People have asked if carrying a concealed weapon makes me nervous. The implication is that I must be scared of it potentially going off, shooting myself accidentally, etc. Truthfully, I’m not afraid of anything in that line of thinking. If I was worried about my ability to handle a weapon or its reliability, I wouldn’t be carrying it.
No, the scariest part of concealed carry is other people.
I vividly remember when I was first struck with this particular anxiety. I was in Tennessee for a weekend of hiking and relaxation and had flown my handgun with me since I was traveling solo. Definitely a confidence booster when you are in the mountains alone.
One night out, I was wearing my holster with clothing that was a little tighter than usual. Suddenly, I had a moment of panic. What if people could see the outline of my gun? The rest of the night was spent continuously adjusting my clothing and surveying the people around me to make sure no one was reacting oddly.
Folks, I am a law-abiding woman who hopes to never, EVER have to dispatch my weapon outside of a shooting range. There is never anything that suggests that I’m a threat to others.
I should not be worried that someone might catch a glimpse of the outline of a gun and start freaking out. I shouldn’t worry that if an inch of my holster became visible that I could have someone cause a scene, get in my face, and potentially call the police and name me as a threat. But such is the state of gun insanity.
Many in our nation have linked law-abiding gun owners to those who would commit violent crimes with a weapon. In their mind, anyone who carries a gun is a threat. This mentality is dangerous.
I’ve written about this before elsewhere, which can be read in full here. Maybe someday our legislators and leaders will stop with the inflammatory rhetoric that turns all gun owners into enemies. Until that happens, to answer my friends, no – carrying my weapon does not make me nervous at all. What makes me nervous are the strangers around me who view me as a threat because I carry a weapon.
KELVEY OLIVIA VANDER HART 