[trooper182]

I have always been an advocate of gun rights and being able to conceal carry a weapon. I know lots of people that say people that carry guns are paranoid and you are safer not having a gun. Well my 250 dollars for my permit paid off.

So yesterday I was at a local festival with my family. My wife's niece is down visiting for the summer. A little background, my wife is white and I am black. My niece is also white (yes race played a issue in this.) So we are having a great time at the festival just minding our own business when these 3 teens start to harass my teenage niece. I will not get into some of the words they were using but they were obviously intoxicated or on the verge of it. I polity but sternly told them I did not like the way they were talking to her and being disrespectful to not only us but also to other families that were there. Some derogatory words and threats on there part were exchanged. They started in on how black (not the word used) people should stick to there own kind. Eventually someone made a comment that they were going to notify the police that were patrolling the fair grounds. This spooked the guys enough that they backed off and I figured it was time for use to go ahead and leave.

So we start to head out to the parking lot and we make it to the camaro. First thing I did was open the drivers side door and retrieve my Kimber ultra covert II as there was a big sign that stated no firearms allowed in the fair. After my weapon was safely concealed on me I started to pack up my 2 year old son's stroller while my wife got him buckled in and my niece got in. Next thing I know the same punk ass teens are about 5 cars down and a row in front of me yelling at me. I have a Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran and a RIP sticker for one of my fallen battle buddies on the back of my car and one of the ass hats starts yelling crap about how soldiers are wimps (not the word he used) and other crap. I chose to ignore them and decided to close the trunk and leave. Well that is when things went from bad to worse. One of the teens decided to retrieve a piece of old scrap metal from the back of his friends truck and made a statement of "it would suck if something were to happen to your car" and started to approach me.

So I tell the guy that he is not going to like where this is going to end up and asked him to back off. Well I guess that made him even more mad and he starts to walk toward me faster. I could tell from his body language this guy was more than likely going to try something. Left me no choice but to draw my weapon. Never seen someones eyes and attitude change that fast. Well at that point his friends are yelling at him to get into the truck. He starts to back up and next thing I know I hear the local PD yelling at both of us to drop our weapons (more so at me.) So I released my aim on the guy and lowered my gun and placed it on the ground. Other guy drops the metal and next thing I know we are both in cuffs. Meanwhile his buddies that were in the truck try to pull out of their parking spot and in there rush backed into another car. More police run up and get them. So now I am standing in cuffs while the police start to question us. Apparently someone else in the lot saw the guy grab the metal out of the truck and ran to get the police. Well I explain to them what happened and I told them that I have a permit to carry. So they get my wallet and run my background and see that I am clear and that I am in the military. Some other people that were in the parking lot also backed up what I told them. So end the end the guy got charged with a bunch of things along with his friends including dwi. The police ran my gun and gave it back to me and let me go on my way. They gave me kudos for doing everything right and appreciated me following their directions and not arguing with them when they placed me in cuffs. So I guess we will see where all of this will go.

There really is no way to say how the situation may have turned out if I did not have my gun. It seemed like it lasted forever from the time I drew my weapon to the time the police ran up but from what the police said they were about 100 yards away and saw me draw my weapon but could not see the other person as a car was blocking him. I had my family with me and hate to think what may have happened if I did not carry my gun. Some people carry because they think that a gun is a end all situation thing. I know that is not the case. Looking back I think I was lucky because I did not know if maybe these guys had a gun in there truck even though I had them in plain view. The last thing I want to have to do is take a life but like I told myself and my guys over my last three deployments, at the end of the day I am going to go home and be with my family and if taking another life is something I must do to accomplish that goal... I give credit to the police for being there and doing their job but I refuse to solely rely on them for my protection. If you carry make sure you know the law and follow it and always follow the orders given to you by LEO's and you will not have any issues. Sorry if I posted in the wrong area but this may help someone else if they are ever in a situation like mine.