The decision to carry a gun for self defense

The decision to take your personal safety seriously likely brings you to the question of whether you should consider carrying a firearm for self defense. Since most states now offer some form of concealed carry license it is relatively easy to accomplish the steps necessary to legally carry a gun for protection. This really isn't the decision that matters though as the firearm is just a tool. It lacks any emotional attachment to the outcome. What brand or caliber also has no sway on this decision. This decision is about as basic as a decision can be. It is simply the decision to allow another to exert their unlawful will upon you without your permission or not.

Once you have decided that you will carry a gun you realize that although philosophically that may have been the most important decision it is not the most important in a practical sense. I say this because one cannot truly be secure in their decision to protect themselves in the abstract. You must consider the practical requirements of protecting yourself with deadly force. You have to make the decision that you are capable of potentially taking the life of another to save your own. Many think that they will have the benefit of their gun for protection without making this decision in advance. That they will be able to make this decision only if they need to in the moment. This is really the illusion of protection and safety. Without predetermining that you will confidently act in the face of immediate danger your gun will not come to your rescue through ownership alone.

After making these two decisions you are faced with a third decision that ultimately rules the first two. Will you seek to master the skills necessary to use this tool effectively and decisively? Or will it be a dull and ineffective instrument in your time of need?

The time picks you. Will you be ready?