Pulled my gun...

[Moose]

Well here’s what went down last evening. I was over at my Mom's with my youngest. We were there late (11pm). On the way home my driving apparently pissed some one off. I don’t know what it could have been. I was actually driving pretty mellow for once, Anyway they were pissed off enough to get behind me, ride my bumper and FOLLOW ME HOME. I live in a good neighborhood. No issues. Very mellow.
So.. As I'm making the last couple of turns to my house I am thinking is this guy going to turn off and go his way soon, if not how to handle this problem. If I was by myself I would have just pulled into my driveway gotten out of my car and asked if there was a problem. With my sleeping 2 year old in the car I decided to take a different approach. This Bozo follows me up my dead end street, I stop short of my house because the last thing I want is this guy knowing where I live. He stops behind me. I get out, pull my 9mm Ruger out from my under arm holster, point it at the driver and yell "You have 5 seconds to leave before I start shooting!"

I didn’t know cars could go that fast in reverse...

He flew down the dead end street backwards, hit the intersection and took off. Now that I have had a good look at the driver, (and the whites of his eyes) I can tell you that it was probably a 19-21year old kid with to much attitude trying to impress his friends in the car. I hope they were impressed.:

I holstered my weapon, got back in my car pulled in my drive way and called the cops. I gave them a description of the car and so forth. I asked the officer if I had acted improperly. He said under the circumstances I was within my rights. I now know the location of my police department so if something like this happens again I can just drive there and let them deal with it.

I have carried a concealed firearm for almost 18 years now. This is the first time I have had to pull it and point it at someone. Do any other dads carry?

[BookDad]

Been There Unarmed

Wow. I'm not sure whether this post strengthens or weakens my stance on concealed weapons laws!

I will say that my own road rage has weirdly increased since our son was born. My tolerance for bad drivers is at a low and I've definitely had to calm rage to stop from getting out of the car. Plus, I think I'm following driving laws more carefully and it's upsetting those around me. I had one person honk at me for half a mile because I was driving the speed limit and observed a red light. Then I got pissed off and yelled at her.

And while we're at it...I liked your post about friends not understanding why you can't hang out all the time. I'm anticipating a lot of that as my son gets older.

[bjorker]

Wow.
Going to have to think about this...

As it is, I'm a little uneasy about the fact that you, me, and that other guy live in the same area...

I really never thought about people carrying weapons before. As in the fact that somebody actually does it. Call me naive.


uhmmm. wow.

[eloquence]

Ah, testosterone, Gotta love it.

Okay, I am not a dad. But I wanted to say while your post made me smile at the protective papa in you, I was so glad it didn't escalate as it might have in most other major cities. You are lucky you live in Seattle. You might have had some bullets flying from the other car if you lived elsewhere and I know you wouldn't want that for your 2 yo in the car.

[momma2girls]

I do not at all think you acted improperly. I wish my dh would get a concealed weapon liscense. My dad has carried for years and has a loaded shotgun in his bedroom that he will meet anyone at the door with after a certain hour. My mom has a gun in her bedroom. How else are you to defend your family when the criminals are carrying? I think its great you carry.

Andrea

[secretresistance]

Personally, I would be livid beyond description should my partner be carrying a gun while caring for our child. I get yucky goosebumps just imagining it.

[bellona]

Not a dad here, but -

I think guns are awful and should have never been made.

That said, since many, many, many crimes are committed with them, I consider having one necessary in many places to protect one's self and family. You had no way of knowing what that other driver was going to do. If you'd driven to your house, he may have gotten out of the car there and approached you in a violent way when you had your child in your arms. Or he might have come back later and done something. If you drove around waiting for him to stop following you then at some point you might have had to stop for gas and he could have gotten out then.

