9 June 14
CCW Naivety:
The vast majority of state CCW licensees are genuinely âgoodâ people, but many have had precious little relevant training, and much of it fraught with errors and unrealistic expectations.
For example, many naively believe:
1) When they see âbad thingsâ happening in public places (which donât involve them directly) that they should step forward and âget involvedâ and âdo some good.â
2) VCAs will do what they are told to do, because theyâre intimidated by the gun in the hands of the righteous CCW holder.
3) The CCW holder will be thanked and congratulated for his courageous intervention and good intentions
4) VCAs will be so impressed with the CCW-holderâs gunfire, that they will fall down immediately upon the first impact, just like on TV!
5) That âgoing armedâ means having âa little somethingâ (like a .380 pocket pistol), and that such âmouse-gunsâ that will be sufficient for most lethal threat(s).
6) Holding and maintaining suspects at gunpoint until police arrive is easily done and mostly risk-free.
The unhappy reality is this:
1) Any time you voluntarily inject yourself into a dangerous circumstance in which you were otherwise not involved, you are required, by law, to act in a ânon-negligentâ manner.
What, under Heaven, does that mean?
It means that, when anyone can point-out where you could have done it better, you will inherit some personal liability for all the âbad thingsâ that are invariably going to happen, bad things like death, personal injury, property damage, etc.
In most cases, when you see âbad things happen,â you donât have enough solid information to take any kind of unilateral action, particularly action that may be the direct cause of personal injury or death. Gunfire is irreversible! You may not be seeing what you think youâre seeing.
Best option is almost always to quickly withdraw, get to a relatively safe location, and then call the police. This is the kind of situation you pay a police department to confront and handle!
2) VCAs at whom you point your gun will likely not be impressed in the least, because they probably wonât even see it! Expecting voluntarily compliance under such circumstances is mostly wishful thinking. When you do get his attention, the best thing for you to do is encourage him to turn and run away!
3) Donât expect to be thanked! Donât expect anyone to be âunderstanding.â Do expect to be arrested at the scene, maybe charged. Do expect to be endlessly criticized and second-guessed by the media, investigators, your friends, et al. Do expect to be sued. Donât imagine this incident will have any kind of âhappy ending!â
4) When you are compelled to employ gunfire to protect yourself, lower your expectations of your pistol and your ammunition. Upon being struck by your bullet(s), the most likely reaction of the VCA(s) will be to run away, showing scant indication of reduced mobility! When he/they continue to present a lethal threat, be prepared to hit him/them multiple times. Even then, any kind of instant de-animation is extremely unlikely.
5) Small 380Auto pistols, and snubby revolvers are arguable as second/back-up weapons, but they represent a desperate lower-limit when that is all you have with you. When âgoing armed,â you should be carrying the most formidable pistol you can comfortably fit into your life.
6) Holding suspects a gunpoint and waiting for police to arrive is an activity that is so dangerous, I recommend you not do it al all!
Suspects may attack you, despite the fact youâre holding a pistol on them. Arriving police may mistake you for the suspect, and, since youâre holding a gun, engage you immediately and without warning.
As mentioned above, when you have a dangerous suspect at gunpoint, the best thing to do, from the standpoint of your continued good health, is to persuade him to voluntarily disengage and run away. Police will probably pick him up a short time later anyway, and youâll end your high risk-exposure as quickly as possible.
As I tell my students,
âIâm not here to tell you what to do. Iâm here to tell you whatâs going to happen when you do. Then, you make your own, informed decisions. Iâm not here to suggest you do the âright thing,â nor the âmoral thing,â even the âlegal thing.â Iâm suggesting you do the smart thing, from the standpoint of your continued good physical health, financial health, mental health, and general well-being. â
As more good citizens make the decision to âgo armed,â the foregoing is going to become more and more critical.
âHere lies the body of Mike OâDay,
Who died maintaining his right-of-way
His right was clear
His way was strong
But, heâs just as dead,
As if heâd been wrong!â
From an epitaph on a mock head-stone, erected, among others, as a warning to young recruits during military training in the early 1940s.
/John
