Why I don't carry in my purse

I've been watching a lot of DGU videos lately, and while I haven't found a lot out there with women being particularly the target of an armed aggressor, I wanted to share a personal experience of back when I didn't carry. One night I was coming home late from work when my car started to make a funny noise. Fortunately, there was a nearby exit and an all-night gas store so I pulled into the pump, whereupon my car promptly died and could not be restarted.Now, I had kind of vaguely noticed a guy in a car at the phone booth at the corner of the lot (yes! this was a lot of years ago, when people still had to use phone booths!) but this was a well-lighted store, with two (female) clerks highly visible inside, what could happen, right?Well, here's what happened: I opened the hood of my car and cussed at the engine a little bit (I can do a little bit with cars, or rather could back when they weren't all computers), and thus did not notice that the guy from the phone booth had pulled up beside me and exited his car. Next thing I knew, he grabbed my purse and slung me to the ground (I'm a small woman, OK?). We fought a little over it, but he was still able to yank it off my arm and run away. And then, because I am a COLOSSAL dumbass, I chased him. tl:dr, he got away, and I stormed inside the gas station and demanded that the clerks call the cops. Turns out, they hadn't because they thought it was a domestic dispute (wtf? right?). Cops came, took the whole thing very seriously, went down to the station the next day and did an Identi-sketch thing, guy was never caught but a few weeks later someone tried to pass a few small bad checks at a Dollar General for diapers. :(Anyway, there are few lessons to be learned from this: 1. Be aware of your surroundings at all times, even if you think you are in a 'safe' location. 2. Your purse is a primary target of petty thieves/robbers, why let them get hold of a weapon licensed in your name as well as whatever cash you carry, easily cancelled credits cards, whatever? (Yeah, no one carries checkbooks anymore, for good reason.) 3. If you are unarmed and the aggressor is running away, don't chase after them. I mean, even if I had been armed, this would likely have been a bad idea/dangerous, but what can I say, I have never taken well to being slammed to the ground.Anyway, my husband points out that there are purses that have reinforced straps/locks such that they can't be cut and/or yanked away from you, but my reasoning is: why attach yourself to a target?Thoughts? via /r/CCW http://ift.tt/28Zik6Q