Concealed Carry and Responsibility

I'm probably going to make some people mad today.  I'm probably going to sound like a pinko-liberal-anti-gun person.  I assure you, I am NOT.  I'm just concerned that some "lawful" gun owners are going to give us all a bad reputation.

There was a recent story about a shooting in Florida.  You can look up the details yourself, but I'll sum it up for you.  It appears that a guy was watching a movie in a theater, when he was greatly distracted by a guy texting in front of him.  After a short argument, he got up and told management, which is the right thing to do.  But, instead of asking for a refund and leaving, or maybe changing seats (the theater was not at all full), he came back into the theater and started arguing with the guy texting again.  Of course if you heard the news, you would know that the guy texting threw a bag of popcorn at the guy complaining.  The guy with the gun said he "felt threatened", and shot and killed the guy texting.  The shooter is obviously in jail now....

Worse, this all happened during a PREVIEW - not the feature movie.  The victim left a wife and daughter.  He was texting the babysitter.

Then we can look at other situations, especially the Treyvon Martin incident.  While I believe Zimmerman was LEGALLY correct according to Florida laws, I don't believe he was MORALLY justified in shooting Martin.  I am really upset that it was a black/white/whatever incident that the media made it out to be, and I won't comment more on that.  It was a moral issue to me - I don't care what your skin color is, and I see no racism in what happened there, except after the fact.  Then, I see black people taking advantage of a situation (that's a whole 'nother blog entry for some other time!).

My point is very simple:  Even if it is legally justified to shoot someone, it may not be moral.  Remember the term used is "deadly force" when it comes to law enforcement.  The guy in the theater should have NEVER had a gun in the first place.  Further information suggests that he was prone to anger issues.  If you have an issue with anger, why on earth would you even THINK of carrying a gun?

I was always taught that if you are going to point a gun at someone, you better make sure you are prepared to kill that person.  Forget all the legal bullshit of "stopping" someone for now - "stopping" may or may not be the same as "killing", but as far as I'm concerned, I am not interested in the difference if my life is in danger.  Of course I don't ever want - or intend - to kill anyone.  I'm not sure if I could ever live with myself if I had to kill someone.  I will not hesitate to shoot to "stop" someone, but remember that to "stop" someone could be the same as killing someone, even if the killing part is an unintentional consequence.

Bottom line is that when you carry a gun, you also carry a responsibility.  Not just a legal responsibility, but a moral responsibility.  

The responsibility is not easy to explain, and not always clear.  I'll give you some examples.  You are walking down a dark street.  A man approaches you, and asks for your wallet "or else".  Do you pull your gun on him?  I hope not until you see that he is armed, but if you don't clearly see that he is, then give him your damn wallet!  The question - lose what's in your wallet or live with killing someone (and possibly jail time!)?

Next example, you are walking down that same street and five guys approach you and ask for your wallet "or else".  Now what to do?  Obviously, five guys against one could certainly put your life at risk.  My answer is still the same - if I don't see a weapon, I'm giving them my wallet.

Next example, one man approaches you on the same street and says he's going to kill you and take your wallet.  Same answer as before - if I don't see a weapon, I guess I hope I can defend myself with my hands or whatever else I can.  I'm NOT pulling my gun unless I see that he has a weapon.  I'm sorry, but I'd rather take a beating than have to live with shooting an unarmed assailant.

Next example, a group of five -unarmed- men approaches and say they are going to kill me and take my wallet.  This is a really tough one.  On one hand, I would surely be legally justified to use my weapon, especially if they were actively attacking me.  On the other hand, I would morally be obligated to run (if no weapons were visible).  Seeing that I'm a fat old man, I probably couldn't run far, and probably my life truly would be in danger.  If that were the case, then I feel I would be justified legally and morally to use deadly force.

(Home invasions are a completely different example.  I believe that if someone is breaking into my home, they are already intent on taking a life and assumed armed.  If a criminal is breaking in or has already broken into my home, I will use whatever force necessary to stop that person - no moral question for me here.  Legally,in MY state, this is justified use of deadly force, and in my opinion morally justified use of deadly force.  Your laws may vary, so take a minute and research them!)

