I conceal carry full time now

[Aviation Pro]

I will not get caught not being able to defend myself and my Colombian wife. I am trained to escape and evade and also to close on contact should the worst possible case arise. Even in Broward County the legion of MAGAts is pervasive and when I see a vanguard of white male bros flexing, like yesterday while crossing the Hillsboro drawbridge, my situational awareness is off the chart.

For those with sensitivities, remember, the cops are not your friends and when seconds count, they are minutes away.

[Walleye]

1. I only hope that you're not the one that gets shot

[Aviation Pro]

2. First rule, create distance between you and the threat

Because once you loose a round it isn't coming back.

[Walleye]

5. That's a good rule, sounds like you are thinking reasonably about it

[Aviation Pro]

6. A good brain is the first line of defense

Practicing threat and error management is embedded in my DNA. One of the many maneuvers we train in aviation is something called UPRT (Upset Prevention and Recovery Training). Most pilots think the RT portion is the most important, it's not. The UP is.

[Walleye]

8. I have respect for pilots and people who operate ships. Their practical considerations are more important than bullshit.

You can’t bullshit gravity. Or the laws of physics.

[Aviation Pro]

15. Nope, you can't

Not even a little.

[dsvajda]

18. When flying remember:

Gravity always works and the ground is very hard.

[Aviation Pro]

19. And always fly the airplane

Aviate, Navigate, Communicate.

[Walleye]

22. My friend told me there's nothing more useless than the sky above you and the runway behind you.

It seems like it could be applied to life somehow

[Aviation Pro]

23. Same with fuel left behind

Lots of sayings in aviation.

[GiqueCee]

46. No one likes...

... a 1-to-1 glide ratio.

[multigraincracker]

3. I use to, now I don't go anywhere I think I might need to.

[Aviation Pro]

4. That's my go to option

Avoid the potential, but at times it's not practical.

Also, the threat is not just from others carrying but also from some shit bag who uses his vehicle to cause a mass casualty event as we saw in New Orleans.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

24. That is why I always face traffic when I am out taking a walk.

Plus if some smart-ass wants to come up behind me and blast their horn to startle me or throw trash out the window, I see them coming.

[mitch96]

42. Same with restaurants and bars... Face the door and know your exits...I personally don't like large crowds.

Soft targets for a sick minded opportunist...
m

[Exp]

37. Hhmm, I'm not sure it's always legal to fire at someone who may breaking a law and endangering lives. I say

"who may be.." b/c it might be a case of losing control of the vehicle due to health issues or whatever.

If someone came to my house and threatened to kill me and I shot at them while they were running or walking away - I'm the one going to jail.

Here's a statistic I read 20 years ago-
In a two person confrontation, if only one person is armed usually no one gets shot, but if both parties have handguns then the likelihood is that someone will get shot.

[sop]

7. How do you spot a vanguard of white male bros flexing in South Florida?

[Aviation Pro]

11. You know it when you see it

Spend time in Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton and Delray Beach and you'll see.

[sop]

16. I've seen a lot of white male bros running the Hillsboro Inlet at 50 knots in their expensive center consoles

flying "Trump 2024" flags, but they generally leave me alone. I have spent a lot of time in Boca and Delray, don't feel threatened.

[Aviation Pro]

17. So have I

They are a hazard to navigation. I generally prefer Boca Inlet for diving, but Hillsboro is closer to the Ft. Lauderdale dive line.

Take a walk in Mizner Park in Boca or Atlantic Ave in Delray, they are legion in those areas.

[MineralMan]

9. Well, OK, then.

However, it's far better to avoid the situation than to fight your way out of it.

[modrepub]

10. Not That I Condone Your Actions

They (your actions) and you, however, are justified IMHO. I'm really sorry it has come to this but you have just as much right to take these actions as anyone else.

Just a quick question, do you think the Trumpers and MAGAts think that all libs are effeminate and would fold at the first hint of provocation? I swear, the right seems to think the left will just allow them to do whatever they want and all we'll do is write a strongly worded email or letter to their local representative.

