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The birth of my youngest child.

Had three older children that grew up traveling around the country/world while in the military. Always owned firearms and enjoyed visiting the range on a regular basis for traditional target (i.e. bullseye) shooting.

Was living in Houston when my youngest child was born and noticed that certain people (predatory type) began to treat me differently. I am a big guy and so are my older kids, so it's rare for me to get approached by strangers. When I had my youngest on my hip, suddenly everybody needed to know the time or if I had any spare change. It was like she was a magnet.

Soon after getting my CHL, I sat on a jury for a week-long trial of a "driveway robber" and heard lots of testimony regarding their tactics. It confirmed what I suspected. They would specifically target people carrying groceries, loading/unloading car trunks, carrying a baby, puting kids in carseats, etc... In one instance, where a complete family was attacked, they went straight for the infant knowing that holding a gun to its head would make the rest of the family comply with their demands.

That trial experience gave me a huge incentive to get serious about training. Luckily, Houston has several good instructors and numerous places to shoot.