imported post
I sort of understand where the OP is coming from. My stepdaughter (24) is learning how to shoot, under my watchful eye. She is very interested in the different guns I have, and she seems to have taken to it like a duk to water. She enjoys shooting small-caliber rifle, small-caliber pistols (but she's not too keen on my .45 acp--it's just WAY too much gun for her) and we're going to go to the range soon and run through the drill with my 12ga pump shotgun (for home defense).
But she has NO interest right now in carrying--OC or CC. I've tried to talk her into getting her NC CHP--even offered to cover all her costs--but she's just not interested. I think a lot of her not wanting to carry is just unfamiliarity. She's a new shooter, and she grew up in CA and MD so she's got a LOT of anti-gun brainwashing to overcome. I don't think that she's afraid of guns anymore, but I DO think that she might feel that she isn't familiar enough (and skilled enough) to trust herself to safely carry yet. And in all honesty, I think that shows great wisdom on her part, considering her skill level and the fact that she's still working through 2 decades of anti-gun brainwashing from the media, the schools, and the cultures in the states where she grew up. We need to give the "newbies" time to get used to the idea of carrying, and give them the opportunity to train, familiarize and gain confidence in their own skills, abilities and ESPECIALLY knowledge of the law. Nothing wrong with that.
But slowly, I'm showing her that the GOOD GUYS carry too, by OCing most of the time when we go out on errands (and ALL the time at home), and introducing her to other people who carry. I think maybe by the end of the year I may bring her over to our side, but alas, come the end of December, she's moving back to MD to finish her Bachelor's degree. So even if I DO get her carrying before she moves, she won't be able to legally carry in MD because of their restrictive laws. And she's going to be living and going to school in Baltimore, which makes me wish even MORE that she could carry...
I think that a LOT of the hesitance to carry is simply lack of familiarity, confidence, and training with firearms. Most of the folks I know who ARE well-trained already have their CHPs, and regularly CC--a few of them also OC.
On the other hand, almost every single person I know who is adamantly against carrying is lacking in training, exposure, and familiarity with firearms.
People fear what they don't understand.
But mastery brings with it confidence...
