Self defense while traveling

Houston Remodeler wrote:
As a long time camper, non gun owner and a newer-to-us RV, I've been reading every thread possible on the topic looking for some guidance on the prudence of carrying a firearm. To say at least it's been very interesting reading.

To start off;

1- We are all for open carry.
2- We have never owned a firearm
3- We are rarely around people under the age of 30
4- We put thought into not being in dangerous situations.
5- We have yet to camp in bear or moose or coyote country.
6- We know statistically we are far more likely to be injured by a pencil or a vending machine.
7- We know the crime rate has been dropping for decades

Back to reading and reading and reading ....

The common arguments on both sides quickly arise but my question doesn't seem to get answered. Do I really need one? Or should the question be, should we have one? We've taken the other precautions of insurance, TPMS, cameras, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers but we don't take the same level of precaution with scissors or a toaster.

After giving it some thought, the decision for me has come down to one of familiarity. Some folks are just more familiar with guns than others. Some folks are more familiar with gun situations than others.

We've seen car crashes. We've had near misses when driving (it could be argued that I'm disproportionately responsible for some of those close calls) We use vending machines without fear because we are familiar with them and have a long history of buying soda without a near death experience.

In all our years of camping we have yet to have the need for a gun or a fire extinguisher. We DO take precautions not to put ourselves in situations where either would come in handy. Thus I can see the points of both sides.

If the gun laws between states made it easier to possess, transport and store a handgun this decision would be much simpler. Trip planning is hard enough without the added work of avoiding accidental jail time. For now, we'll pass on the CHL and depend on the Texas license plates to ward off evil doers.

The purpose of writing this post wasn't to sway the mind of one side or the other. The aim is to help other honest, good folk in making their own decision.

Did not read every post, read the thread when it had 13 post and thought it would get heated. Just came back now and saw all the post, went to the end and post of the year right here if you ask me. I am sure no one will ask me but that's my no problem with but non gun carrying self opinion.