The following was written by a person on the 1911 Forum in about
July of 2007. His screen name is Serenity.
We don't carry firearms so that we can ignore other basics of
personal safety.
Every permit holder that I know realizes that
almost all dangerous situations can be avoided by vigilance, alertness
and by simply making wise choices about where we go and what we do. We
don't walk down dark alleys. We lock our cars. We don't get intoxicated
in public or hang out around people who do. We park our cars in well
lighted spots and don't hang out in bad parts of town where we have no
business. Using a gun is the last resort.
We don't think we are cops, spies, or superheros.
We aren't hoping
that somebody tries to rob the convenience store while we are there so
we can shoot a criminal. We don't take it upon ourselves to get involved
in situations that are better handled by a 911 call or by simply
standing by and being a good witness. We don't believe our guns give
us any authority. We also aren't here to be your unpaid volunteer
bodyguard. We'll be glad to tell you where we trained and point you to
some good gun shops if you feel you would like to take this kind of
responsibility, but it's your choice. Except for extraordinary
circumstances, your business is your business, don't expect us to help
you out of situations you could have avoided.
We are LESS likely to be involved in fights or "rage" incidents
than the general public.
We recognize, better than many unarmed citizens,
that we are responsible for our actions. We take the responsibility of
carrying a firearm very seriously. We know that loss of temper, getting
into fights or angrily confronting someone after a traffic incident
could easily escalate into a dangerous situation. We are more likely to
go out of our way to avoid these situations. We don't pull our guns to
settle arguments and especially do NOT attempt to threaten people into
doing what we want.
We are responsible gun owners.
We secure our firearms so that
children and other unauthorized people cannot access them. Most of us
have invested in safes, cases and lock boxes as well as other security
measures to keep our firearms secure. Many of us belong to various
organizations that promote firearms safety and ownership.
Guns are not unsafe or unpredictable!
Modern firearms are well made precision instruments.
Pieces do not simply break off causing them to
fire. A hot day will not set them off. Most modern firearms will not
discharge even if dropped. There is no reason to be afraid of a gun
simply laying on a table or in a holster. It is not going to discharge
on its own.
We do not believe in the concept of "accidental" discharges.
There are no accidental discharges! The gun fires when we want it to or
it was a negligent discharge. We take responsibility for our actions and
have learned how to safely handle firearms. Any case you have ever
heard of about a gun "going off" by itself or by accident was the
result of negligence on somebody's part. The recognition of our
responsibility and familiarity with firearms makes us among the safest
firearms owners in America.
Permit holders do their best to keep our concealed weapons
exactly that; concealed.
However, there are times when an observant citizen may spot our firearm
or the print of our firearm under our
clothes. We are very cognizant that concerns about terrorism and crime
are in the forefront of the minds of most citizens. We also realize that
our society does much to mistakenly condition our fellow citizens to
have irrational fears about firearms. We would encourage citizens who do
happen to spot someone carrying a firearm to use good judgment and clear
thinking if they feel to need to take action. Please understand that
it is very uncommon for a criminal to use a holster.
However, if you feel the need to report having spotted a firearm we
would ask that you please be specific and detailed in your call
to the police or in your report to a store manager or private security.
Please don't generalize or sensationalize what you observed. Comments
like "there's a guy running around in the store with a gun" or even
simply "I saw a man with a gun in the store" could possibly cause a
misunderstanding as to the true nature of the incident.
The fact that we carry a firearm to any given place does not
mean that we believe that place to be inherently unsafe.
If we believe a place to be unsafe, most of us will avoid that place
all-together if humanly possible. However, we recognize that trouble
can occur at any place, at any time. Criminals do
not observe "gun free zones". If trouble does come, we do
not want the only armed persons to be perpetrators. Therefore, we don't
usually make a determination about whether or not to carry at any given
time based on "how safe" we think a location is.
Concealed weapon permit holders are an asset to the public in
times of trouble.
The fact that most permit holders have the good judgment to
stay out of situations better handled by a 911 call or by simply being
a careful and vigilant witness does not mean that we would fail to act
in situations where the use of deadly force is appropriate to save
lives. A review of high profile public shooting incidents shows that
when killers are confronted by armed resistance they tend to either
break off the attack and flee, or choose to end their own life
(reference the Colorado Springs church, December, 2007). Lives are
saved when a violent criminal encounters resistance. Lives are lost
when the criminal can do as he pleases.
The fact that criminals know some of the population may be
armed at all times, deters violence against all citizens.
Permit holders don't believe that every person should be armed.
We recognize that some people may not be inclined to carry a
firearm for personal reasons. However we do encourage you to respect
our right to arm ourselves. Even if you choose not to carry a firearm
yourself please oppose measures that limit the ability of law
abiding citizens to be armed. As noted before: criminals do not
observe "gun free zones".
Help us by not supporting
laws that require citizens to be unarmed victims.
Those with concealed carry permits are quite likely the most
conspicuously law-abiding people you will encounter.
In the majority of
states with a permitting system, the permit-holder has voluntarily
submitted him/her self to a background check involving local, state,
and federal law enforcement agencies. Most often, fingerprints have
also been taken and submitted to the state or federal agencies for
verification. Rest assured
that we are not criminals carrying under the shield of the law. Multiple
levels of government have concurred that we have and continue to, follow
the law. In addition, we have spent a great deal of money on training,
equipment, and the permitting process. We are not eager to jeopardize
any of that through misconduct. We are well aware that if we misbehave,
we can lose every last penny of that investment, as well as our very
freedom.