GREETINGS! Right Back To You!
Welcome to the forum! Thanks for registering!
You Said:
"Perhaps some of you have been subjected to the process of having to "justify" why you want to own, much less carry, a firearm. Is anyone else getting this treatment from family or friends?"
You also said:
"I look forward to sharing and learning from this forum."
So....Here is Valuable Lesson Number One: 
One of the great things about learning to carry properly concealed is that you don't ever need to "justify" what nobody knows that you have!
You can carry all the time and nobody ever needs to know about it but you.
Don't bring up the subject to your family or your friends anymore...go get your License To Carry & and a high quality holster & gun belt and then keep your own personal business to yourself.
Nobody ever needs to know except for your "new found" CombatCarry.com Forum Friends. 