|
RTKBA.com © 2007
By no means is this
material meant to be legally accurate or entirely factual. It is meant as
educational reading to bring up certain scenarios for an individual to think
about. There are many out comes that were not discussed in this material.
When you decide that you want to start carrying a gun there a many
things you should think about. First and for most is training. You must know how
to use it, be proficient at using it. Anybody can strap a gun to their hip but
knowing how to use it is what will save your life or the life of a loved one.
Carrying a gun is a way of life. In order to do it you will have to make
a commitment. You will have to change the way you dress and the way you
think. You will have to be aware of your surroundings and be prepared
for where you might end up. You have to be able to walk away from a
potential conflict which might require you to tuck your tail and run. A material
object or being called a name is not worth a life, that's what 911 is for.
Emotions have no place when a gun is involved. If you have children or grand children you
have to be able to secure your gun in a safe or lock box. There are many
areas known as
PISTOL FREE AREAS. These areas do not allow you to carry on the
premises so what will you do with your gun while you are there. If you
are a drinker of alcohol you are not permitted to carry at all once you
have taken a drink. If you are out with friends and you happen to end up
at a bar and get drunk and then get pulled over you are in some big
trouble even if the gun is in the trunk. If a situation occurs that you
have to use your gun in a justified self defense situation and you fail
a breathalyzer test you are going to jail. As my class instructor put it
“The law expects more of you then the average citizen”. If you do end up
at a bar and even though you do not drink alcohol you still cannot take
your gun in to the bar, what will you do with it? Put it in the glove
box or the trunk. While that does solve the problem it also creates one.
If the car gets stolen or broken in to then they will get your gun and
that means another bad guy just got a gun.
Concealed means concealed
Most people would feel uncomfortable if they knew you were
carrying a gun, especially people that do not know you and maybe some
that do know you. Some will think you are crazy and some will think you
are paranoid. What they do not know will not bother them. It is
nobody’s business but yours. The more people you tell the more people they will
tell. Cover it up and be on your way.
Great responsibility
You have under your control something that could save your life or a
loved ones life in a situation that normally would or could take your life
or the life of a loved one.
Because you have this responsibility you need to respect it and at the same time
leave it alone. It is not a toy or a show and tell. It is a tool and
like every tool it has a purpose,
to protect. Guns do not kill people, people kill people. The less
contact you have with it the less chance of an accident happening with it. Keep
it holstered until you need it.
When do you use it
The answer to this question is different for everybody. The text book
answer is “if you feel your life or the life of someone with you is in
jeopardy or might take great bodily harm. Think about this for a minute,
if a drunken guy that can barely walk is coming at you with a pipe or
some other blunt object are you going to shoot him? If you’re a 200
pound man is your life in jeopardy right now? If you are a 110 pound
girl is your life in jeopardy right now? There is no answer to this
question. Only the 200 pound man and 110 pound girl know that answer
right then and there.
Scenarios
1. A guy walks up to you on the street and pushes you and wants to
fight. You are armed but he does not know that. As far as you know he
could be armed. Will you push him back or will you call 911 or ask
someone to call 911 for you? Will you try to get away even if it looks
cowardly or are you going fight him or possibly to shoot him? If you do
fight him and your gun falls out or worse he gets control of it then what? If
you do shoot him and it was self defense, would it be worth it?
2. You’re driving down the
street and you accidentally cut someone off. Next thing you know the guy
driving the car you cut off is showing signs of road rage. You turn in
to your driveway and they follow you. He gets out of the car yelling and
screaming at you threatening to beat you up and pounding on your car. What will you do?
3. You are in a store and two guys walk in with masks, one point’s a gun
at the clerk and say give me all your money, what are you going to do?
4. You walking down the street and you see some guy fighting with a girl. You
walk up and ask the girl if everything is ok. She say everything is fine but you
do don't believe her. The guy looks at you and tell you to mind
your own business or he will kick your butt. What do you do? If you engage the
guy you started the fight, if you leave he might hurt the girl. What do you do?
5. You are walking past an opening in the street that leads to an alley. You
look down the alley to see a man in ragged clothes fighting with a man with a
suit on. What do you do? If you get involved who are you going to stick up for.
Is the man with the ragged clothes a bum or maybe an undercover police officer. Is the guy
in the suit a innocent victim or a drug dealer getting busted by an undercover
police officer. What are you going to do?
You need to know these answers. Things are not always what they appear to be. You need to be prepared for these scenarios.
You need to know what you are going to do. These are the kind of things you need
to think about every day so when the time comes you are not panicking, you are
level headed and aware of your actions.
Can you pull the trigger
This is the most important question you will ever ask
yourself. Because you choose to carry a gun for self protection means you just
might have to use it at some point in your life. Are you willing
to possibly take a life to protect yours or a loved one?
