After getting re-aquainted with handgun shooting, taking the safety course and passing it, applying for the permit, waiting, and then getting word my application was completed and my license issued, I finally picked up my Concealed Handgun License in the mail today. The picture ain't that bad.

My responsibility is now staring me in the face. Contrary what some people would say, this isn't a license to kill and this is not a reason to shoot. The purpose of a firearm carried in self-defense is exactly that: self-defense. It is neither an excuse to save the day nor a tool to intimidate. The power the state has recognized for me to possess (while the right to do so was always there) in public is deadly and destructive precisely because that is where the power of the gun lies. From now on, I'll have an extra option in every situation. I hope I'll never have to exercise it.

So, the search is now on for find a pistol that I can actually carry on me. The Browning Hi-Power is just a liiittle too big. My dad has been giving me the sales pitch on compact .38 revolvers. I dunno...I shoot terribly with those. More practice on the range is gonna be needed.

Screw going through all that if you ever need to carry a firearm on your person in a short time, though. Someone who is threatened and who needs personal protection shouldn't have to wait months for this.