"is a valid choice in that spectrum, and whether you choose it or not may depend, in part, on your risk factors for being a victim of crime.
It certainly is for some people, as Panther has also written. To each his own.
Neither Panther nor I have ever advocated 'Must own….must carry'
Assessing your own personal risk factors in becoming a victim is an impossible task. I have come up against these similar concepts in my work as a professional liability claims investigator.
Our professional risk managers were part of the initial evaluation process to establish premium rate.
Many of my investigations and defense attorney's trial prep involved cases of street violence, workplace violence and robberies as well as workplace shootings, under the so called 3D crime policies which also included Kidnap and ransom coverage.
The assessment of the risk of a particular person becoming a victim of crime is a most complex undertaking. As Panther has written many times S*hit happens when you least expect it…while thinking you are/should be safe.
The choice is yours.
At times the perp will go to great lengths to acquire the victim. In other cases, the perpetrator has acquired a victim of opportunity.
Perhaps in this last instance, something that the victim had done, or was involved in, had elevated their risk of becoming a victim of that crime.
Victim risk is broken into three basic levels: low risk, medium risk, and high risk. They all refer to the degree of chance of someone coming to harm by virtue of their personal, professional and social life.
But the mistake is in not including in the evaluation an examination of the risk an offender is willing to take in procuring victims. This is known as offender risk assessment...
....an offender also perceives his exposure to 'incident risk' …. Which refers to the possibility of him suffering harm in a victim attack.
This is where the bad guy's perception that the sweet old lady he is about to pounce on, may have a gun in her purse, goes to great lengths in keeping the general population safe, as it has been pointed out to you over and over and you continue not to understand.
Thus you and I …who don't carry guns concealed…or may not even possess a gun at home…indirectly benefit from the bad guy's perception he may run into a loaded gun in the hands of a victim_ because most States now allow citizens to carry concealed.
The 'no gun' for many of us may well be a viable option, especially in cases of hoplophobia, yet it is the 'yes gun' of others ....that is what may well them keep safe if lucky.
The perception of the bad guys is what's important in crime deterrence. This is the message Panther and I, essentially have tried to get across.