Reg Hafner is a retired Army military police officer in Colorado Springs who doesn’t believe people should wait for the authorities to come help them in times of emergency. Hafner, 67, said he keeps a weapon near his bed and will take one with him on some errands or for walking his dog at night.
“You can’t hardly walk down the street anymore without being accosted. Everywhere that has concealed carry, crime seems to be stable because people are defending themselves.”
Hafner said he has used a handgun twice to help ward off potential crime: once in the mountains on a family picnic, when young men were harassing his wife. “I showed them the weapon, and they took off like a chicken with the Colonel chasing them.”
The other time was at Halloween, when suspicious people way too old to be seeking candy came banging on his door. “They definitely were not trick-or-treating.”
Hafner is proud that his children grew up respecting and understanding guns. His daughter, an Army captain, just left for another tour in Afghanistan; she has earned medals for defending fellow soldiers in firefights. He does not see a danger for kids in homes with guns, if the parents teach them well.
“If they’re curious, you take them out and train them how to shoot. My dad taught me. . . . I’ve got locked cabinets. I have one firearm at night on the nightstand. When the dog goes off, that’s when I get up.”
— Michael Booth
