Rob Pincus

Why People Don’t Carry Guns

Rob Pincus
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Duration:   7  mins

There are a lot of reasons why people don’t carry guns, including legal, moral, and competence-related excuses. Rob Pincus addresses the three most common excuses he hears, all of which can easily be overcome.

Already Carrying? Don’t Tune Out!

If you do carry a gun, keep watching this video! Listen to these concepts so you can understand how to refute these excuses when you hear them. Also consider sharing this video with someone you care about who does not carry a gun but you think would be well-served by being trained and prepared to arm themselves for self-defense.

Lack of Confidence

Some people say they don’t carry a gun because they don’t think they have the ability to defend themselves with a gun in a public space. If you don’t have the skills, the answer is simple: get them. Find a qualified trainer and range, get some handgun training, and then practice. It’s possible to do this at very reasonable cost.

Fear of Responsibility

Some people are afraid of having a gun in a public space or even in their home. Keep in mind that your biggest responsibility is defending yourself and your loved ones. Being a responsible firearms owner who is well trained and takes that responsibility seriously is only going to make you safer in a worst-case scenario.

Convenience

Yes, concealed carry of a firearm can be inconvenient. People have changed their lifestyle in order to accommodate concealed carry, including how they dress and where they go. But that level of commitment is not necessary in order to carry a firearm. And the reality is, once you get used to carrying, it really isn’t inconvenient. Getting used to carrying a gun, making it comfortable and convenient, is part of the personal-defense lifestyle.

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11 Responses to “Why People Don’t Carry Guns”

  1. Will

    Your presentation and points are correct. Hopefully you have succeeded in getting people to think whether their reasons for not carrying are legitimate or not. I live in one of the 41 states that have either open carry or shall issue, and I carry to protect myself or family. I cannot legally carry a firearm at my employment, so I carry a knife, which is allowed by my employer and my state. I would not live in a state where one had to keep a gun locked up or only be able to get a concealed carry if one is politically connected or carries money. The head in the sand, cross your fingers and hope no one pulls a lethal weapon on me is not my approach. While I certainly hope some one does not try and kill me or my family, there were over 15,000 homicides in 2016. So I carry.

  2. TomC

    This excellent video starts and ends with Rob telling us "Share this video with someone you care about!" which would be a wonderful idea -- except that PDN goes out of their way to make it difficult to do that. Yes we could share a link to this website, which would work for a while -- perhaps a week, maybe a little longer, but probably not much longer. What we cannot do is download the video to watch later or to show to a family member or friend later. I understand why PDN feels a need to protect the 'premium' videos so that people have to pay to see those videos, but the "free" videos are already basically advertisements for PDN, so why prevent people from sharing them. Perhaps PDN could add a few more seconds at the beginning and end of the 'free' videos to highlight the website to make them better advertisements and let us download them so we really can share these 'free' videos.

  3. Anita

    The option to conceal carry for guys is much easier than it is for women. I did for some time conceal carry in a purse but that's not always the most accessible place to carry it or the safest. Plus it necessitated keeping a watchful eye on the purse every minute. Not being a skinny person, many of the on-body conceal carry alternatives available for women are not an option either. So, while I would like to every-day carry, it most often is not practical.

  4. Alan

    Though it may sound callous to some, I really don't care about others reasons for or against concealed carry. I view it as none of my business, and I view my business as none of theirs.

  5. Paul

    A majority of Californians have no legal path to carry either concealed or open, and with SCOTUS passing on Peruta that won't change anytime soon.

  6. Chris

    I live in New England, and am surrounded by states that have no reciprocity. I travel accross state lines often. Also, MA has such vague “gun free zones” that its often difficult to tell for sure. I have taken a course on the laws here for gun owners. It cleared up many questions but I am still confused, as are many law abiding gun owners in this state. To make it even more difficult, my employer, and facilities I work in, prohibit carry. I do train, and carry when possible on personal time, but feel that law abiding, well meaning people are the ones getting screwed by these stupid policies.

  7. AndyB

    We all know it's very easy to get a concealed carry permit in ALMOST the entire United States." Why don't I carry a gun? Well, I do sometimes. Most of the time though, I'm in my home state of NJ. Yeah, theoretically we have a carry permit process. There have only been about 1,600 ever issued. 'nuff said.

  8. RC

    Actually, if you could address these post-defense-use legal issues in one of your next videos, it would be very helpful and educational!... Thanks.

  9. RC

    My main worry about defensive use is what happens after: all those law suits (even if cleared in the criminal court, you can still get sued through the roof in the civil court and, possibly, continue paying the perp's family). Life will never be the same... Most likely worse. However, if I were married, with kids, it would probably change my thinking because defending them would certainly take precedence.

  10. Andreas

    So, why do I not carry a gun on a daily basis? 1. I'm not allowed to bring a gun to my office or the entire premises of my employer, this includes the parking area. Sure I can leave the gun in the car and tell nobody but this only works as long as nobody checks my car. According to my work contract my employer can do check my car in special cases. Risking employment in today's world? Not really. 2. Going home after work to get the gun to go grocery shopping while I can do this on my way home? I do it on my way home. 3. Carrying a gun when going out at night? In my state guns are not allowed in areas where alcohol is served whether you have one or not. So no gun there either, not to mention movie theaters like AMC. I realized that edc works only for people who are self employed and live in a state where you can carry almost everywhere, for the majority of the employees it doesn't, unfortunately. While I lived in CO I kept my gun in my car's lock box in a IWB holster. I was able to leave the gun in the car while in the office and had the gun available as soon as I left work. This was indeed very convenient.

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