[K_Mac]

If I had thought for one second that I'd be a different person carrying a gun than I was before I started to carry one, I'd have never carried one.

Well, I didn't start carrying with the idea it would make me a different person; but it certainly has. For one, as I've become more aware of the responsibility involved, I have gone out and increased my skill - not just in firearms manipulation; but in things like conflict resolution (verbal judo).

Those increased skills have certainly made me calmer and less reactive in the one or two volatile situations I've found myself in since I started carrying. I also place a much higher priority on avoidance now than I would have in the past - especially after seeing how even a "good shoot" can turn your life upside down.

I could not agree more! I don't see being changed by the responsibility of carrying a concealed weapon as something to be denied or embarrassed by. I think we should be changed by it!