I've refrained from posting anything at all on this thread, as I view the whole concealed carry issue as a very private and personal matter (can't explain why, I just do...). But there have been some interesting things shared here, so I figured "Ah, what the hell..."
My wife wanted to conceal carry for protection (I applaud any woman who chooses to do so). I elected to get a CPL along with her, more as a show of support than anything else. That, and it afforded me being able to impulse-buy firearms, rather than have to wait it out and come to my senses.
She now carries (Glock 43), but I do not (I have a little Kel Tec P11 with a trigger kit, and a Ruger SP101 in .357 Magnum). I've often considered doing so, but just haven't, as of yet.
So, here's something that happened to me several years ago. I walk into a local independent pizza joint, and order a pizza. There were only two other customers in there, them being an elderly woman and her adult son. When my pizza was ready, I took it and proceeded to the exit. The male, who was a giant of a man, decided he didn't want me to leave. He stepped in front of the door, blocking my exit. I kinda laughed it off, and said "Excuse me", as I stepped back. When I did, he stepped away from the door, so I proceeded again. He stepped right back in the doorway and glared at me, arms crossed. Now mind you, I had never so much as made eye contact with him before this, and had never seen him before. He just must've not liked the way I looked, or something (Santa didn't get him what he wanted for Christmas? Shrug...). Anyway, I stepped back again, and this time his mother yelled his name, and apologized to me for her son's behavior. It was then that I realized there's something more going on (or not happening, actually) in this guy's head. The guy stepped away from the door, and I walked out.
My truck was parked just outside the door, and I went directly to the driver's door. I looked over to see that the individual had followed me out, and was headed right toward me. All I could think of was "Son of a bitch, this is gonna hurt...". The guy was easily a foot taller than me, and probably had 75lbs on me. That, and I ain't the kid I once was. Anyways, as I'm standing there anticipating his arrival time, the mother comes out screaming at him to stop, and just get in their van. She yelled a few times at him before he complied. I got in my truck, and started backing out of the parking space, only to find he had pulled out and was now blocking me. At this point, I'm thinking I'm going to have to ram him to be able to leave. However, he pulled forward, and left the parking lot.
I went into such detail with my story, as I have thought about this through the years, and wondered how this all could have gone differently. This guy could have messed me up bad. Seriously. He obviously has some kind of issue, so he needed no reason to attack. The whole thing shook me up, I have to admit. And then there's the thought of "What if I had been carrying?" Would I have been justified in pulling the trigger? People talk about how quickly/easily they would do so, but I maintain that even as fucked-up as he was (and the situation was), the potential was there for a loss of life, and that cannot be taken lightly. It's a balancing act. Would I have been more inclined to meet the confrontation head-on if I had been carrying? I don't know. What I do know is that I found a way out without anyone being harmed, and I feel very fortunate to have done so.
I still support the absolute right to defend one's self. If the threat had been to anyone in my family, I know I would rather have had the means to protect them, than risk them being harmed. Anyways, it's been a lot of years, and I still think about this incident. Just thought I'd share it with you, as it's still somewhat "on topic".
. I carry my Glock when going deep in the wilderness. I think I am more likely to be attacked by a mountain lion or a bear (and even those odds are very, very small) than I am by another human being. Like you said, because of the law and the court system we have, I would still get charged even if i shoot someone in self defense.
