I have been physically attacked in my law office by a hot headed young man who I defeated in Court and embarrassed the day before.
At other times, I have been chased and bitten by big, mean dogs while mountain biking.
Once while backpacking in the Slickrock Creek Wilderness of the Nantahala National Forest I was harassed by a wild boar that walked through my camp.
Another time on the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smokey Mountain Park I was followed by a black bear.
When backpacking on Grandfather Mountain I had a black bear come into my camp and try to take my breakfast.
While helping a legal client in the mountains of southwest Wilkes County to locate a disputed land boundary, the contentious neighbor walked up pointing a gun at us. [Follow up note: I made friends with the contentious neighbor and later ate lunch with him, sharing his home grown tomatoes with my cheese sandwiches!]
On all these occasions I did not have a gun, but I wished that I had.
So, about 15 years ago I acquired a pistol.
Since then I have bought, sold and traded many guns and I usually carry a concealed weapon.
The FBI officially publishes statistics which show every year in the USA about 10 million criminal assaults are committed against persons.
These crimes range from assault and battery to murder.
At the same times about 100 thousand persons defend themselves with a weapon to reduce or avoid the damage and injury.
A person without a defensive weapon is three times more likely to be injured or killed by a criminal perpetrator than a person carrying one.
I have made the decision to be one of those persons who protect themselves.
Another issue is why carry a weapon in seemingly safe places, like a church, restaurant or someone’s house.
The reality is that there is no safe place.
Every kind of criminal assault has occurred in every kind of venue in existence – in churches, restaurants, homes, open fields, forests and on the ocean.
The odds are tiny that I will need a gun for protection.
Like a car seat belt, the odds are tiny that I will be in a wreck.
But I can’t wait until the wreck is happening and then fasten my belt.
By then it is too late.
So, most of us wear our seat belt 100% of the time,
Similarly, when a criminal assault is happening, I can’t make the criminal wait for me to run back to my car to get a weapon.
And the time or place of the assault cannot be predicted in advance.
So, I wear my weapon pretty much all the time.
Finally, many persons have a pet animal, or hobby, or other pastime which gives them comfort and pleasure.
Those people with a dog often take the pet with them to public places to share the time and activity together.
I like guns.
It is fun for me to shop, buy, trade, target shoot, clean and carry my weapon.
So I do.
