People ask me, "Why do you need a gun?" Here's an example of why:

Loudoun County, Virginia- The Sheriff’s Office is investigating two overnight burglaries; in both cases the residents of the home were alerted that there was an intruder in the home by their dog.

The first incident occurred around 1:30 AM in the 43860 block of Laurel Ridge Drive in Ashburn. A female resident was awoken by her dog barking. The woman went towards the kitchen and saw a Black male, in his mid-twenties to early thirties going through her purse. The woman ran back upstairs and called authorities. It was later determined the man took several credit cards from the victim’s purse. The suspect in this case is further described as being over 6’ in height with a medium build. He was also said to have a shaved head. The suspect appears to have entered the home through the unsecured exterior and interior garage doors.

Approximately one hour later a Leesburg man heard his dog barking inside his residence in the 43200 block of Canal Creek Place. The man went to the top of his stairwell where he noticed a subject run out the front door of the home. Nothing was taken from the home and there were no signs of forced entry.

Now, no one was harmed in these two incidents, thank God. And certainly in the first case, and likely in the second, the failure to secure the home contributed significantly to the break-ins.

But it's not a tremendous leap from these two examples to forced entry and violence visited upon the occupants of the homes. These two incidents happened within scant miles of my home, so could it happen to me? You betcha! Will I be prepared if it happens? You betcha! And as time goes on, I intend to be better prepared by becoming more skillful with my weapons, improving the accuracy of my aim and improving my mental abilities to respond to protect myself and other innocents.

Why do I need a gun? I think the better question is, why do you think you don't?