How long have you carried a concealed weapon? and what got you started

[Armyjimbo]

Very admirable. I'm not so sure about it myself, TBH.

[Tugaloo]

It is also a switch from my past. OTOH, my past was in a war where the rules were different.

When a criminal is shot by police or a civilian; if needed, an ambulance is called. So I don't see any difference between what Kevin L said or SOP by LE.

[Kevin L]

It is also a switch from my past. OTOH, my past was in a war where the rules were different.

When a criminal is shot by police or a civilian; if needed, an ambulance is called. So I don't see any difference between what Kevin L said or SOP by LE.

Thank you very much for the validation, for not judging me, and for seeing my point of view.

[Tugaloo]

No problem.

During WWII in a church in Belgium, American medics treated their soldiers and ours.

[Rural Buckeye Guy]

New here. Dont remember why I started carrying, I just did, then I moved back to Ohio and lived on the edge of the ghetto in Cincinnati. I continue to carry because knuckleheads continuously make idiotic decisions, often with guns. I have only brandished once in public. I was delivering pizza in college in a shadey apartment complex called Shanley Place and a half dozen teenager knuckleheads started bowing up to steal the two large peps in a warmer bag, until I pulled out my BHP and said I was pretty sure I could gutshoot at least two of them. All bluff. I nearly whizzed myself but they bought it. Nowadays they would have all pulled on me!

[Kevin L]

Welcome aboard!

I was a hunter since I was old enough to get a "junior" or adult supervised hunting license. As I grew up in farm country in a where no license was required to hunt varmints. So I started before I was old enough to qualify for a license.

That is admirable, check to see if your State has a law that protects people from being sued. Remember the details of good Samaritan Laws vary by jurisdiction. I learned that in CPR training. Actually, it was the first lesson by the trainers.

I prefer flatter firearms as with my physique, they print too easily.

IMO, the other person's actions decide what happens. Some States have "stand your ground" and "castle" laws

Well said, self defense says it all and its definition is very clear.

When it comes to "stand your ground," I have issues.

I will stand my ground if I can't run away . . . or what I call my "precipice" rule, ie: If I have to jump off the edge of a cliff or a building to get away, then I stand my ground.

I also will stand my ground to protect someone else, and I will stand my ground if I'm wounded in some way and can't run. There may be other reasons which I haven't covered . . . but if I can do anything to get out of shooting someone, I will. This is not from cowardace (as has been suggested), but, rather, pragmatism. I draw a line between self defense and enforcing the law . . . or self-defense and having a military objective.

Lethal force is--for me--always a last resort.

[Armyjimbo]

" I draw a line between self defense and enforcing the law . . . or self-defense and having a military objective."
That's an important distinction!

[Tugaloo]

Georgia law supports both stand your ground and also the castle doctrine.

Although, the Tueller Drill is accepted and disputed; modifying the Tueller Drill is a good and also a safe example. Two people stand back to back, then run 21' feet, If the bad guy reaches 21' first, the armed guy is a victim.

"It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle— when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

Or if I yield the field; I'd better be faster than the bad guy. I'd prefer leaving the field; if the attacker offers me the opportunity to safely exit..
I'm ex-infantry; so I've killed before and been shot before; I strongly prefer not to repeat either.