Should you, or should you not, carry a pearl handle .22 pistol in your small purse.

Right now, it's up to you. :-)

I think I would step up to at least a 38. They are still quite compact. You could get one of the hammerless varieties that's always double action and won't snag on other ephemera in your purse. Stay away from pearl handles as they might get slippery if you have sweaty palms, an almost certain if you have to use your weapon.

Snarkiness aside, "The South will rise again" mentality exists across the nation. People feel having a gun makes them more prepared for the unknown. As a pro gun person, I realize that and don't necessarily agree with it. I think in most situations a large, well trained dog or two (with a good alarm system) is a better choice for home defense.

The thing civilian gun owners need to understand is this. Unlike police officers, legally carrying a gun for self-protection does not commit you to intervene on everyone else's behalf.

Yes, I know...I am still mulling it all over...

I really don't like heavy things in any purse...not a lot of loose change, my laser measurer, or my camera -- all of which I would tote if the bag was large enough.

I do not like being afraid either but I have never been one to be properly cautious. One of my classmates at college ordered mace for me, because I came home late from my weekend job and walked all alone in a neighborhood that "could" have been dangerous.

Another dressed up in a trenchcoat, and waited for me at a place where I had no other option but to walk right past him. He asked if I got their point. Honestly, he wasn't a close friend, but I was touched that there had been that much concern...so, I was more careful after that.

Also, I have a really shrill scream -- comes from somewhere pretty powerfully. Perhaps that would suffice to startle a would be attacker? I don't like to think about it...I just smile at everyone, and hope they will smile in return...:) Still naive to this day, but so far, so good.

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And arm our Moms
with guns and bombs
From sea to shining sea!

As a person who once carried a U.S. Navy S&W .38 everywhere he went, and slept with the damned thing in his hand most nights, Lalucas, I can say from experience that a handgun is never going to be just another object you carry in your purse.

I like to say to people who contemplate carrying a pistol on their person: "You don't own that gun, it owns you."

It owns you. When you have that gun on you, you have to respect it and be aware of it at all times. You can never forget that it is there. You can never ever think about putting your purse on a table or chair and walking away from it even for a minute to get up and go to the salad bar. A loaded gun in a public place is an awesome responsibility.

I was trained in the military that the pistol never leaves the holster unless you are prepared to use it. The same goes for a .22 in your purse. If you ever have to bring it out, you better have already satisfied your conscience that you will take a life with it without a moment's hesitation. Are you ready for that? It's not as easy as it sounds. Like Tyler or someone said yesterday, police are trained to use the 21 foot rule. If someone threatening you is inside that 21 feet, they can close the distance between you so fast that it is likely you will only get to fire once. If you hesitate, he will have your gun and he will most likely use it on you.

So like I said, you don't own a handgun, it owns you. Most people don't spend enough time and money on quick-reaction combat pistol ranges to get proficient at using a handgun on an assailant. So just having it in your purse is not enough. You have to get good with it and you have to develop a mindset that I don't think most people want to walk around with. The mindset being: "I am at this moment ready to commit homicide in self-defense."

Who the hell wants to walk around all hyper-alert and constantly thinking about the gun they are carrying? It's a full-time preoccupation.

Perhaps in your case I would curtail the notion of a gun, instead some form of martial arts training. Not that you're going to go all Jet Li on a mugger's butt, however the training itself can make you feel more confident at least. Also, situational awareness is important. Your friend's trenchcoat experiment sounds informative. And yes, use that scream if you have to.

Part of the interest on behalf of young people in guns may be due partly the gun loving members of the Bush administration, perhaps no better example than Cheney who has the dubious record of shooting his pal in the face on the famous hunting jaunt a few years ago. You also have the "W' mentality of "Bring 'em on" and "Wanted: Dead or Alive!" This is just a theory on my part, but after all the right wing accused everything wrong with the country in the '90s on Bill Clinton, why not blame the upsurge in the popularity of guns on Bush.

I don't want a handgun but like my shotguns. Alas, my purse is not big enough.

"why not blame the upsurge in the popularity of guns on Bush."

Have you ever seen a picture of Bush with a gun in his hands? I'm sure at one time or another he has been stage-photographed with a bird gun and hunting jacket, just for publicity. But Bush is not into guns.

Bush is also deathly afraid of horses. You would be just as hard-pressed to find a picture of G. W. Bush on horseback. He is phobic about it.

So it's such a laugh to think that here is our drug store cowboy on his dude ranch at Crawford, cowboy boots, cowboy hat, big-ass pickem' up truck, and he is afraid of guns and horses.

One of my favorite sobriquets for Bush the Lesser is The Connecticut Cowboy.

My husband had military training as well but with a 9 mm Beretta. He has told me just about everything you wrote in your post, especially about the 21 feet rule.

He has never suggested that I would be a good person to carry a gun. Like you, he knows I would have to be able to use it at a moment's notice. He knows I would not be able to do so, and he is right -- unless I was defending someone else. It would be more instinctive and reflexive then. But, truly, I don't want that responsibility one little bit...

I was being a little bit tongue and cheek about the pink pistol, of course, as I really would not like to live in a world that would make me have to begin carrying a handgun at 50 years old. When I lived in Chicago, I walked or took the el everywhere. If I didn't need it then, I certainly don't need it in sleepy little Sebring, Florida.

I do wonder, though, why all these changes to gun laws just at this point in time? "The South will rise again" thinking walks hand-in-hand with Bush the Cowboy, Cheney the Hunter and Obama the Muslim. (UGH, I wrote it in public and I guess I am going there...)

