L&K Take America

One of the most frequent questions I was asked prior to embarking on this adventure and since I’ve been traveling is, “Do you have a gun?” I kind of think this is a funny question seeing how I’ve been living in a “major city” for 11+ years (several of them living alone), in less than the nicest neighborhoods, and have never been asked that before. There are crazies out there for sure, but aren’t there a more concentrated population of them in a city such as Boston over the wilderness locations I’m visiting? I wish I could throw out some stats about the likelihood of needing to use a gun based on population and location to legitimize my point, but you get what I’m saying.

But let’s entertain the question for a few minutes. First, let’s think about the logistics of legally carrying a gun. I would assume that it takes some time to obtain a carrying license. If you’ve been following this story, you know that this trip came together pretty quickly and I didn’t already have a carrying license, so there really wasn’t time to seriously consider getting one.

Then there are the legal considerations. Each state has their own laws governing transporting firearms within and across their borders. As dedicated as I am to learning as much as I can about this wonderful country, gun laws aren’t on the top of my wish list to memorize.

Now let’s consider the state of the country. With everything that has been going on with police and protests, etc. I don’t know that putting myself in the position to potentially become part of anything remotely associated with the tension would be a wise choice. I have a tendency to get myself in VERY odd predicaments without the introduction of firearms. I think it’s best to minimize the introduction of unknown variables at this point in my life.

Finally, there is the fact that MA has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, so actually purchasing a gun would be somewhat of an undertaking on its own. Probably not undoable, just was not a priority in the planning process.

With all of those considerations in mind, the bottom line is I have never carried a gun and I’m not convinced this is the time for me to start. I’m just not comfortable with the idea of me carrying a gun. I’m not against people doing so, however, I’m not comfortable doing it in a city and home that I’m intimately familiar with and I definitely don’t think I would be comfortable doing so in areas I’m unfamiliar with. I also wish I could throw out some stats about how often people cause unintended damage or injury to themselves or others because they are not comfortable using a gun but carry one anyway, but clearly I’m being lazy right now and don’t feel like googling such statistics.

That being said, I do have several methods of self protection including, but definitely not limited to, an arsenal of pepper spray (thank you Eric & Erin).

Lesson of the day: Bringing a gun on a roadtrip is not as easy as packing lipstick, and it was not the means of protection I chose to pursue.