I'll add the situation in rural areas is probably more extreme because help is literally hours away (in response and driving). I work in a big city but I'd rather have an emergency there were law enforcement/first responders are highly trained, close by and you're minutes from an emergency room. Have an incident like a heart attack out in the boonies and you'll be lucky to get someone within 20 minutes and you'll be an hours drive from any hospital.

[Aviation Pro]

14. That's their conventional wisdom in their smooth, underdeveloped brains

On the other hand, I practice a unique camouflage strategy, I actually look like them and am fluent in their language of "cool guy" speak. I'm sorry to say, but my decade in the IC and the skills I acquired there gives me the ability to collect snippets of intelligence.

It's a valuable tool for survival.

[milestogo]

12. I have a feeling I'm going to be staying home a lot these next few years.

[Wuddles440]

13. I started routinely carrying too!

I was hoping that it wouldn't have been necessary, but the situation in this country is becoming more dire by the day. Stay frosty folks.

[JCMach1]

20. I am so thankful my immediate neighborhood

Is progressive (for Texas) and ethnically diverse. My wife is naturalized from Kenya and my son 14yo is mixed. My neighbors are white Dems, Latinos, South Asian, African American and every shade of LGBTQ+. Having said that, it's Texas. Drive less than a mile and there are black mold covered Trump flags.

I have a concealed license. With my ability (sharpshooter from a kid, literally took private body guard training). I am also 6'2" 245 and built like a linebacker in my old age. I am not the lefty a MAGA wants to meet in an alley.

It's not a bad time at all for those of us on the left to exercise your 2A rights and up your self-defense and survival skills.

[Aviation Pro]

21. This

Million times this.

[dchill]

26. "...black mold covered Trump flags." What a neat turn of phrase!

Opens many tunnels of thought.

[sarisataka]

25. That used to be enough to get you called

a gun humper, speculations on the inadequacy of your genitalia and analysis of your courage...

After carrying for over 20 years now, I have only gone to condition red three time. In none of those did the situation develop to the point of needing to draw; de-escalation saves headaches and legal fees.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

27. Excellent! Because we should all be wondering

who out there is now carrying a concealed gun?

Just the thing to make me feel safe and warm and fuzzy.

[Aviation Pro]

31. Read the entire thread

.....

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

55. Yes I did.

And I still will never buy a gun. If I were younger I'd seriously look into moving to a country that not only has sensible gun laws, but has real health care coverage.

[OldBaldy1701E]

28. You get nothing but respect from me. I need to get my stuff to do the same.

I may live in a blue state, but I am the type that is squarely in their sights. All we need is one wild ass group of rural rethugs to show up and things would get dicey. I live right in the middle of where all the police shootings happened.

The biggest danger here is not some roving gang of juveniles.

[Greybnk48]

29. My husband just went to a class yesterday for a concealed carry permit.

We have a couple older guns from his dad, a collector, but now he's going to get a new usable one. We don't have any at risk relatives, but just in case.

[Aviation Pro]

34. Measure your hand size

And then talk to a knowledgeable and patient gun shop employee who can guide you to the right sized frame.

I'm partial to Glocks.

[Native]

30. Smart move, and I say that as a fellow Floridian.

[maxsolomon]

32. I walk around the worst neighborhoods in this city without thinking about firearms.

Maybe my "sensitivities" are the same as situational awareness?

[Itchinjim]

33. I have absolutely no problem with concealed carry.

In fact, I'm happy knowing that there are some good guys with guns out there. My problem is with those who open carry. To me it is nothing more than an attempt at intimidation at people around them. You got a gun? Fine just keep it to yourself until you need it.
Plus, if I'm a bad guy, the first person I'm going to shoot is the guy who has a heater strapped to his hip. Element of surprise and all that.

[Aviation Pro]

35. The easiest way to become a target

Is to open carry.

