Saw this on Daily KOS

[afriqueart]

Why do you want my gun?
by faceless
Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 01:01:19 AM PDT
Back in 1993, I was 21 years old and worked as a clerk in a 7-11 convenience store. One evening, while working the swing shift, I was robbed at gunpoint. At about 6:30pm, these two guys (teenagers) came into the store. They got beer and hot dogs. When they came up to the register to pay for it, BOTH of them pulled out semi-automatic handguns. One of them put the gun to my head and the other put it to my stomach. They ordered me to open the cash drawer and they grabbed all the cash. Before they left, one of the guys sprayed me with pepper spray and told me that if I called the police they would come back and kill me.

The whole thing was over in a couple minutes.

Now, just to give you some backdrop... this store is located in a quiet residential neighborhood with almost no history of violent crime. About five minutes prior to the two men coming into the store, one of our police officers had stopped in for a free cup of coffee (we always gave the cops free coffee).

I was so scared that I didn't even realize I had been sprayed with pepper spray until the cops showed up and were having trouble breathing. About half an hour later, the burning started to hit me. Apparently I had been in shock.

If you've ever been unlucky enough to be held at gunpoint by a stranger, you'll understand the enormous amount of fear that you experience. I wasn't able to return to work because I was too scared they would come back. Up until that point, I had been a solid supporter of gun control. However, things changed overnight. I wasn't able to sleep for more than an hour or two at a time because I was having nightmares about it. I would wake up feeling completely panicked and scared. I have never felt that way in my life prior to this incident.

After a few nights of nightmares, I decided that I needed a gun just to feel safe. I went to the local gun store, picked out a handgun, filled out all kinds of forms... and then was told I had to wait for seven days. Let me tell you, that was the longest seven days of my life.

Finally, the wait was over and I was able to bring the gun home. I purchased an electronic gun safe and put it right next to my bed. I practiced opening that safe until I could have it open within two seconds. From then on, I slept a lot better.

That gun safe is still next to my bed with a loaded .45 in it. Every six months or so I check the battery and make sure everything works okay. For years, I have kept that gun there because it makes me sleep better at night. Some of you probably think I'm nuts. That's fine, you're entitled to your opinion.

Fast forward to 2004. It's about 3:30am. My son is sleeping in his room and I am sleeping in my room. My wife and two daughters were actually away on a girl scout sleepover at the local zoo (I couldn't make that up if I tried). Anyway, I get woken up by my son who is scared shitless. He's told me he heard voices and some noises down in our basement.

Trying to calm him down, I start to tell him that he was probably dreaming... but then suddenly I heard something too. There was no doubt about it. Someone was in our home.

Without thinking, I reached for my gun, closed my bedroom door and held my son close to me. I had the lights off and pointed the gun right at the door. There were voices... male voices. I could hear them whispering but couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Then I heard them start to climb the stairs from the basement.

Holy ****, I thought. This is it.

Now, before I go any further, I want you to understand one very important thing. Never before in my entire life was I so thankful to have a loaded gun in my hand as I was at that moment. Why? Because it gave my son and I a decent chance of getting out of this predicament alive.

I'm not sure why, but whomever was coming up the stairs decided against it. Within another minute or two, I felt confident they had left. I held my son and just cried.

Since owning a gun, I have met other people with similar stories. I am convinced that gun ownership is absolutely essential to a family's safety. That's my opinion and I'm entitled to it.

You take what you want from this diary, but let me just tell you this...

When you advocate for handgun bans and gun control, I just shake my head. Obviously, you've never had to deal with a stranger threatening to take your life or the life of your family. Now, those kids that held me up at 7-11... I seriously doubt they got those guns through any legal channels. All a handgun ban would do is disarm me from protecting my family.

So, excuse me if I don't seem enthusiastic about your cause. Maybe if you were in my shoes, you'd understand.

Thanks for reading.

[HootmonSccy]

Nice..
The only issue I see with this story is that he never picked up the phone.. The police should have been on the way and may have caught the people leaving his house.. He did not go and challenge the men, which I believe is the right move, but he should have made the call to 911...

It also shows the value of a good home alarm system..

[david01]

Probably should have dialed 911 when he first heard the voices....if he had time. As for going to challenge the men, he did have a child to protect. You know the child didn't want to be left alone and he couldn't have went with the man. I think he did the right thing by staying in the bedroom, he would have had the advantage if someone walked in.

[takemine2]

Although I personally have not been in this situation, my nephew and his girlfriend has been, right in my front yard. I missed the incident by a few minutes as I just pulled into my driveway coming home from work. I will never forget the look of terror they had in their eyes and in their hurriedness to get into the house.
It took me two years to do it but I now have my CCW to do my best to make sure that it doesn't happen to me in the future.

[MADnMO]

He did the right thing by staying in the bedroom but he should have dialed 911. I have my 45 in a safe on my nightstand which I can open very quickly. I have twin 13 year old boys so I don't leave my guns where they can get them.

[capo2186]

I agree he should have called the cops. However, good thing he had a means to protect himself. That is what is most important here. I hear people tell me all the time "having a gun in the home doesn’t mean you will make it out alive". My view on this is, that is true. It doesn't guarantee my safety, but it helps! I would much rather be able to at least defend myself then have no chance at all and depend on the police show up before some SOB makes it to my bedroom to do harm to me and my family. As far as an alarm system goes, I agree one is needed. I also believe the best alarm system is a dog. Dogs might not be able to protect you, but they can warm you. Those seconds may be all you need to gain the advantage.

My $.02

[Wolfling68]

Bad things I saw.

1. yes dial 911
2. I got the impression he bought the gun and stuck it in the safe. Practice, practice, practice, train, train, train.
3. A 12 guage would have been better :-). I bet the intruders would have ran like scared little girls at the sound of the pump.

On the good side, no one was hurt. He grabbed his kid and hid in the bathroom. Hopefully he layed his son down in a tub.

I just loved it when, after the Heller decision, the mayors of Philadelphia and Chicago came out and said "Those mayors of the right to carry states just don't understand the crime problems we have here". duh

[Tango Victor]

It's easy to critique the event since it wasn't us. But a couple of points need to be made.

We are assuming he did not call 911 because he did not mention it in his letter. He may or may not have. We are also assuming he had access to a telephone in his bedroom. Again he may or may not have. Based on what we know which is what he wrote, he appears to have responded correctly.

[DougG]

From everything I read, he did do the right things. I do advise he practice and get some training in self defence. The third exseriance may not be a charm.