Gun activist sent 30-round magazine to Conn. Governor for Christmas

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31. Unlike you I don't find an inanimate object intimidating in the least. ...

A steel box with a spring inside doesn't scare me. Even it was loaded with ammo I would realize that it was harmless unless inserted into a firearm.

I also take exception with your assertion that the majority of people who legally carry concealed are "racist/bigoted". A minority are but most are responsible and honest citizens especially if they live in a state that requires a criminal background check to obtain a carry permit. I and most other people I know who legally carry are not overly afraid of being attacked by an individual who happens to be Black or Hispanic but realize that race in no way determines who is a criminal or might suffer from a serious mental problem that makes them dangerous.

You often suggest that most people who carry concealed are afraid to leave their houses without at least a couple of guns strapped to their body. I have never met a Floridian with a carry permit who had a BUG (back up gun). In fact almost all carry light weight low powered handguns with a magazine that holds less than 10 rounds or a revolver that carries at the most six rounds. Of course to be fair I live in Florida where the heat makes concealing a full sized handgun difficult. Still if those who legally carry concealed were as paranoid as you often suggest, they would find a way to conceal a pistol with a 17 round magazine.

I also doubt that if you encountered me or most people who legally carry concealed you would be able to tell if we were carrying a concealed weapon. Those who legally carry go out of their way to wear proper clothing and carry in a manner that prevents their weapon from "printing". I've legally carried a handgun for well over fifteen years and I doubt if anyone including numerous police officers that I have talked to ever realized it. I probably simply strike most people as a polite older gentleman with a noticeable limp because of a bad hip and back.

I first got a concealed weapons permit when I lived in a crime ridden area in the Tampa Bay Area. Now that I am retired I live in a small rural town in north Florida with a surprising high crime rate. I realize that my limp makes me to appear to be a weak member of the herd and consequently a target for a mugger.

Once when I was out walking my daughter's dog I was approached by a panhandler who acted somewhat suspicious. He asked me for a buck and I calmly replied that I didn't even have my wallet on me. I had no real fear of him but he struck me as somewhat dangerous. The situation ended peacefully but when I described this individual to a cop who was rooming with us, he immediately knew who he was. He had recently got out of prison and was known to mug elderly people in order to get money for his drug habit. Like me he had a noticeable limp but the cop told me he could run like the wind when chased. Two weeks later he was arrested and now is back in prison.

Had he attacked me I would have first used what remains of my martial arts skill to stop his attack. If that failed as a last resort I would have drawn my snub nosed revolver and shot him. Was I scared half to death? Absolutely not. I was prepared. My attitude is not unusual among those that I know who legally carry concealed . We are not paranoid or overly fearful. We practice situation awareness to avoid potentially dangerous situations and that tactic almost always guarantees that we will not be attacked by someone who intends to put us in the hospital or six feet under. If we are attacked we have one of the most effective means available to stop the assault. Therefore we have little to fear. We also realize that we are not police officers with a badge and uniform dedicated to stop crime nor are we vigilantes looking for an excuse to blow someone away.

I fear you live in a fantasy world and have an unrealistic fear of those who are licensed to carry. Admittedly we are not all angels but neither are we like Zimmerman who was, in my opinion, a cop wanna be looking for trouble and hoping to be viewed as a hero.