[usonian]

36. So do I.

It's the bom ... b



Not to make light of your situation.
I carry salt and pepper (pepper as in bear spray)

Stay safe.

[CaptainTruth]

38. I understand "my situational awareness is off the chart."

My wife is an immigrant, got her US citizenship a couple years ago.

There have been a few times we've been in a store when one of her relatives called & she spoke on the phone in her/their native language. Every time it happens I immediately get hyper-alert, do a 360 degree threat assessment, scan for possible defensive weapons (like a 12 pack of Coke upside the head) & look for escape routes. While she's talking I'm sizing up everyone around us, especially anyone approaching & looking at her. I swear if some A-hole tries to knock the phone out of her hand & yell at her to speak English they're going to get a face full of floor before they know what hit them.

I wasn't like this 10 years ago, but today I feel like I need to be ready for anything.

[Arazi]

39. I went to the range to practice last weekend after decades away

Have a bolt action rifle I inherited many years ago that I cleaned and oiled, bought a couple hundred rounds of ammo and went to get familiar with it all over again. I’m not yet at the place where I want a handgun but I’m definitely in the place where I want to warn someone away coming down my driveway.

I may get to the headspace where I could aim at a person with intent to harm but I’m not quite there atm.

[J_William_Ryan]

40. "I conceal carry full time now"

A criminal and convicted felon was elected president – who in turn pardoned hundreds of other criminals who engaged in a treasonous attack on democracy, many of whom violently attacked law enforcement officers and others.

We live now in Trump’s fascist, lawless regime; Trump has emboldened his racist, bigoted, hateful followers to pursue acts of political violence, particularly against Americans of color and those gay and transgender.

It is therefore perfectly appropriate and warranted for those of us who oppose Trump and his fascist, lawless regime to take measures of self-defense – including the carrying of firearms.

[jimmy the one]

41. Some concerns

Are you a registered gun owner with a state issued concealed carry permit?
The vast majority of cops, police, are fair and decent.
And while cops may not be anyone's 'friend' when arriving on scene, due to understandable uncertainty of what is occurring, they are the law and deserve respect, not painting them with a broad brush.
Florida has castle doctrine, or stand your ground law rather than 'duty to retreat' if you have a gun and opponent does not. Consider you can get in a shetload of trouble by even brandishing your pistol, and shooting someone with it can cause legal problems exceeding any benefit gained. Especially if an innocent bystander. If you were to brandish, those magats could shoot you and claim self defense.

In your post you seem to be venting a perceived threat which should not be justified in response to what you allude to, unless the threat manifests beyond nasty looks or taunts.
I was a navy marksman but have no desire to carry concealed since I believe carrying a gun outside the home presents more danger to oneself and innocents rather than to perceived threats, whether real or not.
I carry a vial of pepper spray in my pocket when I go to town or traveling. Not defensively as effective as a gun, but something far safer in actuality.

[thatdemguy]

43. I took the training to be allowed to buy a handgun in Maryland

I have been thinking about buying one for a few years, but have not. I got the training so if needed I could buy one, and thought that Annapolis might try to stop people guns here.

It maybe the time do finally break down and do it. Right now Wes Moore is doing things that I am not thrilled with ( raising fees and costs that effect the poor more than anyone else ), but the pugs are even madder about and I could see it getting ugly here.

[LexVegas]

44. It does my heart good to hear this. All Democrats and/or liberals should be armed at this point. nt

[LT Barclay]

45. I don't want to get there but I don't live in Florida and my family looks like the cast

Of Casper the Ghost.
So I pray you are safe until sanity returns and that you never have to use it.

[somsai]

47. No need in my county of 300,000 people

We have a gun homicide rate of just under 2 per hundred thousand, much lower than just about anywhere.

We also have a reputation for being extremely pro 2A, the most 2A kind of place by far in our state, many more guns than people. But any stupid gun handling and the deputy simply takes your gun, want it back, talk to the judge, we have an extremely low tolerance for city folk mishandling firearms.

Anger and getting your dander up has no place with guns.

