I made a reply to a comment on California's self-defense laws earlier today. In the reply I kind of spilled my guts to this user about a recent experience that my wife and I (and my wife's family) went through. I decided that it would make sense to share this experience here as a post, in the hopes that maybe it would help some good person who stumbles across this sub to make the decision to carry, to protect themselves and their loved ones.The comment I replied to basically said that California has good self-defense laws, but they just heavily restrict their population's access to the tools that allow them to do so. The irony of the comment hit close to home and stirred some emotion, compelling me to share the story...My wife's beloved uncle; "Uncle M", aged 49, a Navy veteran, was calmly walking his dogs in a CA park on an August evening last year, with his roommate. They were minding their own business when they were confronted by two juvenile punks, one of them with a hidden .22 handgun. (The gun was obviously obtained illegally.) The kids told them to leave, that it was their park, that stuff was going down, etc. My wife's uncle got into an argument with them and said he was walking his dogs and they would leave when he was finished. Neither he nor his roommate escalated the situation physically, and just tried to continue the walk, but one of the kids produced his gun and there was a struggle. (I never heard the order of events, if the kid shot first, or Uncle M went to defend himself first, but...) That was when the kid decided to empty his magazine into Uncle M and murder him. I think every shot hit him, except for one that went into the leg of the kid. Yes that's right, this little piece of gangster-wannabe-trash shot himself in the leg in the midst of murdering another human. And that's how he got caught; the other kid took him to a hospital for his injury. Meanwhile Uncle M succumbed to his gunshot wounds before emergency help arrived. His roommate watched him die, unable to do anything.The kid was 16 at the time, 17 now, I think. During the trial to determine whether or not he would be tried as an adult (two or three months ago), somehow the judge decided that the kid, even though he committed a crime, had acted partially in self-defense, in spite of the following: Uncle M was unarmed, him and his roommate were minding their own business and the dogs were not threatening, the kids initiated the confrontation, and the shot that killed my wife's uncle was found to be from behind. So instead of spending a reasonable amount of time behind bars, this murdering punk will get, at most, 6 years in juvenile detention. (Where he will actually have opportunities for education and earning income.) And then be released back onto the streets. Free to kill again. My wife's family and their lawyer have been fighting for justice, but, you know... welcome to CA.It's a maddening situation. I left out a ton of information, but got the important points across, I believe. I just know that my wife and her family are still hurting and I'm just fed up and frustrated that they have to go through this.I never want to live in a state where an unarmed man, that wasn't causing harm or inconvenience to anyone, can be shot multiple times, to death, and the punishment is basically a slap on the wrist. Even if the attacker was only 16. The judge's ruling is just not compatible with justice. That 16 year old kid knew exactly what he was doing when he pulled the trigger over and over.How does this relate to CCW? Well in FreedomLite, USA, my wife's uncle could not have legally been carrying a firearm in that park. Or pretty much anywhere else. But he grew up with guns and I'm sure things would've been different if he could carry one legally. He probably would've. (This is all conjecture.) And if he did have a gun on him, and he had used it in self-defense, I would hate to see the kind of punishment he would've had to endure.Thinking about this situation, (aside from angering me at the stupidity of CA laws, the culture that produced this gang-kid, and the incompetence of the judge on the case), just makes me want to be vigilant, hug the people close to me that I love, especially my wife, and be there to protect them always.Some very close people that know I carry have asked me why I do in certain situations. (Like hanging out at a friend's house or something.) I never really respond. But it's because you never know what's going to happen and who's going to try to hurt you. I know I can't prevent every bad situation, but I'll do everything in my power to keep my loved ones safe.Thanks for reading my post. via /r/CCW https://ift.tt/2MpIQbs
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