Tag: Self Defense

Fear Doesn’t Motivate My Decision to Carry a Gun

It never fails, when I talk about carrying a firearm somebody always chimes in and says something along the lines of, “I can’t imagine living my life in constant fear like you do!” There is a misconception among many who don’t carry, which is the belief those of us who carry do so out of fear.

I carry a gun for the same reason I keep a jump pack in my truck, wear a seatbelt, carry a Swiss Army Knife, have a stockpile of food, have extra batteries for my equipment, and backup data on my system regularly: I like being prepared. Thankfully I live in an area where violent crime is low but, like an auto accident, a violent crime can happen anywhere so it’s good to have a means of self-defense available. My firearm is another tool in my toolbox that gives me a better chance of a satisfactory result in a specific scenario.

When I first obtained my carry permit I didn’t do so because I was living in a state of fear, I did it because I believe having a firearm would enhance my capabilities in specific situations. While I was never in the Boy Scouts I do live by the mantra of always being prepared. My daily footwear are waterproof boots because boots in general have far more utility than shoes and I absolutely hate wet feet. Granted as a person who works in an office all day it’s unlikely I’ll be in a situation where waterproof boots are useful but there is no detriment if I wear boots and there are advantages so that’s what I do. Having four-wheel drive on my truck isn’t a feature I need every day but when a really bad snowstorm hits it’s nice to know I can get to where I need to go.

For most of us carrying a firearm means nothing more than having the right tool for the right job on hand.

Sheriff Chuck Wright Seems Like a Smart Man

Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright seems like a pretty levelheaded man and honestly I wish more police officers adopted his way of thinking. Instead of being a self-righteous authoritarian who believes only himself and his selected employees are competent enough to protect the populace Sheriff Write is discussing self-defense with those who don’t carry badges:

Hundreds of people packed a meeting room Monday night to listen to Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright, teachers and officials discuss protection tips, including everything from cutting back bushes around homes to carrying guns.

When Brenda Thornton walked up to a meeting room at the Spartanburg County government office building Monday night, she had to stand outside of the door.

“When I got in here, we couldn’t get in,” she said.

She and others stood outside, but they listened closely to tips about protecting themselves.

“I have always really wanted to have a gun in my car because I travel a lot by myself,” she said.

And when Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright walked in, the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

“I still believe women get your CWP, if that’s what you choose to do, but train yourselves with it,” Wright said.

I’m giving him points not just for recommending people get carry permits but also emphasizing the necessity to train with a the firearm you plan to carry. While carrying a firearm is smart it won’t serve much use if you don’t know how to properly utilize the weapon. Propert utilization requires a great deal of training so that all operations with the firearm are muscle memory. Being in a high-stress situation where your life is on the line is not the time to wonder how to reload the firearm or disengage the manual safety.

More police officers need to follow Sheriff Wright’s lead and properly education people on self-defense. Too many officers seem to believe only trained cops have the ability to defend a life and that attitude needs to be extinguished.

Another Application for Shotguns

I feel bad for business owners near Zuccotti Park as there seems to be an increase in the number of harassement incidents initiated by occupiers. While I gave the occupiers the benefit of the doubt at first I’m starting to like less and less of what I hear coming out of New York and this incident makes me glad the Minnesota occupiers have remained peaceful and civil:

A business owner near the Occupy Wall Street encampment claims she has been repeatedly harassed and threatened with bodily harm by protesters after she and her employees refused to give in to their outlandish demands.

“I’ve been told, ‘Watch your back!’ 10 times,” Stacey Tzortzatos, owner of Panini & Co. Breads, located across from Zuccotti Park, told The Post yesterday.

She and her employees are terrified by the constant threats, which she said began after she demanded the protesters stop using her shop’s restroom as a place to bathe every day.

The final straw came about two weeks ago, when the demonstrators broke a bathroom sink, flooding the shop, and clogged the toilet — setting her back $3,000 in damages.

[…]

And on Friday, she said, a crazed squatter burst into the shop and demanded that workers fill a 10-gallon container of water.

When they refused, “he banged it on the ground and started yelling” and threatened the staff, she said.

“He said he was entitled to have it for free.”

As I’ve said before rioters are severely allergic to shotgun pellets. Although I realize getting a shotgun in New York is likely difficult I would urge Ms. Tzortzatos to arm herself. She will be amazed how quickly a violent thugs turns into a fleeing coward at the sight of a shotgun. And if the sight of the shotgun isn’t enough to scare them away the bark will certainly take care of the violent offender before the offender has a chance to harm or kill store employees or patrons.

Rioters are Severely Allergic to Shotgun Pellets

Don’t you hate it when roving marauders try to bust up your property and steal your stuff? Luckily there is a way to prevent this from happening by exploiting a well known rioter allergy, shotgun pellets:

“We had people who attempted to break into our building,” the landmark Rotunda Building on Frank Ogawa Plaza outside City Hall, Tagami said Thursday. He grabbed a shotgun that he usually keeps at home, went down to the ground floor and “discouraged them,” he said.