[Historic NY]

48. I possess several handguns with a full carry for 40yrs..

for more that 28 yrs I carried daily . I'm actually thinking about taking it out again, but here in NY the MAGA are easy to spot,

[mitch96]

49. "I'm really sorry it has come to this". My previous South Florida neighborhood was nice. Lived there over 20 years.

Well situated and easy to get to everything.. The only recent problem was about a mile or mile and a half from me someone got murdered just about every other day...Not cool.
Dirtbags were starting to hit the neighborhood with B&E.. Time to get out of dodge and when the situation presented itself, I moved. My new west central Fla neighborhood is safe (statistically) and I feel better about my surroundings..
I hated carrying around that lump of steel so now it's just a small can of bear spray. The head of Security at my last employ was a NYC detective. He said he "defused" more situations with anti personnel pepper spray than with his gun..
Works for me.. YMMV
m

[Tbear]

60. I believe it is unlawful to spray a person with bear spray.

Even in self defense. Please check my knowledge.
Try pepper spray instead.

[mitch96]

61. "Please check my knowledge." Hate to be a jerk but why don't you do it? You are questioning the use...nt

[Tbear]

62. I already "knew" use of bear spray on a human is illegal.

I am just encouraging anyone who doubts me to do their own research.
Dollars to doughnuts I am a bigger jerk than you

[DFW]

50. I don't, but....

My wife is not American, and speaks English with an accent. When she is im the States, we do not visit areas where we suspect she might be harassed for it. My daughter and her sons have US citizenship- Her husband has applied for it. but he doesn't have it yet (he does have a green card). He speaks fluent English, but with an accent as well. He does not carry a weapon, but has special forces training with an army that is known for taking its job seriously.

I hate that I even have to worry about such things.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

51. I looked up "close on contact" but found only stuff about robot grippers. What does it mean in your context?

[Aviation Pro]

58. Move toward the threat that's initiated

The absolute worst case scenario and last resort.

[mike_c]

52. oh FFS

Sheesh.

[Aviation Pro]

59. Elaborate

I’d love to hear your point of view.

[S/V Loner]

53. I carried for a very short time when I got my permit...

but I found that carrying put me in a completely different frame of mind and I didn't like it. I always carry a knife and it is just part of me. A handgun creates a marked difference in my attitude that I didn't like. I'm comfortable knowing I can handle any unpleasant situation if I need to. If I feel a real need to carry I will but until then no.

[Evolve Dammit]

54. This is a sad but necessary discussion. We have a real threat. It's perfectly legal to conceal carry in many states

now. It remains a personal decision, but I have never seen crazies like today. NEVER worried about this shit until the right lost it's mind when Obama was elected. You couldn't buy ammo unless you were there when the truck came into Cabella's, it sold out so fast. Same with guns. Many folks are sitting on sizable quantities of both.
I worry about my foreign born daughters more than anything. I've never introduced the topic as I don't want them to live in fear. But I certainly don't want them to be a victim either. I'm torn.
Been around firearms since I was 10. Every family I knew had them but always for hunting or garden varmints. Never heard anyone talk about gun violence. Fast forward to today. What a sad and angering change to have today's mass shootings and vile death threats being anytown, USA.
The genie is out of the bottle though, and is not going back in. Do what you feel you need to in order to protect your loved ones. Just store safely and be aware of situations wherever you might be. Shit can happen in a "New Yourk minute" (or seconds) Damn, I'm depressing myself.

[Demobrat]

56. I'm just sorry you feel the need.

I live in a San Francisco apartment building. I’m the white lady on the first floor. My neighbors are everything you can imagine. Everyone is welcome as long as they don’t blast their music or have the cops at the building. We have conservatives, but we don’t have roving gangs of low IQ white thugs looking for people to intimidate.
It’s a terrible way to live and it’s all because of Trump. God I wish I believed in hell.

[AntiFascist]

57. I'm curious, what other states may have "unorganized," public militias...

that claim to operate legally under state and Constitutional regulations.