Why I decided to get my Concealed Carry Permit
The government and news outlets keep telling us the economy is bouncing back. I honestly don't know if that is true or not. All I can say for sure is it is not happening in my area.
Even though I live in the suburbs of Atlanta, we are in an area that is not heavily populated. The area was hit hard during to collapse of 2008. Our area is unincorporated but we are considered part of the city of Stockbridge where there are large numbers of empty houses, empty industrial buildings and storefronts. To make matters even worse, the part of the city with the largest number of businesses and the newest and biggest homes recent de-annexed and started their own city.
That leaves the city down to about 4000 residents spread out over about 20 sq miles with a lot of buildings and homes far past their useful life span. There is not much hope from anyone that the city will ever revive with a major influx of big money.
Attracting the wrong kind of people
Owners have been dropping rent prices on both business and homes, but both are attracting the wrong type of people and crime keeps going up.
My daughter in law was almost car jacked just before Christmas and would have been had it not been for a man that saw what was happening and intervened with his gun. Since then, we both make sure we are home before dark.
A man accosted me Saturday
The closest store to me other than a little gas station that carried nothing but junk food, is a Dollar General about 5 or 6 miles from the house. I had forgot to buy eggs that last time I was in town, and drove there to grab some for the next day.
While waiting in line to check out, a man walked up behind me. I could smell him coming. The smell of alcohol was so strong. He tried to strike up a conversation with me and he was obviously slurring his words. Before he finished his first "story" he was asking for money. I tried to simply ignore him.
When I checked out, I went straight to my car, but he only had 1 item to pay for and before I could get buckled up and crank the car, he was beating on my passenger side window and pointing at my front tire yelling my tire was low. (so original)
Hell would have froze over before I would have rolled that window down. I am sure he was too inebriated to realize my car car tells me if my tires are low, so I didn't believe him. I tried to de-esculate the situation, told him thanks, I'll get it checked and went back to what I was doing.
He would not stop. I think he realized I was not going to open the window and was getting mad. He voice was getting louder and louder and he kept hitting the window over and over. It had reached the point I was afraid the glass was going to break.
I didn't have my phone
My big mistake was in forgetting to carry my phone. I had no way of calling the police. But, it had reached the point when I had to do something. He had been calling me vile names and beating harder and harder on the glass. Where he was standing, if I tried to back up, I was going to hit him with the passenger side mirror or I would not have allowed it to go on this long.
When he switched to both fists pounding together, I backed up anyway. He didn't get out of the way in time, so the mirror hit him, but I don't think it hurt him.
He followed me out of the parking lot
I had to wait for traffic to clear before I could turn out of the store parking lot. He was behind me the whole time beating his horn. When I was finally able to turn, he came out right behind me.
I kept my cool, but was prepared to drive defensively if he decided to ram my car or something. Instead of going home, I head straight to the closest police station, about 8 miles away. When I turned into the parking lot, he kept going.
I didn't have a tag number or the make or model of his SUV (I have very poor central field vision and don't see details) There was nothing they could do so I didn't bother to go inside the police station.
Forgetting my phone was a major contributing factor
If I had my phone with me, the fact of him seeing me calling the police probably would have been enough to make him go away. But when someone is drunk and/or on drugs, you can never know for sure. That is why I have decided to get my concealed carry permit.
If calling the police had not of defused the situation, there is a very good chance simply pulling the gun would have caused him to leave or at least to step back so I could leave without hitting him with my car.
Pulling a gun is a last resort
No one wants to shoot another person. But it is easy to find yourself in a situation where you have no choice. You have to keep your head about you and make logical decisions about when or if you are going to pull a gun. If you are an emotional type of person who can't think straight in a situation like this, carrying a gun might not be a good thing for you.
There are people who carry guns all their lives. My son is one of them. He was a trained and licensed armed guard for the State of Georgia Department of Revenue for many years. He carries almost everywhere he goes and has never shot anyone.
Carrying a gun is no guarantee you will not be robbed. Most people intent on robbery already have a weapon held on you before you would have a chance to pull your weapon. In most cases like this, giving them the money is the best thing to do.
