Anyways, I would like to add another perspective/point here, particularly to address Tony’s questions.

I live in Maine. As most of us know, there is nothing in the state of Maine that even approaches a “big city.” In fact, the entire state has a population of under a million and a half (that’s roughly a fifth of NYC). We are a very light state. That being said, I carry. We have a few different reasons though:

1) Geography. Small state population wise, yes–geographically no. If someone kicks in your door (happens more frequently than you might think since neighbors often can’t even see each others’ homes) and you call the police, you can expect to wait 45+ minutes for an arrival. This is not because of laziness, since in all likeliness you know your sheriff personally, but simply because of the vast areas covered in each jurisdiction and the rural nature of most homes. Luckily for Mainers, many of us own and are proficient with firearms. We have a very different gun culture than is seen in other places. Most of us grew up with guns and have hunted with and practiced with them since before we were adults. They are tools, just the same as a hammer.

2) Time spent in true isolation. Ever try to get cell reception in the middle of the woods while you’re hunting or fishing? Well, it might work in some places, but not here. If I find myself in trouble out in the woods, whether it be a bear, wolf, lynx, moose, or armed jackass–I am shit-outta-luck if I can’t take care of myself. I for one would much rather take my chances with my Glock than with my Buck knife.

3) Coming back to this tool idea. A firearm can be a very useful thing to have. I’ve seen them used for many non-standard uses. The most interesting one in my opinion was tree limb removal (it was a shotgun, don’t worry. No fears about backdrop there). Anyways, it isn’t hard to come up non-conventional uses of a firearm.

Just a thought or two.