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 ****less. 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.

[Mike Irwin]

C&P drive by.

Closed.