With this guy, for whatever reason, it pissed him off that I would not give him money. Being drunk probably caused his temper to flame higher and higher when I would not obey his orders.
People in an altered frame of mind, not matter the reason are the ones you are most apt to be able to protect yourself from. They are the ones that will make the most mistakes that give you opportunities to end the situation without getting hurt.
I'm glad that you were able to get out of that situation. You seem to have a very level head on you.
I try to stay calm. Then fall apart after its all over, lol. If you lose it when the cause of the stress is in front of you, it could be the last thing you do.
Good on you - and your post will be posted on Gab.ai to encourage those who believe as you do but still hesitate. Everyone wants to think of themself as being civilised, but I consider being suicidal (not willing to protect yourself or those you love) as being uncivilised.
I agree with you. If I ever have to shoot someone, I will probably end up in therapy. But until humanity reaches the point of understanding that people are not going to simply sit home and watch their children die from starvation or some disease that could have been treated if medical care was not priced out of the reach of the average person in the world, there will always be people intent on doing harm.
Every person on earth is capable of doing evil in the right situation. The more necessities people have to do without, the more capable of doing evil they are. Most of these types of people can be talked down from doing what they are trying to do. But not all of them. There are some people who have reached the breaking point and unless you can protect yourself from them, they will hurt/kill you.
I will never pull a gun unless there is not choice. I will always try to defuse a situation with talk before taking it further. But I will not lay down and allow someone to beat/rape/kill me without fighting back and protecting myself.
Relieved you are safe. The world is getting crazier by the day. Sounds like your area is turning into another Chicago.
I don't think it is quite that bad yet. But I fear it may be headed in that direction. Where our house is at is not bad at all because everyone know that we all have guns around here. In 11 years, there has only been 1 house broke into, a few cases of people stealing gas, and the Little Debbie Delivery man had his truck broke into a couple of time.
But we are at the northern edge of the unincorporated part of the city. Depending on which part of the city you are going to, it is a 17 to 20 mile drive down a lot of country roads. The only businesses are a couple of Churches, a gas station and the Dollar General store, lol.
The city itself is rough. That is one of the reasons I do almost all of my shopping on Amazon or use the pick-up service at Walmart so I never have to go into the store. I tend to buy meats in bulk from Zaycon, so even that is just a quick run to one of the Churches to pick up on delivery day. It is only recently that the problem is reaching so far outside the city.
I am a lot like you. I live in Idaho where most everyone has a gun, so crime is low. However I still don't like going out. Was having to go out once a month for supplies but was blessed this winter by being well stocked so had a 4 month retrieve. Some call me a hermit, I call me happy. :) What I can't grow or make I online shop too. My portal to the world is through this laptop screen.
Yes, we are a lot alike. If it wasn't for my son and DIL, I would go at least a month or two between see another person. Last year, I did not drive enough to reach the 5000 mile oil change for my car. I am working on a way to turn cardboard boxes into the base material to make jewelry from because I get so many deliveries. My car only gets 20 MPG, yet I don't fill up but once every other month and I too, have more contact through my computer than in person.
CONGRATULATIONS! Your post was featured in the Prepping Curation Post today.
Thank you very much @goldendawne!
I have plenty of weapons. One of the things EVERY prepper needs is personal protection. Have you ever shot a gun?
Never shoot anyone because they are harassing you! Taking a life is only if you are SURE you may loose yours. Shooting an unarmed person is not the path we need to be taking. Having said that, if you are unsure and the person is threatening your life, YOU have the RIGHT to defend your life, especially if that person is bigger, younger, aggressive and threatening you.
In this day and age, we as peaceful human beings, are in short supply. Especially those of us who grow our own food and maintain our own little world. I have been begging my mother to go and get a weapon and start using it regularly to ensure that, at the very least, she has a way to protect herself.
Get a gun that works for you. If you do not know someone that can help you, go to a locally owned gun store and spend a little extra to get the RIGHT gun for you. Go to a gun range that is close to you and talk to some people, usually they are awesome and will help you. Learn to hit a target.
