I grew up in a home with no guns. My parents never talked about guns or told stories about ever having shot guns, but my uncles and grandfathers were military servicemen, and some of my friends had rifles and shotguns their parents would let us shoot occasionally. As a young adult, I was often around people who owned guns, and knew some people locally who used guns to commit crimes including armed robbery, and even murder. My friends and I were even threatened at gunpoint by armed thugs one night in our neighborhood. When I had children, initially I had no interest in owning my own guns, and was sure I'd be fine going the rest of my life without ever bringing them around my family. Then, after the Sandy Hook murders, with all the political hype about taking away guns, and Maryland pushing to further limit people's access to owning firearms, it felt like I either needed to get a gun now, or risk losing the freedom to ever own one. That changed everything regarding my view of firearm ownership. Now that I had one, I wanted to learn to use it safely and effectively. I wanted to protect the right to have it, and I wanted to encourage others to exercise the right to have one as well. I got training, I gained skills and habits that extend beyond firearms, and I share this knowledge with my family. My friends, children, co-workers, and even my parents have developed a different view of firearms and firearm ownership from conversations we've had, and from range time we've shared. And then when the world was seemingly falling into chaos, and there were riots all across the country, and people were still losing their minds over COVID, it felt like time to invest in USCCA. I still wrestle with whether or not USCCA is the best choice, and frequently consider other options that don't involve insurance, but I havent made a change yet...