Why I Carry a Firearm…

A great responsibility is assumed when one decides to daily carry a Firearm. A Responsibility that should never be taken for less than what it truly is…

I decided to carry a Firearm less than a year ago when I really took notice that the world was ever more rapidly spinning out of control. Pure evil truly walks this Earth- looking for any way it can to destroy all that we hold dear. I made the decision to step up and be a front line defender of my family and all that I know and love.  And just like the famous line from comics and movies says- “With Great Power comes Great Responsibility”, I wasn’t going to take that fact lightly. I would be strapping on a tool on a daily that could bring balance to awful situations should they arise and it wasn’t something to joke about.

I understood that just because I carried a Firearm, that without proper training and a SheepDog mindset, all could be for naught if I wasn’t ready for such a burden. Yes, I said it – a Burden. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The burden is mine to hold that I must be vigilant, ever serious, non confrontational and always ready to stand for those I hold dear. Gone are the quick flashes of temper that could lead to harms way. In it’s stead must be a resolve to properly protect what I cherish; my wife and son, my family, no matter the cost.

I owe it to them to get the proper training on how to use my Firearm and to learn the rules and laws of our state and country. I owe it to them to have enough ammunition to be able to train and to learn how to properly deploy this tool that I have chosen to carry. I owe it to them to always be prepared!

In readying this article for Concealed Nation, I asked some fellow members on the Glock Forum website and message boards to say why they carried a Firearm:

Mike, a former Marine and married Father of 3 said: “I carry a Firearm because I refuse to be a victim.”

The Woodsman stated that “Evil does not take the day off, nor should you. Bad things happen to good people.”

But as great as those sentiments are, a wise and unknown author on that same forum penned the following:

” I do not carry a Firearm because it is my right. I do not carry because I am afraid. I do not carry because I am paranoid, and I don’t carry because I am trying to make a statement. I am not being political and I’m not being religious. I do not carry because I want to frighten, intimidate or kill.

I carry a Firearm because there is genuine evil in this world. I carry a Firearm because most people are not equipped to deal with that evil. I carry a Firearm because the police mostly respond to crime, they do not prevent it. I carry a Firearm because there are some that cannot defend themselves. Some threats are too fearsome, too strong and too evil.

I carry a Firearm because I am willing to stand between you and that evil.

I carry a Firearm, expecting that someday I may have to use it, and praying that I will never have to…”

Why do I carry a Firearm? To stand, my friends- to STAND!

-Anthony (Concealed Nation contributor)