Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion Men Only Message Board Defense of self and family

Sorry to post on the mans thread, but I am intrigued. Ann, do you feel safer with your gun? I too know of vandals who are just out there to be violent, and the only way to survive an attack from them is to have a gun, but I wonder if I did have a gun if I would even be able to get to it quick enough, and if I would be strong enough to not have it taken and used against me. You know?

Kelly,

Yes, I do feel safer when I carry. Both my daughters would ask me if I was carrying when we went Christmas shopping. They were relieved I was. I target practice a couple of times a year and my gun also has a laser beam. I took classes and am the owner of a ccw permit. I wear a holster that fits inside my pants.

I hope to God I never have to use it, but if someone threatens me or my loved ones, I wouldn't hesitate to blow their spam away!

Ann

Kelly, I also need to add this - your situation is different than mine. My kids are grown, you have little ones at home. I'd feel terrible if you listened to me and something happened to your little ones because you had a gun at home. This is not something to take lightly.

Ann, we do have guns, but rest assured they are all locked in a gun safe with locks on them, unloaded. I would never risk my children's lives with something like that. One of my best friends brother was shot in the head by his best friend at the age of 13. His father was a deputy, and he was showing him his dads gun...that is when it accidentally went off. He survived, but at a high cost. Everyone that has a gun at home with children, please be vigilant and dont take any chances. Kids know how to find things that are simply hidden. They must be locked, and unloaded. Wise words Ann, and thanks for the advice.

Excuse us, we Men will just get out of the way so you girls can chat.

Sorry..did not mean to get in the way, very interesting thread though.

Ditto

I carry protection. That being said, I also took a gun saftey course and I practice weekly.

I thought about hanging one of my target papers on my front door as a deterent and maybe keep the solicitors away, sort of a 2 for 1 (just kidding).

Does anyone know if pepper spray is effective for self-defense? I'm a gun owner myself, but I dread the idea of having to deal with the legal hassles of shooting an attacker.

Currently I carry pepper spray when I go out in public.

I was told my a police officer that "wasp" spray was better than pepper spray for a couple of reasons.

1. Wasp spray will spray farther so you don't have to be as close as you do with pepper spray.

2. Wasp spray will temporarily blind the attacker untill it is washed out of the eyes.

I have no choice but to face down violent men on a daily basis, unarmed. As my professional career eventually unwound with my inability to function well mentally until midday, I "retired" into the restaurant business. As it turns out, my locale is in the tourist area of a port city in southern Europe. In today's economy, we have unemployed Arabs, Romanians, and other Eastern European drifters plaguing the area, together with local gypsies. Guns are illegal here, so it's mano-a-mano.

In my late 50's, I was convinced at first I would collapse from all the manual labor. Especially since I not only have AS, but also a nasty recurring herniated disc and a deviated spinal cord. But the pleasant surprise is that the constant exercise, though painful, has me at fairly good strength levels. I now toss much younger men out the door, sometimes by twos, even threes. It helps that my face in anger is apparently daunting.

My point is that AS is not the end of muscular manhood, even if it seems so. My old office-working self was certainly no match for what I do today, but if you do have the opportunity to put in some good gym time, you might regain some of your lost "macho." Sure, there is always someone bigger and stronger, but that is true for all men, AS or non-AS.

The mantra I have told myself for decades is that AS trains me to take pain. Guys, in many ways we are a heck of a lot tougher than all those pain-free wimps out there. Don't count yourself out; work out!