Why Your Gun Makes Me Nervous
BY Herschel Smith
9 years, 11 months ago
There’s a mantra quickly repeating in my head: “Please have a badge. Please have a badge. Please have a badge.” It’s a steady heartbeat as I begin a conversation with a shop clerk and reposition myself so I can peer over her shoulder.
I’ve already seen the bulge in his jacket, and it’s clear from the size and shape that he has a holstered gun. Now my eyes are quickly scanning, hoping to find a law enforcement badge clipped to his belt.
I’m in a local bookstore and there’s a sticker near the door asking patrons not to carry weapons on the premises. My two children scurried off the moment we entered, each in search of their own treasures.
The man with the weapon is as interested with the bookstore patrons as he is with the books on display. I’ve watched him watch others. The way he tracks them is unnerving.
I do not know this man, have no knowledge of his profession, personality or character. I am unaware of his mental state, of why he feels the need to carry a weapon into a bookstore. Frankly, I’m not that interested in his reasons right now. My mind is too busy filtering through the various scenarios that could be taking place. They flick before me like movie trailers, and I watch, casting some aside and mentally marking others for further consideration.
There’s no badge — at least not one I can see. And my inspection of him has not gone unnoticed. I rotate my handbag so that more of it rests toward the front of my body and gently pat it. It’s a tell by women who are packing heat in their purse. Many do it without thinking, a subtle check of hard steel through the leather. My touch is greeted by the bristles on my hairbrush, but no one else knows that.
The man recognizes the gesture, his eyes briefly flicking to my own before he moves past us in the aisle.
Poor Lynda. I think she needs to purchase and learn to use a gun. That way she won’t be bothered by bristles on hair brush when she is reaching for means of self defense.
In other news, a Deputy Sheriff’s gun just “went off” in Walmart recently.
STARKE, Fla. – An Alachua County Sheriff’s deputy’s gun accidentally went off inside a Walmart in Starke on Thursday morning, according to the Starke Police Department.No one was injured, but a television was damaged, police said.
The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident. It’s unclear if the deputy will face disciplinary action.
In still other news, a police chief shot his wife.
A police chief in Georgia told a 911 dispatcher he accidentally shot his sleeping wife while moving a handgun that was in their bed, according to a recording released Friday.
Peachtree City police Chief William McCollom called for help at 4:17 a.m. New Year’s Day and reported accidentally shooting his 58-year-old wife, Margaret, while they both slept. The Associated Press obtained a recording of the call Friday through an open records request. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into the shooting.
You know it’s “funny.” I’ve never lost a rifle, had a gun “accidentally go off,” shot anyone in the back, wanted to shoot dogs, or been tempted to shoot my wife or anyone else.
On January 12, 2015 at 8:32 am, Ed Hamilton said:
“Why Your Gun Makes Me Nervous”
Why I care……..crickets
On January 12, 2015 at 9:29 am, yardbird1947 said:
You hate guns, that is your problem.
You are afraid of guns, that is your problem.
Get over it.
On January 13, 2015 at 12:18 am, zeus234 said:
Wonder if the anti gunners really have any idea how many people they interact with daily or just have standing in front of or behind them in checkout lines or pass them in an isle?
On January 12, 2015 at 10:27 am, Backwoods Engineer said:
Too many cops coon-finger (Tam’s term) their guns, when they should just leave them in their holster.
And this article is just one of many dedicated to the “othering” of concealed carry: making it sound “weird” to the masses, so the gun-banners can get a critical mob mass to vote against us.
On January 12, 2015 at 2:30 pm, tkdkerry said:
Coon-finger… to handle as if one were a raccoon. A saying that is MUCH older than Tam, though she undoubtedly makes the best possible use of it.
On January 12, 2015 at 11:10 pm, Rich7553 said:
After reading this tripe, it’s hard to believe that some of her ilk call US paranoid and fear-mongering. How’s that for projection?
On January 13, 2015 at 1:05 am, mcian said:
I don’t care if my gun makes you nervous. That’s YOUR problem, not mine. I carry because:
1. My safety and the safety of my family supersedes your feelings.
2. It is my right as a lawful citizen, which again… supersedes your feelings.
3. While most likely not to happen, there is a chance that my gun may save your life, while you are waiting for the police to show up.
Feelings have no place in the discussion of rights.