My point is that it is NOT going to always be a cut-and-dry decision.  A man coming after me with a knife, sure, I'm going to ventilate him.  A man coming at me with a baseball bat, probably.  A man coming at me with his fist, I'll take a beating if necessary.  A man coming after my family, well that might be different.

What about the people behind your attacker?  Is it a busy street?  Will you hit what you intend to shoot or will you have to live with injuring or killing an innocent person?  I shoot pretty well at the range, but what about in a stressful situation?  Here are the FBI shooting distance statistics:

Contact to 5 feet:  53%

6 to 10 feet:          21%

11 to 20 feet:        12%

21 to 50 feet:          8%

Over 50 feet:          6%

In 70% of all cases, sight alignment was not used.  In 20%, only the barrel was used as a reference for alignment, and 10% could not remember if sight alignment was used at all.  In all cases, ALL shootings within 9 feet were shot using only a one-handed stance.

86% were killed at 21 feet or less - 7 yards.  So why is everyone practicing their handgun shooting skills at 20 or 25+ yards, with a nice textbook isosceles or Weaver stance?  In a draw and shoot scenario (as most statistics show to be the case), do you really think you will be able to line up the sights, get into a stance, concentrate on breathing control (now that's funny!), and trigger squeeze?  Maybe you can, if you are a professional pistol competitor.  I can't, but I do practice to get better at point shooting at close range!  Keep in mind that these statistics are from law enforcement officers - not the general population - that are carrying handguns in readily accessible belt holsters, and may have known the details of the situation prior to getting into the scenario, therefore better prepared to handle the situation.

Here's one more example, then I promise I'll stop boring you with them.  You are in a convenience store.  Two armed men come in, pointing the gun at the cashier demanding cash.  You are carrying a gun, and have a lot of training.  What do you do?  You are probably legally justified to shoot.  You may also be morally justified to shoot (I can't think for you, but I would personally be morally ok with it).  There are three possible outcomes - one, that there are two "stopped" attackers and no other injuries.  Two, that you and the clerk end up dead or injured.  Three, that the two attackers take the money and leave with no one injured.  Of course in situation one, you would have to know that you had the skill to draw and fire at two targets, who already had their guns drawn, and stop them before they injured you or anyone else.  Are you honestly and realistically that good?  I like the third scenario - I could always thank God that no one was injured, and contact law enforcement with the description, direction of travel, etc. to let them do their job.  Was my life in danger in this scenario?  Only you can decide, and only if you are IN that situation.  Would it be different if your family was with you?  

Everyone is different.  Every situation is different.  If you are a 90 pound woman and a 250 pound guy is getting ready to attack you with just his fists, then you obviously have more need to escalate to deadly force.  For me, maybe not.  I'd just rather take the chance and be morally and legally right.  I can recover from a beating, but I may not recover from taking a life that I feel was not morally right - even if it is legally right.

This brings me back to the law enforcement term, "deadly force".  If you TRULY feel that your life or your family's LIFE is in danger, then BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY, protect them.  Shoot to "stop" the threat of losing your life.  Just remember, that stopping someone might mean that they don't live after you stop them with a firearm.

Carrying a gun is NOT for everyone.  If you have ANY doubt about using the firearm, then absolutely DO NOT carry one.  If I just talked you out of carrying, then I'm ok with that.  It is not possible to process and think about all of this when you are in a dangerous situation.  We've all heard the stories about a weak person pulling out a gun only to have it taken away and used against them by the attacker.  If you take the responsibility to carry a gun, then you must take the responsibility to know how to use it, and have the mindset to use it effectively - to stop the threat, whatever the consequences.

For me, I will take on that responsibility.  I will take on the responsibility to learn to be safe, learn the laws, and be proficient with my firearm.  I will also take on the responsibility and realization that pointing a gun at someone, no matter the situation, may end with that someone stopped - permanently - and there will be effects on me afterward.  Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise.

Jay's Note - this was a hard one to write.  I have so many things to say about this that I can't possibly write it all here, and I'm at a loss to really make my point.  I was just trying to give you an idea of the responsibility involved with carrying a firearm.  Some people can't handle it, and that's ok.  I also don't proclaim to be an expert on the subject, and I'm not sure there are too many people that are truly experts on the subject.  I have only been in one situation where I felt the moral and legal need to remove my pistol from my holster (as a civilian), and the situation ended before it turned bad.  Everyone is different, and every situation is different.  Please excuse my rambling paragraphs above - I can't think for you, and hope I am not implying as such.  If you are going to carry a firearm, please seek professional training, and know the laws in your area!!!

