Okay, can we not turn this thread into a debate on gun control/ownership? Eh, on second thought, have at it. It'll be entertaining.
I'm only going to say one thing on this. I never answered Nogood's question on why I carry, so here's my answer. I carry a sidearm for the same reason I wear my seatbelt -- just in case. When I drive, I don't expect to get into an accident, nor am I one of those people who drives around all nervous and fearful that I'm about to get into a wreck. But accidents do happen, often due to circumstances beyond our control, so I wear my seatbelt. Likewise, I do not live in constant fear of crime. I do not walk around expecting to get attacked at any moment, and if I have my way I will never get into a violent confrontation with anyone over anything. But just as accidents do happen, so too does violent crime. Whether we like it or not, all of us as individuals could one day find ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time and need to use deadly force. And it's not just crime that I'm thinking of. I was walking my dog one day and a really vicious rottweiler broke out of a neighbor's yard and came at us, teeth bared and about to attack, with its owner chasing it and screaming for the dog to stop. Luckily there was a pickup truck close by so I threw my dog into the bed and jumped in. The rottweiler's owner regained control of the dog and profusely apologized. Okay, no harm no foul --
this time. Had that pickup truck not been there, and had the rottweiler's owner been nowhere in sight, I wouldn't have hesitated to shoot that dog. Anyway, I'm digressing. My point is simply that to me, carrying a sidearm is no different than wearing a seatbelt, or using smoke detectors for that matter. In the metro-Atlanta area, 1 out of every 10 cars has a gun in it. I'm not sure what the statistic is for on-person concealed carry. But either way, I'm surprised more people don't carry sidearms. It's just so basic to me. (Like wearing a seatbelt.)
Edit: Just to make sure there's no misunderstanding, I'm not trying to imply that if one chooses
not to carry a sidearm that s/he's dumb or irresponsible or anything like that. It's a choice, and I completely respect someone choosing not to carry as much as I respect someone for choosing to carry. To each his own.