I enjoyed the class so much, I decided to get a sidearm so I could go shooting on my own. For only shooting .22LR when I was a kid and clays, I was surprisingly proficient with a pistol. I wasn’t putting the bullet thru the same hole like some of the guys (the old salts fulfilling the requirement to get the license), but I was reasonably good for my first time out, I think. And it was fun.

I still think that way too many people think “I have a gun - so I’m safe” and then fail to practice the kind of stuff they should be doing first (like avoiding places where a gun might be handy, or doing simple stuff like locking their doors and windows). It’s an attitude that is far far too prevalent on “pro-gun” forums. And I see lots of people who have been around firearms for years and years who have terribly dangerous habits (my brother-in-law’s finger literally never leaves the trigger - he’s a negligent discharge waiting to happen).

Carrying concealed doesn’t reduce the likelihood of being a victim of crime (or an attempted crime) - it just changes the possible outcome matrix. And in most cases, employing the weapon would not be justified (or legal), since most crime does not involve people trying to kill you. In those rare cases, obviously a dead perp is better than a dead victim - but those cases are rare.