I may buy a gun for when I volunteer at our local Democratic office. Seeking advice.

[gejohnston]

56. just a few things

First, if you choose to, remember shot placement is more important than power of the round. Choose and train with what works for you. An example I give, Israeli air marshals were issued .22LR pistols in the 1960s-1970s. During one hijacking, the marshal took out three attackers armed with automatic weapons.

As for capacity or revolver vs magazine fed. Several criminology studies (including, ironically, the CDC under Clinton and Obama) citizens defend themselves 800k to 2m times per year. That tells us that 99.999 percent of the time, the threat is neutralized with zero shots fired. About 20 years ago, Firearms Safety LLC did a study that showed that from 1997-2002 out of the 486 citizens shooting someone in self defense, the average and median shots fired were 2. Only three required a reload, including someone with a .32 revolver against an African lion (I'm guessing it escaped from a zoo.)

Florida is famously a "stand your ground" state.

Most states are, as are most countries (no duty to retreat if you can do safely). If you are in your office, SYG vs DTR isn't relevant. One you are in a building (castle doctrine), and two, it sounds like you can't safety retreat.

If you carry, don't tell anyone anything. For all you know, you might be the only one who isn't.