Buying a Firearm Online From a Private Individual

Ok, I'll start this out with a little story.  About ten years ago, when I lived in town (in a not-so-nice neighborhood), I received a knock on my front door.  People that I know go to the back door, so I knew it was either a sales person peddling their scams, a Jehovah's Witness, or something important.  Turns out it was a nice police officer.  The nice officer asked me if I owned a Smith and Wesson Centennial.  I did not, and let him know that I did not - but I did own one about five to ten years prior.  He asked what happened to the revolver, and honestly I just couldn't remember.  I knew that I sold it to a private individual, but I couldn't remember who.  Worse, I was living in another county when I sold it, and had no further contact with that individual since the sale.  The nice officer informed me that the pistol I used to own was used in an armed robbery.

Now comes the time when you try to not look guilty, when you really aren't guilty!  

The police officer and I exchanged phone numbers, and I promised to let him know if I remembered to whom I sold the pistol.  End of story, but I do have to admit a bit of nervousness.  "I forget" is right up there with "it's not mine" for a good answer to give a police officer if you don't expect some scrutiny, but honestly, I did forget.

For those of you who don't know, when you buy a new firearm, the serial number is recorded by the seller (Federal Firearms Licence holder or FFL) in his files.  If that firearm is used illegally, the police can trace the serial number back to the original buyer.  This is what happened in my story.  I bought the pistol from a little shop in central Indiana, sold it to an individual I barely knew in northern Indiana, a robbery occurred, and the police come looking for me.  A number of things could have happened since I sold the pistol.  The guy I sold it to may have sold it to someone else, someone may have stolen it from him and used it in the crime, he may have actually done the crime, he might have lost it in the woods and it was picked up by a criminal, monkeys may fly out of my - ok, you get the point.

I have learned since then to always document to whom I sell a firearm, especially a handgun.  I do not want to tell a friendly police officer that "I forget" again.  All FFL dealers are required to keep a written record of any firearm they sell or buy.

The FFL also is required to do the normal FBI background check, and have his customer fill out paperwork with all of the purchaser's information, and an affidavit that is signed by the purchaser stating that he is not a fugitive, felon, or other labels that would make him ineligible to buy a firearm.  In a sense, the FFL holder has done all he can do to make sure that the firearm is traceable, and is going to a person legally able to own a firearm.

What happens then, when a private individual sells a firearm to another private individual, such as on Armslist or other firearms trading sights?  Unfortunately, it becomes more either "buyer beware", or "seller beware", and I can't tell you which one it may be.  I would hate to think that I sold a firearm to someone that was not able to own a firearm - to knowingly do so is a federal crime, and I would certainly not be fond of visiting the Gray Bar Motel.  I would of course never do that, but what if it was truly unintentional?  Again, I don't want to have to answer awkward questions from the nice police officer.

Here's another story for you - happened earlier this year.  I saw a great deal on ArmsList where a guy wanted to trade an AR15 for what was described as a WWII Colt 1911.  I did not at the time own a military issue 1911, and I just happened to have an "extra" (cheap) AR15 in my safe.  My son and I went to the guy's house and stood in his kitchen while he went to get the pistol.  Keep in mind that I was packing my carry 1911, and was a bit "on edge" with the guy acting a little "squirrely".  Can you say RED ALERT STATUS?

When you go to someone's house with CASH to purchase a firearm, who knows what could happen.  Same thing when someone comes to your house with a firearm to sell, or to buy a firearm from you. I would venture to say that most people that are "into" firearms are some of the best people you would ever meet - but you just never know.  Are you being set up to get robbed, or worse?

When he brought out the 1911, my jaw nearly hit the floor.  So much for negotiating a better deal with my horrible poker face.  It wasn't a WWII model, but a WWI model!!!  His story was that he bought it from his buddy with the intention of carrying it, but it was just too big for him.  A little sketchy, now that I think about it!

