I run my own small business, but I just spent two months in a temporary role at a large and very profitable corporation.
It was grueling. I was balls-to-the-wall busy, all day, every day. The phones rang off the hook; the pressure to answer them, and to solve the problems they brought, was enormous. I stepped into this chaos, got right up to speed, and became a valuable part of the team. I was polite, professional, prompt, and highly skilled. The whole time, I continued to run my small business, serving my customers evenings & weekends. When my temporary role came to an end, I was more bone-tired than I had been in years... and I had found, to my surprise, that I loved it.
My corporate masters expressed great satisfaction with my job performance. An offer of full-time employment may be forthcoming within a few weeks. In this economy, that would be an honor and a blessing.
I wonder what they would have thought if they knew I carried a gun in my pocket every day.
RKBA is a DKos group of second amendment supporters who also have progressive and liberal values. We don't think that being a liberal means one has to be anti-gun. Some of us are extreme in our second amendment views (no licensing, no restrictions on small arms) and some of us are more moderate (licensing, restrictions on small arms.) Moderate or extreme, we hold one common belief: more gun control equals lost elections. We don't want a repeat of 1994. We are an inclusive group: if you see the Second Amendment as safeguarding our right to keep and bear arms individually, then come join us in our conversation. If you are against the right to keep and bear arms, come join our conversation. We look forward to seeing you, as long as you engage in a civil discussion.
RKBA stands for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Some background:
I've had concealed carry permits for over five years. I've been self-employed the entire time. I started carrying because my job takes me into strangers' houses in unfamiliar neighborhoods. Obtaining these permits was a long and expensive process that involved background checks, training, extensive paperwork, and a lot of soul-searching. Over time, I have become accustomed to possessing the means to defend myself -- or others -- if necessary. My gun is like the seat belt in my car: I don't expect to need it, and I never have needed it, but I wear it everywhere I go.
I am a pacifist, an attending Quaker, and a liberal. I do not wish to harm anyone, ever. I have seen people die painfully from traumatic injuries, up close and personal, and I never want to see that again... let alone cause such a death.
However, I am also a deeply pessimistic man. I know that Shit Happens because I've watched Shit Happen. I have a duty to my family to protect myself, if only to remain in their lives. Every day, there is a non-zero probability that I will be in a car accident, so I wear my seat belt, drive completely unimpaired by anger, fatigue, or drugs, and avoid dangerous situations. Similarly, every day there is a non-zero probability that I will be either the victim of, or a witness to, a violent crime... so I wear my gun, live completely unimpaired by anger, fatigue, or drugs, and avoid dangerous situations.
I also know that, if forced to protect a loved one, I will stand and fight with utter disregard for my personal safety. I learned this the hard way, and I do not choose to recount the details in this diary... suffice it to say that I harbor few qualms about my personal courage.
Anyone who still thinks carrying a firearm is a fearful or pitiful choice probably won't be amused by the following joke:
A policeman pulls a car over for a minor traffic violation.
The driver hands the officer his driver's license, registration, proof of insurance, and his concealed carry permit.
"Okay, Mr. Smith," the cop says, "I see your CCW permit. Are you carrying today?"
"Yes, I am."
"Well then, better tell me what you got."
The man says, "Well, I have a .357 on my hip, a 9mm Glock in the glove box, and a derringer in my right boot."
"Okay," the officer says, "anything else?"
"Yeah, back in the trunk, there's an AR15 and a shotgun."
The officer asks, "Mr. Smith, are you on your way to or from a gun range?"
"Nope."
"Well then, what are you afraid of?"
The driver calmly says, "Not much."
When I agreed to take this temporary position, I realized I would be working in an unfamiliar city, parking on the street, walking several blocks to and from my car in the dark, and serving my customers -- including many whom I had never met -- with much less time to research their bona fides than usual. So, the first question I asked myself was not "Will I be able to carry a gun..." it was, "How will I carry a gun?"
My normal strategy, wearing over three pounds of Glock & 10mm ammunition 'concealed' in a Safepacker holster, obviously would not fly. I might have been able to wear that "colostomy bag" for a brief visit, but people would have noticed it within a few hours and begun to wonder about its contents.
Leaving that gun or any gun in a 'locked' car on the street seemed dangerously irresponsible.
Driving home to arm myself after work, then going to see my clients -- many of which were much closer to work than home -- would have been far too time-consuming. Besides, I frequently run other errands on the commute to and from work, especially as Christmas approaches; I rarely choose to be unarmed in public, and I will not make such a choice merely for the convenience of corporate America.
So, I realized that I would need to settle for a smaller firearm. Fortunately, I already owned one that was perfect for the job: a Smith and Wesson model 642 revolver, chambered in .38 Special. I loaded it with the best hollow-point rounds available, slipped it into an Uncle Mike's pocket holster, dropped it into the front pocket of my Dockers, and headed off to Face the Rat Race.
Nobody noticed.
Keep in mind that I was paid through a staffing firm. I never saw this corporation's employee regulations; I might have been violating their most sacrosanct rules. If they had asked me, I would have told the truth... and walked away peacefully if expected to disarm, rather than surrender my hard-won Right to Keep and Bear Arms for a few measly bucks per hour.
However, nobody asked, and I didn't tell. After a few days, I got used to the pound of aluminum in my pants, and stopped waiting for someone to ask, "Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" My only concern was making sure it remained concealed from everyone, and accessible to no one.
The bottom line: carrying a gun at work was perfectly safe for me and for my co-workers. Nobody knew it; other than you, Dear Reader, nobody knows it even now. It remained in its holster, secure from inquisitive hands and potential thieves. Like everywhere else I've gone with my gun -- including bars (no, I don't drink), restaurants, movie theaters, concerts, comedy shows, parades, holiday parties, polling places, churches, shopping malls, schools, day-care centers, hospitals, banks, grocery stores, and hundreds of strangers' homes (all legal in my home state) -- neither I nor my firearm presented any danger to anyone.
Guns, in the hands and pockets of law-abiding citizens, are not a problem in the USA. Poverty, inequality and right-wing propaganda are the evils that conspire to divide us, enslave us, and kill us. Instead of sharing and spreading fear, we should unite to fight it. Instead of demonizing tens of millions of peaceful citizens who own firearms, we should work together to end the systemic poverty and misery that produce the few thousand violent criminals who frighten us so.