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We always had guns in the house growing up, and I was given a .22 rifle for Christmas when I was 12 - My dad taught me firearm safety, how to shoot straight and clean up afterwards,but at home the guns were stored under my parents bed with the ammo in the hall closet.

The concept of personal defense was foreign to me, and the only time I shot a handgun was in the Boy Scouts (unsanctioned, but the Scoutmaster thought it was important we know how a handgun operates).

My 'conversion' to the fact that I am responsible for my own defense and safety, and that of my home, came when I first moved off campus from college.

Some roommates and I decided to find an apartment close to campus, and the apartment complex we chose was on Midway & 635. We were stupid to think about anything other than price when picking a place to live.

Our immediate neighbors were friendly enough, mostly immigrants and working poor, but one night a detective came by and told us it would be a bad idea to go further into the complex at night because of some rampant gang activity in another building.

I had never thought of something like that being right outside my window where I sleep at night, those kinds of things were for ghettos and downtowns (or so I thought.) It really jarred me, and the next week I sold a bunch of DVD's and xbox games and bought a mossberg 500 w/ a Knoxx Folding stock and never looked back. Three Years later I'm married, living in the gulf coast area, and with more to protect than ever I try to be constantly aware of whats going on around me.

P.S. I love this forum. I read it daily.