Armed Lifestyle
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Small guns can be
handy, but "out of sight, out of mind." Keep track of it, know
where it is and what condition it's in. Secure it when you're not wearing it.
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It had to happen, I suppose. We've had a
maturing of the shall-issue concealed carry movement - one that even brought us
LEOSA for cops in the wake of 9/11. I should have expected it and I guess I
just dreaded the moment.
It's the era of the non-sworn NDP. A term popularized by Mark Moritz back in the "long ago," he referred to people who are minimal in terms of their abilities - usually fueled by a lack of desire to learn - as Non-Dedicated Personnel. These unworthies are the detectives who "holster" their sidearms in desk drawers. Those in uniform were often no better. A number of them prided themselves on leaving handguns holstered on duty belts hanging in the closet when not on duty. They were happy to get them out only on qualification day.
That it would spread to people with permits is no surprise. Disappointment, yes.
In Hayden, Idaho last week a two year old child got into mom's purse during a shopping excursion. It was a "concealed carry" purse, a gun inside a zippered pouch. The child was able to get to the gun and shoot mom to death.
Meanwhile, a police chief in Georgia called 911 because ". . . the gun was in the bed, I went to move it, and I put it to the side and it went off . . ." shooting his wife.
The TSA reported that they snagged 2,210 guns in 2014 from carry-on baggage. An aviation security analyst said that many carry concealed guns. "I think a lot forget that they have them with them because they're so used to carrying them in purses, laptop bags, on belts. It becomes a natural extension like their phone or car keys or wallet, they literally don't even think twice about it."
There's the point: not thinking. It's not that they need more training; we had an experimental period when we increased training. While we made some headway, many disabled their brains as they left the range.
It's a lifestyle.
Part of it is a misapplication of The Rules. Our friend, the police chief, clearly forgot a few. One is Rule 1: if there's a loose gun in the bed clothes (and why would there be?), it's loaded. Let's gingerly uncover its location without violating Rule 2 (having the muzzle cover someone) and Rule 3 (touching the damn trigger). It didn't "go off." You shot it.
Another Rule could have been violated - not one of the Four specifically, but a more general rule. It was the early hours of 1 January, traditionally occurring after the revelry of Dec. 31, New Year's Eve. I'm not saying he was "under the weather," but I wonder if GBI did a blood draw.
As to TSA and Idaho, we're looking at some Rule 5 issues. Stephen Wenger posted the TSA story on his email news digest. His take was "If you don't know where your gun is, it's not under your control. And the recent gun-purse tragedy (in) Idaho should remind us of the weakness of carrying gun in purses and laptop bags, much less using such containers for storage in the home."
Rule 5, for those who came in late, is "Maintain control of your gun (and your defensive gear generally)." Wenger came up with it on advice of counsel, as he relates on his website.
Wenger says to ensure you keep firearms within your control when you carry them. Guns in purses, briefcases and other off-body containers are difficult to control - just like a gun put between couch cushions, left in desk drawers or elsewhere. When you store a gun you're not carrying, secure the piece. Trigger locks are de facto Rule 3 problems; use locking containers.
The exception to Rule 5? It occurs in the event you fumble and drop a gun - let it hit the ground. Do not reach for it. We have a number of fatalities on record when people try to catch dropped guns in the air.
Wenger's corollary of Rule 1 and Rule 5 is the condition check. Whenever you pick up a firearms that's been out of your control - even for the shortest of times - check it by opening the action. Put the gun in the condition you need it to be in.
It's a lifestyle and to be a lifestyle, you have to condition habitual behaviors. There are so many small guns around. That's okay, but "out of sight, out of mind."
How can you defend yourself using that gun if you lack situational awareness?
-- Rich Grassi
It's the era of the non-sworn NDP. A term popularized by Mark Moritz back in the "long ago," he referred to people who are minimal in terms of their abilities - usually fueled by a lack of desire to learn - as Non-Dedicated Personnel. These unworthies are the detectives who "holster" their sidearms in desk drawers. Those in uniform were often no better. A number of them prided themselves on leaving handguns holstered on duty belts hanging in the closet when not on duty. They were happy to get them out only on qualification day.
That it would spread to people with permits is no surprise. Disappointment, yes.
In Hayden, Idaho last week a two year old child got into mom's purse during a shopping excursion. It was a "concealed carry" purse, a gun inside a zippered pouch. The child was able to get to the gun and shoot mom to death.
Meanwhile, a police chief in Georgia called 911 because ". . . the gun was in the bed, I went to move it, and I put it to the side and it went off . . ." shooting his wife.
The TSA reported that they snagged 2,210 guns in 2014 from carry-on baggage. An aviation security analyst said that many carry concealed guns. "I think a lot forget that they have them with them because they're so used to carrying them in purses, laptop bags, on belts. It becomes a natural extension like their phone or car keys or wallet, they literally don't even think twice about it."
There's the point: not thinking. It's not that they need more training; we had an experimental period when we increased training. While we made some headway, many disabled their brains as they left the range.
It's a lifestyle.
Part of it is a misapplication of The Rules. Our friend, the police chief, clearly forgot a few. One is Rule 1: if there's a loose gun in the bed clothes (and why would there be?), it's loaded. Let's gingerly uncover its location without violating Rule 2 (having the muzzle cover someone) and Rule 3 (touching the damn trigger). It didn't "go off." You shot it.
Another Rule could have been violated - not one of the Four specifically, but a more general rule. It was the early hours of 1 January, traditionally occurring after the revelry of Dec. 31, New Year's Eve. I'm not saying he was "under the weather," but I wonder if GBI did a blood draw.
As to TSA and Idaho, we're looking at some Rule 5 issues. Stephen Wenger posted the TSA story on his email news digest. His take was "If you don't know where your gun is, it's not under your control. And the recent gun-purse tragedy (in) Idaho should remind us of the weakness of carrying gun in purses and laptop bags, much less using such containers for storage in the home."
Rule 5, for those who came in late, is "Maintain control of your gun (and your defensive gear generally)." Wenger came up with it on advice of counsel, as he relates on his website.
Wenger says to ensure you keep firearms within your control when you carry them. Guns in purses, briefcases and other off-body containers are difficult to control - just like a gun put between couch cushions, left in desk drawers or elsewhere. When you store a gun you're not carrying, secure the piece. Trigger locks are de facto Rule 3 problems; use locking containers.
The exception to Rule 5? It occurs in the event you fumble and drop a gun - let it hit the ground. Do not reach for it. We have a number of fatalities on record when people try to catch dropped guns in the air.
Wenger's corollary of Rule 1 and Rule 5 is the condition check. Whenever you pick up a firearms that's been out of your control - even for the shortest of times - check it by opening the action. Put the gun in the condition you need it to be in.
It's a lifestyle and to be a lifestyle, you have to condition habitual behaviors. There are so many small guns around. That's okay, but "out of sight, out of mind."
How can you defend yourself using that gun if you lack situational awareness?
-- Rich Grassi
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