The following was sent to me by a CCW holder in PA.  We who live in the People's Republic of Illinois are one of two states that do not issue CCW (Wisconsin is the the other).  However, for those who live in the free world here's the reason why CCW exists.

 

On Guns

 

I don't carry a gun to kill people.
I carry a gun to keep from being killed.

I don't carry a gun to scare people.
I carry a gun because sometimes this world can be a scary place.

I don't carry a gun because I'm paranoid.
I carry a gun because there are real threats in the world.

I don't carry a gun because I'm evil.
I carry a gun because I have lived long enough to see the evil in the world.

I don't carry a gun because I hate the government.
I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.

I don't carry a gun because I'm angry.
I carry a gun so that I don't have to spend the rest of my life hating myself for failing to be prepared.

I don't carry a gun because I want to shoot someone.
I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed, and not on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon.

I don't carry a gun to make me feel like a man.
I carry a gun because men know how to take care of themselves and the ones they love.

I don't carry a gun because I feel inadequate.
I carry a gun because unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I am inadequate.

I don't carry a gun because I love it.
I carry a gun because I love life and the people who make it meaningful to me.

John Steinbeck issued a warning that all should remember:
"Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.

Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to take an ass kickin'.

 

My personal favorite: "I carry a gun because I'm too old and carrying a cop is too heavy."