I’m glad the statute of limitations has expired on this Defensive Gun Use in Chicago.
No shots fired nor was a gun even brandished. But it qualifies as a DGU in my book. It enabled a bystander to have the confidence to get involved.
The View From North Central Idaho
Ramblings on explosives, guns, politics, and sex by a redneck Idaho farm boy who became a software engineer living near Seattle.
I do not, and almost certainly will not, own a firearm*: but I am thankful that others such as Ms. Connor do.
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* Mostly, I know I would not maintain one properly.
A little bit of confidence goes a long way. It’s one definition of freedom. And herein I’ll come up with a catch-phrase; “Forget self-esteem. I prefer confidence.”
Confidence is knowing that you can cope. Self-esteem is just another term for narcissism. We have too much of the latter and not enough of the former, to be a free society.
@John A; See my comment at Sarah’s. In short; maintenance is simple. You get a basic gun that takes down (disassembles) easily and without tools (and those guns are common) and don’t sweat it overmuch. Have a shooter friend show you how simple it is, and you’re “off and gunning”. Ask that person; “Just how simple is it to clean your carry pistol?”
@John A: I’m no marksman or sharpshooter. I’m not a gun pro. I’m pro-gun, though. Pro-self-defense. Despite that, I *do not* enjoy cleaning guns. Some gunfolk gun cleaning is fun. I do not. It’s an annoying hassle, but well-worth the tradeoff of having built-in security.
And if you get really lazy and decide to holdoff on cleaning your gun for a long, long time (I’m sure this will make Lyle, Joe + readers cringe), you can always take your gun to a gun shop for an expert clean. They’ll dip it a “gun bath” and give it a makeover.
Think of a gun shop like a beauty salon for guns.
As for choosing a gun, find a gun friend for advice, or go to a gun show. Those guys are polite and are (usually) happy to answer specific questions about guns. Tell them you’re a beginner, you’d like something basic, and your prime concern is easy maintenance. They should guide you from there.
If you have trouble maintaining a gun because your hands lack dexterity or you might have other physical challenges, someone at a gun shop will probably clean your gun just for fun. If the gun’s not that dirty, it probably won’t get a gun bath. But you’d be amazed how helpful gunfolk can be. I mention this bit about dexterity challenges because I’ve been through that personally and gun cleaning can be a real pain.
: )
@Lyle:
“Self-esteem is just another term for narcissism.”
I completely 100% disagree with your statement. Narcissism does not mean self-esteem.
Self-esteem = self-respect = positive self image = confidence.
I suppose we could get into a semantics war, but that would silly.