I’m guilty, I admit it. I don’t ALWAYS carry my gun with me when I leave the house. I almost always remember that I should/need to take it. I know that no matter how good my gun is and how great of a shot I may be, if it’s not with me when I need it, I might as well never have had it.
But just as quickly as I remember the gun, I also remember what a hassle it is to put on and carry. I have to make sure I’m wearing pants with belt loops for security of the holster. I have to put the belt on (which I NEVER wore prior to carrying), I have to make sure I’m wearing a loosely fitting shirt to conceal it (and in Florida, it’s HOT now, so the less clothes, the better), and I have to deal with feeling it on my side somewhat throughout the day. Most of the time, I carry it. I’ve written before that it’s worth the wardrobe adjustments and mild discomforts to be protected. But every so often, I think to myself “Oh, I’m just going for a quick run to the grocery store to get some milk” or like a few weeks ago when I thought to myself “I’m only going to the Land Rover dealership to help a friend negotiate a car lease” – nothing is going to happen there.
Then I turn on the news today and see the story where a pair of bounty hunters confront a fugitive inside a car dealership in Texas. The three are now dead after a shootout with workers, families and children watching in horror and running for cover (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/05/31/bounty-hunters-fugitive-shoot-each-other-dead-at-car-dealership-in-texas.html) . Twenty shots were fired in a span on six seconds. It’s just amazing and a miracle that no one else was hurt.
Sadly, in the past year alone it’s happened in multiple grocery stores within a few miles of where I live. It’s happened in mall parking lots that I’ve frequented just last month. The moral is, you never know WHEN, and you never know WHERE. I’m going today to get my tires rotated. I don’t know if, before seeing this news, I would have taken it with me after the daily back and forth in my head. I probably would have, but I can't be 100% sure. But I can assure you that today I will carry it, and I will stop looking for excuses to leave it home. I hope you do too.