I am saddened to report that I work in a Central Florida real estate office of reasonably intelligent people who have bought hook line and sinker into the concept that Obama is a Muslim -- a dangerous one who must be stopped. Emphasis on "Must be stopped" -- the subject line of each and every email....

I spent three hours before I joined Open Salon, researching and specifically debunking the lies in an extremely racist email going around my office. There are only five other people of the 34 agents who support Obama (there may be two more, but I am trying to keep a low profile so haven't asked.) The most outspoken anti-Obama people are hugely racist -- it doesn't take long to learn that rascism is alive and well when you work in real estate in a small town.

These people make a bizarre connection between Obama having a Christian Pastor in the Rev. Wright. They claim Wright works with Farrakan and that the church is not one bit Christian (well it certainly isn't Christian like they are Christian).

To them, Obama is a practicing Muslim -- spell terrorist. As I was told, "Once Muslim, Always Muslim"...There is no swaying them, and this goes crap is mentioned to me EVERY SINGLE DAY OF MY LIFE!!! I think they like to keep me on a slow boil.

So, I watch with morbid fascination, as the lawmakers re-arm John-Q-Public at the same time pumpiung political propaganda through the internet into the most racist areas of the country. I understand from a friend of mine who attended, that while initial security was tight when Obama was in Orlando a few weeks ago, it loosened up to just about nothing when they all changed rooms whent hey mingled with hotel guests. When asked about this, one of the security guards smirked and brushed him off saying they had it handled.

I am not a fear-mongerer -- I am a realist. More people will be carrying guns as the result of recent changes to gun laws. More and more propaganda hits these same people through the Internet -- it cannot be stoped. My husband recently had a young man who he doesn't know say about Obama, "Well, we haven't had us a good assassination lately". So, you all do the math. I am saturated with sadness on the whole subject...I pray for Obama every night, and hope his handlers keep him far away from Central Florida....the locals "Don't like to drive to the big city much..." ugh...

Regarding the folks who still think Obama is a practicing Muslim I am reminded of the immortal words of former vice president Dan Quayle: "A mind is a terrible thing to lose."

It will be interesting to see if there really is a rise in new gun owners since SCOTUS ruled on D.C.'s set of circumstances. There will be many arguments and fights to come.

I still say this: There should be time, place and manner restrictions on carrying weapons. That makes NRA members hate my guts.

There is a big difference between carrying a gun in rural Wyoming or rural Colorado and carrying a gun in Adams Morgan in D.C. That apparently makes liberals hate my guts.

The extremists on either side drive the rational, reasonable accord right out the door.

BTW: Your husband Bill is a wise man. Eric Anam has it right: Practice being aware of your surroundings and be prudent in where you go alone. In Shotokan Karate, one that originated on Okinawa where all weapons were banned, the founder Gichin Funakoshi taught his students to practice (and I'm going to screw this spelling) Zanshin. Zanshin is awareness of the people and the environment. Even a black belt, fifth dan master doesn't walk down dark alleys or go to seedy places full of rough characters. In English, I guess it means common sense.

Hey Eric and JD: I like it that my news friends are thinking about my safety. Yes, I am super aware of my surroundings since I move much more slowly now than when I was 20!
I am not too worried about any of the new laws, just curious as to "Why now". Otherwise, you can see by my post, that I am tolerant of gun ownership -- the thing with them being stored in the bedroom is a recent development - hopefully, that too shall pass!

I grew up with guns and have no fear of them and a decent proficiency in using them. I still wouldn't rely on one to protect me in most situations.

Out in the toolies where there are creatures other than man to protect yourself against they are a good idea. In town where if you are attacked it will likely be at close range...not such a good idea. You run the risk of arming your attacker then.

Better, as everyone has said, to become proficient in self-defense techniques that can't be taken away from you. I recommend Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear as well.

I live in Texas, where folks would really like to carry guns *and* have open containers in their cars. This is not a knock; it's just the reality.

We don't have guns in the house because my boy is severely ADHD, and even a pistol in a pistol safe makes my wife nervous. If it were me, I'd have a 9mm Beretta and a .40 something-or-other (but not a Glock; I just don't like 'em). Unlike a lot of more lefty types from California--I went to UC Santa Cruz, for the love a' Pete!--I'm not afeared of having guns around, and I'm a durn good shot.

I would carry a pistol with me, though, honestly; too much chance of error. And Lisa, a lot of the police I've spoken with actually recommend a .38 for folks who don't shoot much; it's not too heavy, and there are plenty of double-action .38s available. (The police tell me that single-action pistols can confuse people under stress when they're not practiced gun shooters.)

So there's what little I know. Also: don't shoot skeet in January during a cold snap. Bad for the neck muscles.

Lisa, I'll second what J.D. said.

A firearm, any firearm, is a serious piece of business. It's not something that you use to threaten, bluff, or scare with, it's something you shoot with. And never point it at a person that you're not willing to kill and kill now. I know that sounds a little over-dramatic, but that's the case. Too often the gun that someone pulls to defend themselves gets used against them or prompts an already-armed person to shoot first.

That last part is why I don't (and won't) carry one. However, little clay pigeons and paper targets fear me.

My husband just handed me a 38 caliber pistol...it was ugly, brown and heavy. I cannot imagine carrying it, or a purse big enough or sturdy enough to support its weight. My husband laughed when I did not even like to hold it. Nope, carrying a gun is just not in my makeup!