I think it's a shame you had to do this, but given the situation and the uncertainty about the safety of your child, I think you did good

I had someone follow me about a week ago and it was kind of scary. It was night and I was alone with my three kids driving in a rural area...with no cell phone signal. I stopped to get gas, the guy was looking at us there, but I didn't think anything about it. He drove off before we did, and about half a mile down the road he had pulled over. After we went past he pulled out behind us and followed us for at least a half hour. Sometimes dropping so far back I could barely see his headlights and sometimes pulling up so close I thought he might hit me. Occasionally flashing his headlights at me. I don't know what I would have done had dh not been home, but I was hesitant to go home with him behind me. Before I got to my road I was able to call dh (get a signal in town) and he told me to just come home. He had gotten his gun out and was standing at the door waiting when we pulled in. The guy didn't make the last turn with me, he actually turned around and went back the way we'd come.

[Past_VNE]

My husband and I both maintain our permits CCW. I have never had to show, thankfully, but have been glad I was protected a few times, knowing where things could go.

Good for you, Moose....I think you acted appropriately.

[CrazyCatLady]

I fully support the right to have and carry guns. But I would have also been pretty mad if my dh had done what you did. Back when I worked at strip clubs, we had issues with people trying to follow us home sometimes. Our solution was to drive right to the police station. The person following would always take off pretty quick once they figured out where they were headed. Maybe that solution could work for you next time? Better than the possibility of you or your baby getting shot.

[boston]

Why not just drive to the police station if someone's following you? My guess is that wouldn't be "tough guy" enough? Honestly wondering, here, why in the world, you'd resort to a display of aggression when you could've done the common sense thing. This opened you up for an attack, and may have put your kid in more danger. You might have gotten rid of them without confrontation. Did that not occur to you?

The fact that you're carrying a gun for the past 18 years tells me you're really scared, and I sympathize with that. But I think it's really creepy what you did. I hate to think of people out there with guns being all macho and endangering lives. Gives me nasty chills.

Maybe next time don't drive in a way that makes people want to kill you.

[LoveChild421]

Sounds like you did the right thing. True, things could have been bad had the other guy had a gun too and wanted to exchange fire but in the moment, given the fact that you didn't know the way to the police station and this guy was about to pull in your driveway if you had kept going....I agree with the police- reasonable.

We both carry. My son and I are alive today because of it. I got home from work late one night (we used to live in a bad area) and Dp was not home yet. About 10 minutes after I was in the door a man starts knocking then when I didn't answer, beating on the door. Then he started trying to kick the door in. I asked "who is it" and he just kept on trying the handle (probably trying to pick the lock) and kicking the door. So I stood by the door and cocked my 38. He heard that and ran away saying "wrong apartment." I was 2 months pregnant at the time. There is no way the cops in that area would have gotten there in time to save me from whatever he might have done to me. I could have miscarried if I had been punched or kicked in the stomach or from the stress of being raped if that was his intention (which I felt it was). As someone who is the classic "liberal hippie" in pretty much every way except my views on guns, I often get indignant comments and am used to people thinking "oh how unenlightened, wouldn't America be a better place if there were no guns." Well, yes- but guns are here and criminals will always be able to get them on the black market (which is where they get most of them now anyway). My father owned numerous guns my whole life and practiced responsible gun ownership and educated my sister and I on what guns have the capability of doing, they aren't toys. I have gone to firing ranges and learned how to use what we have well, I practice responsible gun ownership also.

[LoveChild421]

Originally Posted by Moose

I now know the location of my police department so if something like this happens again I can just drive there and let them deal with it.

he didn't know where it was

[momma2girls]

