General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "He wanted the Glock .45-caliber 'because he was small and and needed to protect himself'..." [View all]Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)A subtle difference, perhaps, but a difference nonetheless. I'm almost certainly incapable of physically defeating (or even escaping, possibly) most any statistically-likely attacker. That person is probably going to be a young male; that age/gender bracket commit the large majority of assaults. On average, he probably can't outrun me in a long race (I'm a serious cyclist...I'm in good cardio shape), but if I can't outrun him over the first 50 yard sprint, that's irrelevant. I sure as hell can't fight him: I weigh 110lbs.
A handgun gives me a chance to escape unharmed. It's not by any means a 100% effective method...there's no such thing. I could get caught unawares, etc... But a weapon gives me the option to resist. An effective weapon gives me a better chance of that resistance succeeding. A firearm provides by far the most (statistically) effective resistance method.
I call this reassuring rather than comforting because to me, the latter term has emotional connotations that aren't really the attraction for me. I'm a bit of a cold fish, I guess, but I'm really just looking to give myself options...thus my CCW permit.
If it matters to anyone here, yes, my firearms are always locked in a safe when I'm not carrying one of them and yes, I practice (very) regularly with them. I don't really buy and sell that often, but I'd never sell one to someone I thought was sketchy (and my state now has universal background checks...yay!). Yes, there really are "responsible gun owners," and we're not at all uncommon.