Kick Him, Honey

The five rules of concealed carry have been floating around for awhile, though I’m not sure where they originated. Xavier, author of one of the best gun blogs going, Xavier Thoughts, refined them to the following. Along with Jeff Cooper’s four rules of gun safety, these are going to be what I’m living by when it comes to concealed carry.

1. Your concealed handgun is for protection of life only.

Draw your concealed firearm solely in preparation to protect yourself or an innocent third party from the wrongful and life threatening criminal actions of another. A CCW license does not give you any greater rights or responsibilities than any other citizen. It merely provides you with the means of legally carrying a firearm to protect your own life or the lives of others.

2. Know exactly when you can use your gun.

A criminal adversary must have, or reasonably appear to have:

a. the ability to inflict serious bodily injury (he is armed, reasonably appears to be armed with a deadly weapon, or a considerable disparity of force exists),

b. the opportunity to inflict serious bodily harm (he is physically positioned to harm you), and

c. his intent (hostile actions or words) indicates that he means to place you in jeopardy — to do you serious or fatal physical harm.

When all three of these “attack potential” elements are in place simultaneously, then you are facing a reasonably perceived deadly threat that can justify an emergency deadly force response.

3. If you can run away — RUN!

Just because you are armed does not necessarily mean you must confront a bad guy at gunpoint. Develop your “situation awareness” skills so you can be alert to detect and avoid trouble altogether. Keep in mind that if you successfully evade a potential confrontation, the single negative consequence involved might be your bruised ego, which should heal with mature rationalization. By contrast, if you force a confrontation you risk the possibility of you or a family member being killed or suffering lifelong crippling/disfiguring physical injury, criminal liability and/or financial ruin from a civil lawsuit. Flee if you can, fight only as a last resort.

4. Display your CCW, be prepared to go to jail.

You should expect to be arrested by police at gunpoint, and be charged with a crime anytime your concealed handgun is seen by another citizen in public, regardless of how unintentional, innocent or justified the situation might seem. Choose a method of carry that keeps your gun reliably hidden from public view at all times.

You have no control over how a stranger will react to seeing (or learning about) your concealed handgun. He or she might become alarmed and report you to police as a “man or woman with a gun.” Depending on his or her feelings about firearms, this person might be willing to maliciously embellish his or her story in an attempt to have your gun seized by police or to get you arrested. An alarmed citizen who reports a “man with a gun” is going to be more credible to police than you when you are stopped because you match the suspect’s description, and you are found to have a concealed handgun in your possession. Under these circumstances, you have been accused, apprehended, and are in a defensive position. If you must draw your gun, make certain you are the first to notify police.

Before you deliberately expose your gun in public, ask yourself: “Is this worth going to jail for?” The only time this question should warrant a “yes” response is when an adversary has at least, both ability and intent, and is actively seeking the opportunity to do you great harm.

5. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you.

Develop and practice self control. If, despite your best efforts to the contrary, you do get into some kind of heated dispute with another person while you are armed, never mention, imply or exhibit your gun for the purpose of intimidation or one-upmanship. You will simply make a bad situation worse — for yourself. You can carry a gun, or you can have a temper. You may even do both for a while, but it will not last very long.

Since we’re starting from the beginning, I thought I’d post Jeff Cooper’s safety rules. I’m of the opinion that these four rules are as elegant as anything ever written, evidence of that being that you can’t actually hurt anyone or cause property damage if you break just one of the rules. You have to break at least two at the same time, and most negligent discharges occur because the shooter is breaking three, or even all four.

The following are excerpted from The Modern Technique of the Pistol, by Greg Morrison and Jeff Cooper; I got them from here.

RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED

There are no exceptions. Do not pretend that this is true. Some people and organizations take this rule and weaken it; e.g. “Treat all guns as if they were loaded.” Unfortunately, the “as if” compromises the directness of the statement by implying that they are unloaded, but we will treat them as though they are loaded. No good! Safety rules must be worded forcefully so that they are never treated lightly or reduced to partial compliance.

All guns are always loaded — period!

This must be your mind-set. If someone hands you a firearm and says, “Don’t worry, it’s not loaded,” you do not dare believe him. You need not be impolite, but check it yourself. Remember, there are no accidents, only negligent acts. Check it. Do not let yourself fall prey to a situation where you might feel compelled to squeal, “I didn’t know it was loaded!”

RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY

Conspicuously and continuously violated, especially with pistols, Rule II applies whether you are involved in range practice, daily carry, or examination. If the weapon is assembled and in someone’s hands, it is capable of being discharged. A firearm holstered properly, lying on a table, or placed in a scabbard is of no danger to anyone. Only when handled is there a need for concern. This rule applies to fighting as well as to daily handling. If you are not willing to take a human life, do not cover a person with the muzzle. This rule also applies to your own person. Do not allow the muzzle to cover your extremities, e.g. using both hands to reholster the pistol. This practice is unsound, both procedurally and tactically. You may need a free hand for something important. Proper holster design should provide for one-handed holstering, so avoid holsters which collapse after withdrawing the pistol. (Note: It is dangerous to push the muzzle against the inside edge of the holster nearest the body to “open” it since this results in your pointing the pistol at your midsection.) Dry-practice in the home is a worthwhile habit and it will result in more deeply programmed reflexes. Most of the reflexes involved in the Modern Technique do not require that a shot be fired. Particular procedures for dry-firing in the home will be covered later. Let it suffice for now that you do not dry-fire using a “target” that you wish not to see destroyed. (Recall RULE I as well.)

Rule III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET

Rule III is violated most anytime the uneducated person handles a firearm. Whether on TV, in the theaters, or at the range, people seem fascinated with having their finger on the trigger. Never stand or walk around with your finger on the trigger. It is unprofessional, dangerous, and, perhaps most damaging to the psyche, it is klutzy looking. Never fire a shot unless the sights are superimposed on the target and you have made a conscious decision to fire. Firing an unaligned pistol in a fight gains nothing. If you believe that the defensive pistol is only an intimidation tool — not something to be used — carry blanks, or better yet, reevaluate having one around. If you are going to launch a projectile, it had best be directed purposely. Danger abounds if you allow your finger to dawdle inside the trigger guard. As soon as the sights leave the target, the trigger-finger leaves the trigger and straightens alongside the frame. Since the hand normally prefers to work as a unit — as in grasping — separating the function of the trigger-finger from the rest of the hand takes effort. The five-finger grasp is a deeply programmed reflex. Under sufficient stress, and with the finger already placed on the trigger, an unexpected movement, misstep or surprise could result in a negligent discharge. Speed cannot be gained from such a premature placement of the trigger-finger. Bringing the sights to bear on the target, whether from the holster or the Guard Position, takes more time than that required for moving the trigger finger an inch or so to the trigger.

RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET

Know what it is, what is in line with it, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything you have not positively identified. Be aware of your surroundings, whether on the range or in a fight. Do not assume anything. Know what you are doing.

SUMMARY:

Make these rules a part of your character. Never compromise them. Improper gunhandling results from ignorance and improper role modeling, such as handling your gun like your favorite actor does. Education can cure this. You can make a difference by following these gunhandling rules and insisting that those around you do the same. Set the example. Who knows what tragedies you, or someone you influence, may prevent?

Update: 1st Lt L Diablo reminds us in the comments that Rule IV is usually, and properly, given as “know your target and beyond,” as you are responsible for any bullet you fire until it comes to rest.

I’ve started posting more about guns over the last few months, and that’s a trend that’s probably going to continue. As I’m learning more about concealed carry and self defense with firearms, I’m learning exactly how much I don’t know. Though I’ll still post about other stuff, I think the firearms and self defense posts are going to increase sharply. I’m not entirely sure what that means yet, but that’s going to be part of the project.

I just added the following to the about page, which will maybe make things a little clearer.

I’ve been around guns most of my life, but until recently only used them for plinking or keeping on the bedside table for home defense. However, as I’ve gotten older and started a family, I’ve been thinking more and more about the human right to self defense, and what that means.

As such, I’ve got a new goal: to become competent with firearms for self defense. Not an expert, not a gunfighter, just competent. I don’t have the thousands of dollars lying around to attend classes at Gunsite, but I do have a public library where I can request books on firearms and self defense. I have also lucked upon a fairly good archive of firearms videos. And I live near a free shooting area in a national forest.

