Disgruntled woman enters grocery store with a gun ...

… in plain sight and 49 rounds of ammunition and nothing happened. Well, except that she walked out in a better mood than when she walked in.

On some level, I felt obligated. I have often said I feel like such a poseur in the gun community – my knowledge consists little more than The Four Rules, knowing which end of the gun is the most dangerous, and that a .45 is bigger than a .38. I know to roll my eyes when my coworker tells me that if the caliber doesn’t start with a “.4”, it’s not worth carrying. (Especially when I ask what he carries and he tells me he doesn’t have a pistol.) And I know that January 23rd should be a national holiday.

While in Pittsburgh, I open carried for the first time. It was cool, but when you’re surrounded by 69,999 like-minded people, it’s not such a big deal. When we got back home, JayG posted his thoughts.

And Mike W., who open carries regularly chimed in.

And then Breda goes and knocks one out of the park, summed up with “You can create the future while securing your own.”

Then Alan piles on with a plea to contact Texas representatives to get an open carry bill pushed along. Here in VA, open carry is legal, and I’m not taking advantage of it.

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. ~Thomas Paine

And I realized I have a responsibility as a role model for Sweet Daughter to push the envelope of my comfort zone in order to support those freedoms, because

I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. ~James Madison, speech, Virginia Convention, 1788

Last weekend, Michael W. took my Miami Vice II shoulder rig from Galco orange to a beautiful dark brown. And tonight, I wore it to the grocery store, unconcealed, and nobody cared. One gentleman did look at me a little funny, but that’s not unusual even when I’m not wearing a gun. And the cashier was especially friendly, reminding me that if I bought my wine in quantity, I’d get 10% off AND a free wine bag.

I’m not an evangelist of any sort. I don’t particularly like talking to strangers, but I do feel like this is a way in which I can make some small contribution back to the gunnie community. I can help desensitize John Q. Public to the sight of a regular person with a gun. And Sweet Daughter will be right there helping. When someone asks me why I’m carrying, I’ll ask SD “What’s the best defense against a bad guy with a gun?” And she’ll answer “A good guy with a gun!”

You can create the future while securing your own.

Thank you for pointing that out, Breda. Because, really – how many people have that opportunity?