abaya

Thanks, I appreciate this. I hope you know I wasn't being critical in my comment... it was just my honest reaction to what you said. And hey, as long as your dates aren't freaked out by you carrying a gun, then as I said, my opinion doesn't really matter on that issue.

I also appreciated your level-headed explanation of why you carry it. I can see how our backgrounds differ, and I know your military experience must have a strong influence on your reasons for carrying a gun.

But I must say, having walked around in downtown Beirut in recent years, with tanks and guns pointing at me on several street corners--soldiers at the ready to fire at any of us, anytime--(god knows how they could possible stop a car bomber that way, since there is never any warning of that kind of thing), it still never occurred to me that I should also be walking around armed. It has never occurred to me to walk around armed, even in extremely dangerous places.

I have held a gun to shoot BB's at pop cans when I was maybe 8 or 10 years old. I knew where the gun in our house was, growing up, and I hated knowing it was there. We lived in a remote place, far from any law enforcement's ability to get to us quickly, but still it never occurred to me to ever have to use a gun. The only people I ever knew who carried guns were usually paranoid relatives who were basically stockpiling their own weapons cache (wanna-be paramilitaries) who freaked me out in general. My 10 year old cousin walked around with rounds of ammo across his chest. I stayed very clear of him.

Not that any of this contradicts your reasons for carrying, but I just wanted to confirm our different backgrounds. I also wanted to clarify what you said here:

I know that you're a sane, responsible, hard-working pseudo-civilian. I'm not afraid of you being armed, that's not the issue. My only point in responding earlier was that if I was dating someone, no matter how sane and responsible they were, if they were carrying a gun around on their person... that would be the end of it, right there. That doesn't mean I would be afraid of them, or that I wouldn't be friends with them... quite the opposite (I like you, man!). I would just not want to ever be romantically involved with them. I don't know how to explain it, but that's just the way I personally feel.

I should also put in a little perspective that my husband has gone so far as to refuse to ever work for any company that is related to weapons manufacturing, no matter how good the money is. He grew up in a civil war, where everyone was in a militia, everyone was armed, people were shooting not just guns but mortar fire and launching bombs around his city on a daily basis. He wants nothing to do with those things, and I'm alright with that.

It comes down to sharing values, I guess. I think deciding whether or not it's okay to pack a weapon is along the same lines as whether or not people want to have children, or have an open relationship, or what have you... those kinds of values have to be in agreement. I never thought about gun ownership in those terms before, but since you mentioned it, Crompsin, I've had to think about it. Thanks for that.

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran