Arizona is one of those places where you can still strap a pistol to your hip and walk around in public. It’s not real common though, so police like to check you out if you’re armed in public.
I was out taking my Glock for a walk the other day. I made a deposit at the bank, stopped at the supermarket and picked up some things. In the checkout line, a woman who got in line behind me quickly switched to another line. I think she thought I was going to rob my checker or something.
Outside the supermarket, I encountered a police officer. (I wonder if someone called him to check me out.) He, of course, asked me why I was wearing a gun. I said that I was wearing one for the same reason that he was wearing one.
“Well,” he said, “I’m a police officer. That’s why I wear one.”
“But,” I asked, “why do police officers carry guns?”
“I have it,” he said, “in case I need it.”
“And that’s why I have mine too,” I said. “I carry it in case I have to shoot someone.”
We then talked for a while about the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. I shared my insight that rights are like muscles; if you don’t exercise them, they atrophy and become useless. The only reason he stopped me was that not enough people exercise their right to bear arms. If it were commonplace, he’d never have given me a second look.
Know your rights and exercise them regularly.