I looked it over, made the trade (smiling a huge smile internally) got in my truck and started home.  Then a thought occurred to me.  What if the 1911 was stolen?  Thinking fast, I called a police officer friend to see if he would do a serial number check on it, and immediately drove to the police station.  I handed my sweet baby 1911 over to the officer, and he proceeded to call the national database on his cell phone.  He read the serial number to the lady on the other end (his volume was loud enough to hear both sides of the conversation from two blocks away).  There was a pause for a few minutes, then I heard the lady say "I have a hit on that serial number".  To translate into English, a "hit" means that it is stolen.  He read back the numbers again, while all kinds of bad thoughts went through my head - "ok, I am in possession of a stolen firearm, this guy I traded has my AR, I don't know his name or who he is, and I probably just lost the AR and my sweet little darling 1911".  Obviously, the officer knew that I hadn't done anything wrong, so I wasn't worried about any legal issues, but I was worried about losing BOTH firearms.  I figured my AR was long gone by now...

Luckily, I then overheard the lady on the other end of the phone explain that it was the correct serial number, but the hit for that serial number came back to a Colt 38 special revolver.  The officer explained to her that it was not a revolver, and not a 38 special.  I got my sweet little gem of a 1911 back, and promptly put her to bed in my safe.  Unknown to me until I looked up the serial numbers online, back in 1913 Colt numbered their pistols for each model.  It is very possible that a revolver and a semi-auto 1911 in that time period could have the same serial number.  That has since been changed, and every firearm has a distinct model and serial number.

As you can see, buying and selling in a private deal can be not only tricky and possibly dangerous, but could also be costly.  I would also think that an attorney could go after someone that "knowingly" sold a firearm to someone not qualified to own one - in a civil case.  I would hope that no one reading this would do this, but what if you didn't know the person was qualified?  There really isn't any good way to find out, so documenting everything is key.

There are a couple of things that you can do to protect yourself.  First off, if the deal doesn't feel right, or you feel uneasy, don't do it.  Trust your instincts! (I know, I don't always follow my own advice!)  Next, keep a record of who, what, when, and where you bought or sold a firearm; and keep that record separate from your firearms - obviously not in the safe with them!

I found a really nice form for a private sale online, and the link to it is here:  Firearms Bill of Sale

You will need to download by saving the document to your computer before you can print it - make sure to print two copies, one for you and one for the other party.  It is a very easy and thorough form to use, similar to the form that a FFL dealer would use.  I'm not an attorney and of course would never give legal advice, but I would venture to guess that using this form and verifying the information within would be "due diligence" if there was a problem.  My attorney friends are welcome to comment below....

I wish I would have had the buyer of that Smith and Wesson Centennial fill out this form - especially if he was the one that used it in a crime!  While writing this, I just remembered that the guy's first name was Mike.  If you are out there, Mike, just know that it is possible that I may eventually rack my brain enough to remember your last name (it took me over ten years to remember your first name).  Then you can answer the nice police officer's questions!

Don't let me persuade you NOT to use web sites like ArmsList.  I have bought and sold a few firearms from some very good people on ArmsList, and of course the sweet deal on the 1911!  In the end, it is up to you to make sure you do everything you can to be not only legal, but moral.  

To my friends that are reading this:  If I know you, I probably didn't make you fill out a form, but from now on I will.  If something ever happens to me and my firearms are passed down to my family or sold, it is important that a record is kept.  We can talk about estate sales and grieving widows and those that take advantage of them some other time.

Be careful, and be safe.  While you're at it, take the time to explain firearms safety to your friends, relatives, and kids.

See you next week.

Open Carry and YouTube

**I just saw a new post from a friend on FaceBook with another open carry video from YouTube.  If you haven't seen the various videos, this article may not make much sense to you.  If you haven't seen the videos on YouTube, don't waste your time - just read my blog and imagine that you've seen them!**

I want to make myself clear - I completely support the 2nd Amendment, and I have NO PROBLEM if anyone wants to open carry their firearm - responsibly.  In some areas of the country, open carry is considered normal and acceptable.

Although.....

Open carrying a firearm with the intent to arouse the police or other citizens in order to make a YouTube video to -support- open carry is utterly ridiculous.  If one is a responsible person, one would realize that not everyone shares their point of view on carrying a firearm.  Why make matters worse by parading around town with a firearm exposed?  Do they not think that some people wouldn't be alarmed at seeing (oh my gosh) a gun?

