Why Carry?

This post is to let folks know that the time for complacency is really over. In the past I rarely carried a pistol anywhere. Really, there were very few places that I really felt that it was necessary and I have worked in some very unsavory areas in my past. I truly believed that by not putting myself in situations to be a target then I wouldn't be. That held true for most of my life, but times are different now and I don't feel like that is really true anymore. Society has spiraled downward in many ways of which I won't go into. A couple of recent incidents lately though have me convinced that the time for complacency is over. Recently a friend of mine was in a gun store. She was looking at a gun that she and her husband had been wanting to purchase. They only had two of the caliber left that she was looking at. Someone else came in and wanted to see the one that she was really leaning toward purchasing and was obviously upset when she made her decision. In fact, he hung out in the store for a good amount of time watching her. It made the owners of the store so nervous that two men escorted her out to her car and watched her until she was out of the parking lot to make sure that she was safe and not followed. This was broad daylight and not in a bad area of town. It was one of those areas that many of us are really complacent about. One thing that the gun shop owner told her while she was there was that it wasn't just the law abiding citizens that were buying guns like they were going out of style, it was the other element as well and they were buying them in droves. Then just the other day this same friend drove a couple hours away to meet a dog breeder to pick up a puppy that she was purchasing. She arrived and one of her children needed to use the bathroom so she pulled into a gas station parking lot. As she parked a man started to make a direct line to her vehicle. In broad daylight in a very busy area of town. Now grant it wasn't the safest area of town, very unsavory. She rolled down her window and told the man to stop approaching her vehicle. He ignored her and kept coming. She again told him that she had nothing for him and to stop approaching. He again ignored her. At this point she simply pulled her carry pistol out and showed the man that she had it. He immediately backed off and left the area. Fortunately, she had taken a look around her before she jumped out of her vehicle with her 3 small children. However, how many times do we harried moms get so carried away with our kids that we forget to stop, look and assess what could be waiting for us outside the safety of our car. Unfortunately our children make us a target because they weaken our focus. They are also a tool to be used by the criminal element and let me tell you that element is everywhere. I have seen it spread alarmingly in the town nearest us. Areas previously considered "safe zones" aren't anymore. The time for complacency is over. I carry because I refuse to be a victim, just like in the days that I always made sure that I parked in view of the door to the restaurant under a light. I carry because now I have children that could also be victims or used against me and I refuse to allow that to happen. I remember the police telling us business owners in a very upscale shopping area of town that we were going to have to police the area ourselves and their recommendation was to "take whatever steps necessary to protect ourselves" because they simply didn't have the manpower. The problem we were having was broad daylight crime, mostly against our customers. But any owner leaving their business for the day became a target. I refuse to be a target...that is why I carry and I believe that every mom should carry. Blessings, Kat daylight