If your only reason to carry is the cool factor then you need to
think again. There is nothing cool about carrying a gun. It is one of
the biggest responsibilities you will ever have in your life time. It was
secured to you by the fore fathers of this country and is your right. It
is up to you to learn to use it. Just because you have it does not mean
you have to use it. Because you have it means you walk away. It is not a
confidence builder. You do
whatever it takes to walk away and not use it. If a drunken guy wants to
swing a pipe at you then walk away or run away if that's what it takes.
If a road rage person wants to beat up your car, you let him. You call
911 and let the police deal with him. It is just a car. If some stranger
tries to pick a fight with you, you walk away and you call 911. If you
see a guy fighting with a girl and she says everything is ok, you get a
safe distance away, you call 911 and be a good witness until the police
arrive. If you see two guys fighting in a dark ally you call 911 and let
the police deal with it. Only in the moment will you know what to do.
If you do use it
There are many things that must be in play before you use your weapon. First you
or somebody with you must be in danger for their life or great bodily harm.
Where you are will play a major part of what will happen after the fact and the
events that led to the moment. If you were in a mall and someone started
shooting people within eyesight of your position then you are in a life
threatening moment. If you have loved ones with you, you will have to decide if
you take the shot or get your loved ones to cover. If you decide to take cover,
you take your loved ones to somewhere where the bad guy is not and you stay
there until police come get you. If you decide to get your loved ones safe and
then go after the bad guy you have just broke the text book law of your CCW.
The text book description of your CCW is to protect you or the life of someone
with you. By retreating to a safe area your life is not at risk, by going back
to the risk you have put your own life at stake in which case your CCW just
became in-valid. Once you get back to the risk there could be other CCW holders
there. How will you know who the good guy is and who the bad guy is and how will
the other CCW holders know. In that moment another CCW holder could see you
shooting but not see the bad guy you are shooting at and they shoot you thinking
you are the bad guy. Keep in mind all this will be happening in seconds. There
will not be a lot of time to think. It could also work out that there are no
other CCW holders there and you shoot the bad guy or they shoot you. Many CCW
holders will have many points of view on this issue so within that moment you
are on your own. Know what is between you and
beyond your target
Bullets do not just stop themselves. If you decide to take the shot you must
know what is between you and the target. If you take that shot and someone runs
in front of you at that moment you can guess what will happen. If you take that
shot and you miss what is beyond the target. Where will that bullet go? If you
think you might hurt a innocent person then you need to either get another
position or don't take the shot. You took the shot,
now what
The bad guy has been stopped, there is chaos and you are standing there with a
gun in your hand. You are wondering if your loved ones are safe. As far as the
police are concerned you could be the bad guy. They could just as easily shoot
you. You need to re-holster your weapon as soon as possible. All this has taken
place in a matter of a few minutes maybe even seconds. Again this is why a CCW
holder needs to think about this stuff all the time. You need to be aware of
your surroundings. You need to know what you are going to do in a moments
notice.
The police are on the scene
You have to inform them that you are a CCW holder and you defended yourself
against the bad guy. Other witnesses might be describing you as the bad guy.
Other CCW holders will have different opinions on what to do next. You can tell the
police you want to be cooperative with them but you would like to talk to
your lawyer first or you tell them your story and hope for the best. There are
mixed feelings in the CCW world either way.
You do
have a lawyer don't you?
I would suggest you have a lawyer either on retainer or at least know of a
lawyer that will defend you if a situation like this occurs. I would also
suggest that lawyer also be a CCW holder. If they are a CCW holder then they will be thinking
like a CCW holder and fight harder for you as well as knowing the laws
concerning a CCW. You should have their number programmed into your cell phone
along with it in your wallet right behind your CCW card.
Now what happens
The police will take multiple statements from witnesses and any other evidence
that might turn up and turn it over to the local district attorney. It will be
their job to determine if this was self defense or not. If it is decided it was
self defense the police might return your firearm and will return any other property they took from you and your
life will continue on the same road it was on before all this happened.
If it was decided you acted improperly or someone else was hurt by your gun even
though it might be an accident you might / will be going to jail. You will more then
likely be sued by that person or if they are not capable then you will be sued
by the family of the person that your bullet hit by accident. You might /
will
have charges filed against you by the district attorney. You
might / will lose your job, your house, your car and everything else. You will have
thousands of dollars in lawyer fee's. Your family will be starving and you
might / will
be in jail. This is worst case scenario but something you must be aware of. Every scenario will play out differently for
everybody.
I hope this helps you and educates you on the responsibility that comes with
being a CCW holder.
Be safe. RTKBA.com © 2007
|