Not everyone shares my views on firearms, and I have enough intelligence to understand that.  If you don't know me, I'm an avid shooter, an avid collector and and an instructor.  I carry a gun 24/7.  I practice with my firearms, and have the skills to use them responsibly.  On the other hand, there are MANY people that believe in the 2A that have never been around firearms and don't wish to have anything to do with them at all.  To try to force people into being comfortable with firearms when they have no background or education in firearms is absolutely insane.  Not only are you making yourself look like a "tacti-cool fool" (that's my word, feel free to use it), but it makes people that would normally support your right to carry become nervous - or worse - anti-gun.

To open carry only for the purpose of videoing for YouTube is even worse.  Now, you've called attention to yourself to the point that someone had to call the police.  Think about it from their side - a person at Wal Mart calls the police on their cell phone, saying that there is a man with a gun walking around the store.  What do you possibly think the police response will be?  Personally, I hope they would send out all available officers, SWAT team, etc. to check this out!

Before you criticize me for this thought, think about it.  Put yourself in the dispatcher/officers position.  You just got a call from a person in Wal Mart about a man with a gun.  What would be the normal thing to do (if you had no firearms experience)?  Obviously, you send out the troops.  Consider if you were now the officer getting the call:  "Man with a gun in Wal Mart".  How would you react?  If I were in that place, I'd certainly be calling for backup, checking my carbine, and I'm sure my adrenaline would be running in the overdrive position.

The real question is, wouldn't you WANT the police to have this response if you didn't know that the person was just an idiot trying to make a YouTube video???  I'm not even going to go into the amount of time and money that was just used to have the police respond to the call, let alone tying up the officers that may have needed to assist other people with their troubles.  To me, it's just as bad as pulling a fire alarm with no fire.

In our state, the police have a right to ask you for identification.  You MUST show your ID, or you will go to jail until you are "properly" identified.  They can "stop" you in a Tarry stop - look it up, I don't have time to explain all the nuances of the Tarry stop.  They can search you.  They can separate you from your firearm for their safety.  As a side note, Indiana is very unclear on open carry.  According to most interpretations, open carry is legal, but definitely NOT recommended.  To open carry in Indiana, you do need a permit.  Indiana issues a permit to carry, not a "concealed" carry permit.

I'll end my rant with the following true story.  I was walking around Menard's the other day doing some shopping.  A young man (I can use that phrase now that I'm old!) walked past me carrying a Glock 17 on his side, in a tacti-cool nylon Uncle Mikes drop leg holster.  The reaction of the people that saw him was "oh my, he has a gun!".  I was just waiting on the troops to storm the store.  I walked up to him and asked him a simple question - "Why?".  His answer was just as simple - "Because I can.".  I then pointed out the people walking by with mouths agape looking at him and tried to explain that he is the reason that people that enjoy, use and carry firearms are thought of as crazy people.  He didn't understand.  Again, let me be clear that this man DOES have a right to do what he was doing, but is it really necessary or responsible?

I'm going to be honest here - the whole time I spoke with him, my hand was not noticeable to anyone, but was resting securely on my Combat Commander and I was ready to react much faster than he could get to his super-duper-tacti-cool holster.  Why?  Because he made ME nervous..........

Open carry is just irresponsible, and a way to exercise one's "bravado".  If I'm standing in a store, and a somewhat intelligent robber comes in and sees my gun, who do you think he'll shoot first?  I would also venture a guess that most of these open carry advocate people don't possess the skills to retain their firearm.  I have been trained on weapon retention, but I still can't possibly say that there isn't someone out there that couldn't take my gun away if I carried openly.  I'm a big guy, with the training necessary.  But unlike a police officer on duty, I have to admit that I'm not always on my toes about retention.  I try to stay very aware of my surroundings at all times, but let's face it - you can't always be 100% and I wouldn't want to have to live that way anyway.  To open carry in a city/urban environment is advertising to some bunch of thugs to attack you for your weapon.  If someone will rob you for that $20 in your wallet, don't you think that having an expensive handgun on your side is more enticing?

Open carry serves absolutely NO PURPOSE other than to draw attention to yourself....and to make videos for YouTube I suppose!

(As I said at the beginning - in some areas of the country, open carry is acceptable.  I am NOT talking about these areas.)