“I was standing there and they saw me there, and I lifted it – I didn’t point it – I just held it in my hands,” Tagami said. “And I just racked it, and they ran.”

Rioters are so severely allergic to shotgun pellets just the sight of a shotgun will often send them running in fear. Trying to be ballsy the rioters did do some graffiti work on the outside of the building:

Although they didn’t get inside the building – Tagami, 46, oversaw its $50 million renovation and has an office there – vandals did scrawl graffiti on the outside walls during the post-midnight riot that broke out after Occupy Oakland’s daylong general strike.

I’m sure this could have been solved by placing a few people with shotguns around the outside of the build though.

While I make light of the situation the story does bring up a example of why having a means of self-defense is a good thing. Although I don’t advocate the possession of firearms as a mere deterrent the fact of the matter is an assailant is less likely to attack you or yours if they know you’re in possession of a firearm. As the economy continues to crumble the rate of crime, both violent and property, is likely to increase. Knowing this I think it’s a good idea to obtain a means of self-defense less things turn to total shit in your area and you remain completely unarmed as rioters decide your home or business is a good target for looting.

Seattle Gun Ban Ruled Illegal

Seattle’s ban of guns in parks has been struck down for a second time. The Second Amendment Foundation’s (SAF) case against the city’s government went to the Washington State Cout of Appeals where it was struck down for a second time:

The Washington State Court of Appeals for Division 1 today unanimously upheld a 2010 King County Superior Court ruling against the City of Seattle’s ban on firearms in city parks in a lawsuit originally brought by the Second Amendment Foundation, other gun rights groups and five individual plaintiffs.

SAF Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb said he had always been confident that the Appeals Court would rule “in favor of the law and against the attempt by Seattle to dance around it.”

“We told former Mayor Greg Nickels he was wrong,” Gottlieb said, “and we have reminded the city under Mayor Mike McGinn that it was wrong, and now the Appeals Court has confirmed our position.”

Strike another victory for SAF. Those guys are on one hell of a roll. It’s good to see Washington state refusing to allow cities to ignore the law by preventing citizens from legally carrying a means of self-defense in arbitrarily selected city properties.

I still don’t understand the thought process of some city governments. What is the point in banning the legal carry of firearms in parks? All you do is setup a section of the city where criminals can be reasonably assured unarmed victims are plenty.

Wisconsin Right-to-Carry Law Takes Effect Today

Congratulations Wisconsin, today is the day you finally allow people within your borders the right to self-defense. People within the state can finally obtain carry permits while those living outside of the state may have their permit recognized. I posted Wisconsin’s reciprocity list a while ago and am happy that Minnesota’s permit made the cut.

First there were 50, but now there is only one as Illinois stands alone as the only state that doesn’t afford people living within its borders to carry the most effective means of self-defense.

Be Realistic in Equipment Selection

While I love most aspects about the gun community, the handful of people advocating the utterly ridiculous really annoys me. On this week’s episode of Chris Rants About Random Members of the Gun Community we’re going to talk those who say weapons lights and laser sights are bad news when it comes to tactics. Over at Gun Nuts Media Caleb has a good post covering how absurd some people are when it comes to illumination and target verification. Caleb points to the following quote by a member of the gun community:

Given the warning of the light, and knowing the gun’s aiming point, this is a perfect setup for an armed intruder to edge up to the wall in a crouch, then reach around and shoot upwards. If t’were I doing the intruding, I would aim a little low, in case the gentleperson upstairs was also crouching. Even if not, a pelvic or thigh hit would ruin the defender’s day, and probably give me the chance for a few more shots.

Far better for the defender to wait around the edge of the stairwell, out of sight, listening for footsteps. [I’ve never run into a set of wooden stairs that didn’t creak somewhat.] Flashlight OFF, laser on, but covered by support hand until last moment. Even without a well-aligned laser pointer, a quick snap-shot or two at point-blank range would resolve the issue quite favorably. An added precaution would be for the defender to be crouched as low as possible [prone would reduce maneuverability excessively].

I completely agree on Caleb’s take of this quote:

I see comments like this all the time, and they drive me up the freakin’ wall every time I see them. I don’t know about you, but my position is going to be pretty effectively given away by me screaming at the 911 operator that someone’s in my house and that they need to get cops here most ricky-tick before I have to shoot this guy.

Now comes the harsh reality, while thinking up random tactical scenarios is fun it’s not at all practical. I enjoy sitting down with friends, drinking a few beers, and coming up with outrageous self-defense scenarios. Yet I know better than to take those alcohol induced scenarios and applying them to real life.