Originally Posted by LoveChild421

We both carry. My son and I are alive today because of it. I got home from work late one night (we used to live in a bad area) and Dp was not home yet. About 10 minutes after I was in the door a man starts knocking then when I didn't answer, beating on the door. Then he started trying to kick the door in. I asked "who is it" and he just kept on trying the handle (probably trying to pick the lock) and kicking the door. So I stood by the door and cocked my 38. He heard that and ran away saying "wrong apartment." I was 2 months pregnant at the time. There is no way the cops in that area would have gotten there in time to save me from whatever he might have done to me. I could have miscarried if I had been punched or kicked in the stomach or from the stress of being raped if that was his intention (which I felt it was). As someone who is the classic "liberal hippie" in pretty much every way except my views on guns, I often get indignant comments and am used to people thinking "oh how unenlightened, wouldn't America be a better place if there were no guns." Well, yes- but guns are here and criminals will always be able to get them on the black market (which is where they get most of them now anyway). My father owned numerous guns my whole life and practiced responsible gun ownership and educated my sister and I on what guns have the capability of doing, they aren't toys. I have gone to firing ranges and learned how to use what we have well, I practice responsible gun ownership also.

Exactly! It's too bad that more people don't realize that if the guns were banned in the US the only ones they would be banned from is the law-abiding citizens not the criminals they will get them regardless. And then the rest of us will be more at risk.

[sausagebarn]

Scarry situation.
I grew up in Seattle where, according to my wife, crime doesn't exist. But you do get alot of "crazy, white, borred, suburban, high school aged, hooligans" in the sumertime.
I don't think I would ever buy/ keep a gun to defend myself from that but I sure would love to scare the crap out of the little bastard that keeps steeling my wife's car stero cover plate every sumer!
SB
BTW I think you did the right thing...protecting your family should be job#1 for fathers.

[BusyMommy]

Just a thought...what if he'd had one, too?

My brother got shot in a similar situation. Be careful.

[pjlioness]

I suggest calling 911 on your cell phone (assuming you have one ), or driving to an open (24hr) gas station if you're being followed and don't know where the nearest police station is.

Your situation ended with everyone safe, and I think the other driver (and his passengers, if any) has learned a lesson and will probably never follow anyone again. However, I think PP's have a point - what if he had had a gun? Once even one gun is introduced into a situation, the chance that someone will get hurt or killed increases exponentially.

[tireesix]

Where I am from, most guns are banned, unfortunutley the criminals don't know it..... But we get by!!!!

[mommy68]

It's a scary thought of someone doing what you did. I know of a 19 yr old boy who was killed in a nearby town (I live in the country) because he was trailing a car down the road driven by an older man. They were apparently joy riding (the teens) and he was just showing off driving around the guy going down the road and they ended up both stopping on the side of the road and got in an altercation. The older guy pulled a gun. Maybe if the "older", more experienced man had just talked to the kid (who had not been drinking btw) then he might could have avoided the gun. The kid is dead now and the man may get prison time. He says he was defending himself against an unruly kid that was harrassing him down the road, but why couldn't he just straighten it all out without using a gun? The only other witnesses were two teens in the other car and ofcourse they are going against this man and saying something different.

I am a gun owner and I'm a mom. I'm sure you had your reasons for doing this, but it's just hard to imagine ever needing to pull a gun on someone like that unless they had broken in to my home or done something to really make me feel they were going to physically hurt me.

[coloradoalice]

I think it definiatley would have been better to either call 911 and tell a cop where you were or drive to a police station. My issue with guns is this: I doubt there is a parent alive that thought their young child would be able to get to their gun and shoot themselves or a friend. Yet it happens. If you keep your gun where your kids can get to it you are asking for trouble. Telling them they should never use it, play with it, etc... is just not enough. If you keep your gun properly locked (in a locked cabinet with the ammunition locked in a seperate cabinet requiring a seperate key/combination) you probably aren't going to be able to get to it if you really really need it. I personally would never carry a gun, and I will not allow them in my home. I know the curiosity of children, and it scares me too much. I have a friend who shot his younger brother in the back with a hunting rifle. Yes their dad had taught them gun safety, yes things were locked up, and yes they knew they were to never, ever play with them. And yet they did. The slight chance that I might actually need one at some point, and that it would actually save my life does not outweigh the dangers for me.

[QueenOfThePride]

I think you did the right thing. We don't own a gun, but once we were in a dangerous situation for a while. A crazy person was stalking/harassing us because of a lawsuit. We borrowed a friend's gun for a little while. We never had to use it.