To start, I’ll try to achieve my goal by:

• Shooting no less than once every other week, even if my budget only allows me to fire a hundred rounds.
• Performing dry-firing exercises, including the practice of drawing from my concealed carry holster, at least once every other day.
• Carrying everywhere that I’m legally allowed, or that will not lose me my day job.
• Doing all of the above with exact attention Jeff Cooper’s four rules of firearms safety and Xavier’s five rules of concealed carry.
• Studying everything I can get my hands on to expand my knowledge.
• Learning the 1911 platform.

That last one’s a little involved, if the least important of the items. I have a Springfield GI 1911-A1 that I’ve been tinkering with. I love shooting it, but it’s not as a reliable as my Glock or my Ruger GP100, and it suffers from some deficiencies. The Springfield will become my carry gun when I’m able to do the work necessary to make the improvements it needs, to maintain it, and to be able to detail strip and reassemble the goddamn thing without cursing.

These seem to me like pretty modest goals, but we’ll see. I assume they’ll evolve as I learn. I’m a fairly new to most of this stuff, so I hope that no one will take anything written here as anything but the jotting down of ideas.

We’ll see how this goes. Those established gun nuts among you are going to probably read a lot of stuff you already know. Hell, I’m probably going to write a lot of stuff I already know. But just scratching the surface of this over the last couple of weeks, I’m realizing that much of what I thought I knew is dead wrong, and part of what I want to do is start from the beginning.

Gun nuts have gotten a rap for being racist, and it’s not a rap I’d entirely dispute. There’s definitely a fair amount of bigotry on display at gun shows. Though, I’d argue, no more than in the population at large — it’s just that most of the folks who attend gun shows lack much interest in trying to veil their bigotry in euphemism.

That said, what about anti-gun nuts? Reason I bring the question up is that this blurb from the Violence Policy Center in a study entitled “Black Homicide Victimization in the United States” has been making the rounds:

Blacks in the United States are disproportionately affected by homicide. For the year 2007, blacks represented 13 percent of the nation’s population, yet accounted for 49 percent of all homicide victims.

As noted at the beginning of this study, the devastation homicide inflicts on black teens and adults is a national crisis, yet it is all too often ignored outside of affected communities.

For blacks, like all victims of homicide, guns — usually handguns — are far and away the number one murder tool. Successful efforts to reduce America’s black homicide toll must put a focus on reducing access to firearms.

Now, my interest in firearms is fairly simple. Everybody has a human right to self defense, and that includes the right to defend one’s self no matter who the aggressor is. Every state on the planet claims — or would like to claim — a monopoly on violence, but every person on the planet has the human right to defend themselves against violence. That includes Black Panthers and the American Indian Movement defending themselves against state violence, just as much as it includes Zapatistas defending themselves against Mexican violence, just as much as it includes individual citizens defending themselves or their loved ones against criminal violence.

I don’t think that’s a radical proposition. And given the endless propensity for violence on display in the human race, I don’t find it unreasonable for one to have the means and ability to defend themselves and loved ones on hand. Not everybody knows someone who has been murdered, but everybody knows somebody who has been raped. And almost everybody knows somebody who has been brutalized because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or because they looked or acted differently from their attackers. Or because they got in the middle of a situation they shouldn’t have. Or just because their attacker was bigger and stronger than them, or thought they had the right to be brutal because they were given some kind of state sanction.

To put it another way, I don’t personally know anyone whose house has burned down, but I make sure the smoke detectors work, that I have a fire extinguisher handy in the kitchen, and that my upstairs bedroom has a fire ladder. By the same token, I know a couple of people who’ve been murdered, and more than I can count who’ve been raped and/or beaten into a pulp for no good reason whatsoever. So I keep the means to defend myself and my loved ones around. That doesn’t like rocket science to me.

Which brings me back to my question. How the hell is it not racist to “put a focus on reducing access to firearms” by blacks? To remove, in other words, the only means of self defense against an entire segment of the population based solely on race? Especially one that is, as the study says, is disproportionately affected by violence.

Here’s an answer, in the form of a video produced by Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, an organization that I probably have lots and lots of philosophical differences with, but also one very large commonality.

Part one:

Part two:

Pilfered from Hell in a Handbasket, the tactical spork:

This does have to end somewhere, right?