Reply #31: Once again you show that you have a great imagination ...

[spin]

I personally do know people who have concealed carry permits and also carry pepper spray. I am one.

Oddly enough, I do not know anyone who carries a concealed firearm who is looking for an "opportunity" to use it to shoot someone. Anyone with a speck of intelligence realizes that if you actually do have to shoot someone, even if it is entirely justified, you will face an enormous legal hassle as well as some serious psychological problems. I enjoy having nice dreams when I sleep, not nightmares.

If it were true that people with carry permits were looking for the chance to shoot someone, we would be reading a lot of stories about people who went to a bar and flashed a large roll of cash when they bought a drink. They would then leave the bar and wait for some fool that witnessed their wad of cash to try to rob them.

Probably the reason we do not read more stories where people with carry permits actually use their weapons to stop a mugging is because such people practice "situational awareness" which may mean that they don't walk down dark streets with a cell phone glued to their ear. Being alert to your surroundings and using commonsense may, in itself, be sufficient to deter most predators.

So of course, you will tell me to leave my handgun behind and simply rely on my situational awareness.

I am experienced enough to realize that you can do everything right and still end up dead. While my concealed handgun in no way insures that I will survive a violent attack, it does give me higher odds of doing so.

I do not expect that I will ever find myself in a situation where I will have to use my snub nosed revolver. I also do not expect that I will ever win a lotto in Florida, but I buy one ticket for every drawing. My snub nosed S&W Model 642 is so light and easy to carry that I could almost forget that I have it with me. It's like an insurance policy. You never expect to use it, but if it proves necessary it's damned nice to have one.