I will keep you in my prayers! Things are not getting better like they spew on the news channels. I, unfortunately, and a canary in the coal mine. Where I live, will be one of the first places to erupt once the spark ignites the flame.
Thank you @derekfreeman for your prayers. It sounds like your are in an area even worse than mine. I hope you can get a better place for you and your family.
I agree with you 100% about shooting someone. I have never shot anyone and will always try my best not to. But this area has been going downhill for quite some time now and I am afraid if I don't start carrying, I will end up being hurt, raped or killed. It is not bad in our little subdivision because everyone knows almost everyone here has weapons.
It is a different story when you get into the little town or closest city. People tend to prey on women and physically disabled people and I fit both those categories.
I grew up around guns. Daddy use to take me to so called "Turkey Shoots" starting when I was 8 years old. It didn't take long before I was winning the turkey almost every time I tried. Even now with my vision problems, I'm still a good shot. I go to the range or down to my brother's homestead at least once or twice a year. I don't have to know what color a persons eyes are or whether they have a beard or not to be able to hit center of body.
At home, I have plenty of weapons but never really felt the need to have one on me, just to get groceries or go shopping. It's been changing, getting worse and worse for years now and I think it is time to have one on me most anytime I leave the house.
The last house we owned was broken into twice with me there, in the middle of the night and by myself. (that is why I always have at least one dog in the house) Both times meeting them with gun draw was enough to make them run back out the door.
At home, there is at least a 9mm within 10 to 15 feet of me at all times. I won't say what, but there are other weapons with more power close at hand too. At this house, we get a lot of wild critters coming in and with the rabies problems I am very protective of my animals. I have shot two cotton mouth snakes that came up from the creek and one opossum that was possibly rabid because it came into the fence while the dogs were out and even though they had not cornered it, it was advancing on them and that is NOT normal opossum behavior.
For carrying in my purse I am thinking of getting a 22 pistol. It's much lighter weight than the 9mm and the chance of me needing something with more range just for shopping and doctor's visits is slim. It is more than capable of taking out someone intent on getting up close and person with their rage.
Well, I live out in the woods, but the one problem here is a fairly big one if they decide to go rouge. If not then all is fine, I just tend to think that its going to be a bloodbath out here if SHTF. I have a bunch of friends and we get together often to practice, so if they want a fight I guess it will be a good one.
As far as choice, for a CCHL weapon you might want something a little bigger. The .22 will not stop someone, it will kill them if you hit the right places, but they will keep comming at you, especially if they are on drugs. I recently bought aa .38 Special, it is a terrible weapon for ranged shooting, but a great weapon for up close kill shots. It is small and lightweight, conceals easy and a .38 is far better at stopping a predator than a .22. I picked mine up for $80. It has a 5 bullet magazine and easy to take-down and clean.
Personally, I use a Glock. It is my gun of choice. I bought it from a friend and have a .357 SIG barrel change-out along with the .40 it came with. It is a big gun, but it will about destroy anyone I shoot with it. I do not look to have problems, but I surely look to defend my family at all costs.
Great plan to have a CCHL. It is the only way we can rest assured that our safety will come first.
Thanks for the info!
The 9mm that I consider to be MY GUN, is a Glock 19 gen 4. It is a very light weapon when empty, but gets heavy with a fully loaded magazine. I chose it because of the smaller grip size. (I have small hands)
I also have to think about kick. I lost of lot of strength in my arms and legs both from the accident. The last time I tried to shoot the AR15, it put me on the ground, lol. That is another reason I like my baby glock, the recoil is very light compared to standard sizes.
I am sure Daddy or my brother have a 38 or know someone I can borrow one from for target practice. I will try one out before I buy one to carry and make sure I can handle it.
Try out the Sig Sauer P238 for a great lightweight, small, purse sized weapon...it fires a .380 round so at least it will pack more punch than a .22 but the kick isn't bad at all! I carry mine in a little Vera Bradley hipster sometimes, and you'd have no idea it was there.
Thanks for the info. I will check into it before buying a gun. I don't have to make a quick decision. My little Mini Glock is small enough to fit in my purse and will work until I can get something even lighter.