Let’s do some advantage to disadvantage weighing. Being able to see your target and verify it’s a bad guy is a great advantage. Giving away your position by emitting light that allows you to see and verify your target holds litte disadvantage. You likely won’t be dealing with Spetsnaz invading your home and if you are then you’re way in over your head and likely died before realizing anybody broke into your home.

Your aggressor is also going to be in the dark so the light that telegraphs your location and harms your night vision is also going to blind that fucker. Here’s the thing though, as his eyes will be adjusted to total darkness while yours are adjusted to the light he’ll be totally blind for a bit while you can see him perfectly. Having a blind opponent greatly increases your odds of winning a fight, just saying.

If you’re that concerned about using a weapons light because you feel it will give away your position while your loud footsteps and yelling as you bang into things while stumbling around a dark house won’t then you’re an idiot.

Wisconsin Releases List of Recognized Out-of-State Carry Permits

Starting November 1st those who live in Wisconsin will be allowed to obtain carry permits and exercise their right to self-defense. In addition to that, those holding carry permits from many other states will be able to exercise legal armed defense. Wisconsin’s Attorney General released their reciprocity list and I’m glad to say Minnesota made the cut:

  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maryland
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Nebraska
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Pennsylvania
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
  • Puerto Rico
  • U.S. Virgin Islands

That’s a fairly inclusive list, which is good to see. I’m also glad this law came into play before the Christmas season as that is when I end up entering Wisconsin with some frequency.

The Dog I Want

I’ll admit it, between cats and dogs I genuinely prefer cats. Cats are mostly self-sufficient and don’t require the constant attention that dogs do. Give a cat some food, a clean place to shit, and some attention when it wants it and it’ll be happy.

With all of that said if I were to get a pet it would be a dog because when you want quality companionship that will defend you and yours a cat isn’t going to cut it:

Nine-year-old Buster fought so hard to protect his home that he shattered several teeth as he chomped on his attacker’s hunting knife. He also suffered gashes to his throat, shoulder and jowls.

[…]

A thief (or thieves) broke in by smashing two windows of the house on the 1800 block of E. Maryland Avenue. Cash, computers, a hunting bow, three rifles and Wagaman’s corrections uniforms were stolen. The invader turned Wagaman’s own 6-inch hunting knife on Buster, then left the bloody weapon on the kitchen table.

While the dog wasn’t successful in stopping the attackers he gave them a Hell of a fight but the sounds of it. The best part about this story though is that the dog lived:

The dog spent Thursday night at the University of Minnesota veterinary hospital and spent the weekend at home, where Wagaman fed him soft food, kept him warm and medicated with painkillers.

Buster’s Monday surgery was to repair his face wounds and to extract broken teeth.

The dog’s care exceeded $3,000 — before the latest surgery. “That’s a lot of money, but I don’t care. He’s a hero,” Wagaman said.

Employees in the St. Paul emergency communications center, who heard the initial emergency call, have already raised $500 to help. A fund has been set up for Buster’s care in his name at any Wells Fargo branch. The “Buster Fund” is account No. 642-89-22-071.

If I had a dog that fought that hard to defend my home you can bet I’d have little trouble spending $3,000.00 to return it to health. Stories like this are why I want to own a dog some day. While they’re a decent amount of work and expensive they’re still called man’s best friend for a reason.

Perhaps It’s Time to Up My Capacity

It seems the media’s version of flash mobs are becoming more common. A Pedal Pub in Minneapolis was attacked by at least 25 people:

A flash mob of 25 to 30 youths on Saturday night attacked the Pedal Pub, a four-wheeled bicycle and bar powered by up to a dozen people, as it rolled down Nicollet Mall near S. 6th Street.

None of the 12 people riding the Pedal Pub was injured, but the passengers were shaken by the sudden attack, said Scott Ranney, who had rented it with friends.

The kids jumped on the Pub, shook it and grabbed at purses and belongings, Ranney said. A BlackBerry was the only thing stolen, and the attack ended just as suddenly as it began, with the kids running away.

“They could have done anything they wanted,” Ranney said.

In this case the victims were lucky, the attackers stopped without hurting anybody. The outcome could have been much different had the attackers decided they wanted to bring physical harm to those on the Pedal Pub. The last line in the quote is very accurate, the attacks could have done anything they wanted considering how outmatched the riders on the Pedal Pub were.

While I do not advocate combining alcohol and firearms in any form, the drivers of the Pedal Pub is required to remain sober so if I were in that position I would certainly be carrying. Hell with the increase in these so-called flash mobs I’m starting to think my subcompact .45’s 10+1 rounds may be a liability. Even though I always have a spare magazine on me, which gives me an additional 10 rounds, it requires time to grab the spare magazine from my pocket and reload the firearm. I’m starting to think it’s not unwise to have a gun in .40 or 9mm just for the additional capacity. After all good self-defense ammunition exists for all three calibers which makes them very effective relative to one another.