People often ask me why I choose to carry a concealed weapon. When I respond that there is real crime being committed all around us, and that I refuse to forfeit my chances when confronted with it, the answer is usually the same.

That’s just sensationalism. It’s very safe in America. The times in which you would ever need to protect yourself with a gun are mostly fantasy, constructed merely to support your argument.

No, they aren’t.

A buddy of mine recently underscored why carrying a weapon is not an outlandish idea. He had just purchased a Nintendo Wii, at a Walmart in a small town, in broad daylight, when someone came up behind him and his girlfriend.

He said, “Hey, is that one of those new Wii’s?” My buddy turns and says excitedly, “Yeah, man, they only had a couple more — you better hurry up if you want one.”

The guy responds, “How about you sell me that one?”, and my friends says, “Nah, man…I’ve been waiting to get one for months…” — not realizing there was any danger. At that point the guy says, “No, you don’t understand — how about you just GIVE me that one…” — as he pulls a knife on him.

In a flash, my buddy drops the Wii, pulls his Glock, and keeps it trained on the guy as he reaches for his mobile phone to call police. The guy didn’t take long to make his decision; he bolted and was gone within 30 seconds.

The police took over seven minutes to get there.

Some may say that the situation wasn’t worth it. Just give the guy the Wii, right? Wrong.

That’s not the country I want to live in. I, as an American, want the right to repel those who attempt to infringe upon my freedoms. And pulling a knife on me, while I’m with my woman, in order to steal from me, most definitely qualifies.

Keep in mind: this happened around an hour from where I live, less than a year ago, and similar things are happening nearly every day in my area. The threat isn’t theoretical. It’s not fantasy conjured up to support an argument. It’s real. And its foundation in reality is simultaneously the foundation of my logic for carrying.

If crime was extremely rare I’d be as anti-gun as you can imagine. But it’s not, so I do what I have to. I simply refuse to rely on the government for my security. And as an American, I shouldn’t be asked to.:

I’m torn. The guy was clearly out of line, but did it really need to come to this?

This is a major incident right now; it’s all over the place. What do you guys think? Did the kid deserve to get roughed up, or were the police totally overreacting?

…I’m thinking a full-force email storm — like something they’ve never seen before. All of us — both Digg and Reddit users.

Maybe…just maybe…this combined with the media outcry will inspire the democrats to grow a spine and take action.

Here are your representatives: http://www.house.gov/writerep/