Champaign and I surely am glad he wasn’t armed.
Today, I wear a comfortable holster rig, a modest-sized gun, and a pair of reloads on a sturdy, reinforced nylon belt. Every. Day.
I say it’s “comfortable” as in I forget I’m wearing it and don’t even bother taking it off when I get home because, well, I don’t think about it.
On those days when I think, “Eh, I don’t need the gun”, I remind myself of the thousands of hours I’ve spent promoting right to carry and bringing concealed carry to Illinois. Carrying is the least I can do, as it would be a darn shame to get killed by some hoodlum in a stickup because I left my gun at home thinking it was too much of an inconvenience to put it on.
It’s also the least you can do as you no doubt have people who love you and who are depending upon you and counting on you to be around tomorrow and the next day.
Honor their love.
Carry your gun.
I still look forward to getting ” geared up ” every day, each time I still can hardly believe we actually finally got CCW. I still pull out my license just to look at it, concealed carry and Illinois on the same card !!!!, WOW !!!!. As a matter of fact I finally found and bought my back up this morning. think of all our brothers and sisters in places like NY, NJ, etc. and how much they wish they could enjoy their rights.
ALSO: I wish my shooting buddies looked like the lady in the picture !!!!
Concealed carry class? $153 for a license? Must be some state other than Pennsylvania, that’s for sure!
I have seen classes here in nm as low as 75$
Yep. It’s Illinois!
I’m with Bill. I rather like the fact I’m no longer a felon for carrying a gun to keep my wife and I safe. It’s not a burden. It’s a pleasure.
As for shootin’ buddies… I’m just going to say that while I’d love to have a bevy of range buddies like her, my buddies are a great bunch of people who look out for one another. Kind of like the people I’ve met at GSL meetings.
Sam
With everything to look at in that picture, why is it I’m wondering if the front sight will hang up on the bottom of the holster?
Just need college carry so I can take it to work. :p
What John said.
(But I do admit that if I’m just out in the neighborhood or running 1/2 mile to the grocery store … well … I admit it. I cannot tell a lie. Sometimes I leave my main rig at home and just take the easy road and carry the snubbie and speedloaders!)
The stringent requirements for an illinois concealed carry liscense does not justify the minimal number of states that honor it. This is the next battle for gun owners in this great(er)
State. We gun owners need to press Springfield about it! We should have complete reciprocity with every other State. Our requirements justify it!
We should thank the states that do considering Illinois recognizes no other states! If we want more states we need to work on our own to open up to others.
As a husband and father with a mobility-limiting disability, I feel infinitely more confident in my ability to defend myself and my loved ones when I’m carrying. The comfort derived from the weight of my gun on my belt and my confidence in my ability to safely and effectively use it as a result of formal training and practice, far outweighs the various inconveniences that come with carrying a firearm. So if I’m dressed, I’m carrying, unless I’m in a place where the law provides that criminals are entitled to unarmed victims. Ask yourself, why on earth would you give criminals one more place of advantage to harm you or those you are duty-bound to provide for? Illinois’ legislators have given them far, far too many as it is!
You have life insurance, auto insurance and at least one fire extinguisher, right? You take care to know and follow the law, pay your bills and contribute to your community. There’s another important way you can teach your children about personal responsibility:
Carry your gun.
Get continued training.
Practice.
And tell your loved ones WHY you do these things.
The only thing you still need is liability insurance in the event you use your CCW in a defensive situation. The NRA and the USCCA both offer such insurance. Your homeowner’s liability umbrella policy may not cover you. If you ever have to use your CCW, attorney fees will eat you alive and may even ruin you financially. Don’t want to discourage you from carrying, but potential financial ruin and possible jail time await those who defensively use a weapon. Such is the crappy state of legal affairs in this nation.
Anybody have an idea who makes the holster and where they can be bought??
There is a CCW class in Waconia, Mn it is 4-5 hours long. By far the best class my husband and I have ever been to. It costs $37.50 plus $10.00 to cover the range fee.