What every CCW should know and think about
Posted 07-29-2009 at 17:40 by Landor
The article is to big to be posted here but can be read here.
http://rtkba.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10
http://rtkba.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10
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WHAT EVERY CPL SHOULD KNOW AND THINK ABOUT
Written by: Charlie Marracco When you decide that you want to start carrying a gun there a many things you should think about. First and foremost is training. 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. You have to be able to walk away. A material object or being called a name is not worth a life. 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 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. 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. Cover it up and be on your way. GREAT RESPONSIBILTY You have under your control something that could save your life or a loved ones life. 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. 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 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? 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 are 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? You need to know these answers. Things are not always what they appear to be. 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. It is one of the biggest responsibilities you will ever have in your life time. It is up to you to learn to use it. Just because you have it does not mean you have to use it. 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. 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 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. 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 CPL just became invalid. How will you know who the good guy is and who the bad guy is and how will the other CPL holders know. In that moment another CPL holder could see you shooting but not see the bad guy 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 CPL holders there and you shoot the bad guy or they shoot you. Many CPL holders will have many points of view on this issue so within that moment you are on your own. KNOW WHAT IS IN BETWEEN YOU AND 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? 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 firearm as soon as possible. All this has taken place in a matter of a few minutes maybe even seconds. Again this is why a CPL 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 CPL holder and you defended yourself against the bad guy. Other witnesses might be describing you as the bad guy. Other CPL 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 CPL 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 CPL holder. If they are a CPL holder then they will be thinking like a CPL holder and fight harder for you as well as knowing the laws concerning a CPL. You should have their number programmed into your cell phone along with it in your wallet right behind your CPL 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. |
Posted 08-21-2009 at 17:45 by Evela
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Recent Blog Entries by Landor
- What every CCW should know and think about (07-29-2009)
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