Posted on 06/28/2002 9:13:48 AM PDT by CHICAGOFARMER
5 Rules of Conceal and Carry (like a pistol)
author unknown
[Someone sent us this; source is unknown. ]
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* YOUR CONCEALED WEAPON IS FOR PROTECTION OF LIFE ONLY.
Draw it solely in preparation to protect yourself or an innocent third party from the wrongful and criminal activities of another.
* KNOW EXACTLY WHEN YOU CAN USE YOUR WEAPON.
A criminal adversary must have or reasonably appear to have:
A. The ABILITY to inflict serious bodily injury. He is armed or reasonably appears to be armed.
B. The OPPORTUNITY to inflict serious bodily harm. He is positioned to harm you with his weapon, 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 justifies an emergency deadly force response. Note that these conditions may be defined differently in certain circumstances. For example, a small woman may be justified in using deadly force with a handgun against a much stronger male who is unarmed and attempting to rape or kill her. For a male vs. male encounter the defendant probably would not be justified unless possibly if he was physically handicapped, elderly, etc. This is known as disparity of force.
3. IF YOU CAN RUN AWAY SAFELY- RUN!
Just because you are armed doesn't necessarily mean that you must confront a bad guy at gunpoint. Develop your situation awareness skills so that you can be alert to detect and avoid trouble as much as possible. Keep in mind that if you successfully evade a potential confrontation, the single negative consequence involved might only be your bruised ego, which should heal quickly with mature rationalization. But if you force a confrontation, and it escalates into deadly force, you risk the possibility of death or serious injury to yourself and any friends, family members, or innocent bystanders that may be present.
Also you face the possibility of criminal liability and/or financial ruin from a civil lawsuit as a result of your actions. Flee if you can - fight only as a last resort.
Naturally, there are circumstances in which you may be able to flee but it would not be in your best interest or judgment to do so. For example, a situation that you could easily flee from when alone may be difficult to safely avoid if your family was with you. Also it may be a judgment/ethics call on whether or not to fight or flee based on what is happening to potential victims around you.
For example, a gunman may be threatening the life of someone else and not even notice you. If you leave the scene, and go call 911 and just wait for the police to show up, you may have to deal with guilt and emotional issues that result if the gunman kills someone. In contrast, if you intervene, then you may risk your own life. Remember that self-preservation, and keeping your loved ones safe should be your first priorities. Always remember to stay calm and quickly analyze the situation at hand. Use good judgment on how you will react to any given circumstance.
4. DISPLAY YOUR WEAPON, 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 reliably keeps your gun hidden from public view at all times. You have no control over how a stranger will react to seeing (or learning about) your concealed weapon. He of she might become alarmed and report you as a "man or woman with a gun". Depending on his or her feelings about firearms, this person might maliciously embellish their story in an attempt to have your gun seized by police or in order to get you arrested. Even though your jacket only blew open for a moment, giving a brief glimpse of your gun, that person may tell the police that you were waving it around like a homicidal maniac. An alarmed citizen who reports a "man or woman with a gun" is going to be a lot more credible to police than you are when you are stopped because you match the "suspect's" description and you are found to have a concealed handgun in your possession. 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 the ABILITY and INTENT and is actively seeking the OPPORTUNITY to do you great harm.
Also, remember that proper concealment of a weapon is more than just covering it up so that it is not physically visible. You want to remove as much as possible any signs that you are armed. For example, you would not wear a tight T-shirt that shows the lines of your gun printing through it, especially if that T-shirt has a firearm related logo or statement on it. Also, a black nylon fanny-pack or a photographer's vest may, in certain areas or in certain modes of dress tell any half-educated person that you are packing a gun. It is also not usually a very good idea to let too many people know that you carry a gun. This fact should be limited to your immediate family and select friends who are "gun people" also. Please, for your sake and the sake of others around you - be discreet!
5. DON'T LET YOUR EMOTIONS GET THE BEST OF YOU.
When you are armed, you must realize that you just lost your right to initiate ANY type of confrontation that could possibly escalate into a violent encounter. You must now have a very mellow attitude on life and your fellow mankind.
You just lost the right to flip off the motorist who just cut you off in traffic. You have to ignore the scumbag who just "wolf-whistled" at your wife/girlfriend. If someone wants to pick a fight with you, you lost the right to respond in any way other than a kind, friendly manner while walking away. As an armed person you must be more likely and willing to avoid trouble that an unarmed person would be. You have the legal and moral obligation of de-escalating any situation that you are presented with unless you are faced by someone displaying all three of the "attack potential" elements. Carrying a loaded firearm among your fellow citizens is an awesome responsibility that is not to be taken lightly.
Remember, once you strap on your weapon, you must carry with it a great measure of discretion and judgment, along with an easy-going attitude.
"KNOW EXACTLY WHEN YOU CAN USE YOUR WEAPON."
"IF YOU CAN RUN AWAY SAFELY- RUN!"
"DISPLAY YOUR WEAPON, GO TO JAIL."
"DON'T LET YOUR EMOTIONS GET THE BEST OF YOU." "YOUR CONCEALED WEAPON IS FOR PROTECTION OF LIFE ONLY."
Even though you didn't initiate the confrontation, if you can't back off and let it go, and wind up using that gun, a jury will crucify you- even if I'm on that jury! (Maybe ESPECIALLY if I'm on the jury...)
Fortunately, judging by the behavior of folks in Alaska who have a CCW, this is not a big problem- the kind of people who are willing to attend the training and jump through the hoops to get a CCW seem to take the responsibility seriously.
A. The ABILITY to inflict serious bodily injury. He is armed or reasonably appears to be armed.
Or not. We just buried a LEO yesterday who was trying to deal with a naked, paranoid crack addict. The latter got hold of the former's service piece and put 11 bullets into his head.
It differs from state to state, and I'd strongly advise those who carry concealed to be intimately familiar with their state's (and city's, if pertinent) laws concerning deadly force, and current on changes made to those laws. In my state (Washington) you are justified in using deadly force to prevent death or "grave physical injury" to yourself or to another. In Texas you may do so under some circumstances involving protection of property. The penalty for not knowing this is potentially a life term in prison.
I wondered about this.
Being "normal" sized (5'9", 185), how large does another man have to be before I can defend myself w/ my handgun? 6'2", 225; 6'5", 250; etc. Kind of a blurry line.
Carrying has made me a whole lot mellower, though, - I avoid confrontation like the plague.
My finger waving is no more, I am more mellow, I am always more friendly, I avoid situations, I am more aware of danger and leave.
When it comes to protecting my family I follow the rules.
Yep you hit the nail on the head.
the kind of people who are willing to attend the training and jump through the hoops to get a CCW seem to take the responsibility seriously.
These people who carry are very resonsible and do take it seriously.
Michigan CCW birthday was next week. 50,000 CCW citizens have not had road rage, have not killed each other over parking lot disputes, and it is not the wild west.
Where are those gun grabbers now!!
This unknown author is giving an example. You must decide if the rule applies to males. He said if handicap, or you against a professional fighter with legal fists.
You will known if you are a solid citizen and practice the rules.
Your statement is TRUE. In some states you can protect property.
The 5 rules will work in any state. It has a very good chance of working in even the most liberal state with no CCW carry law. If I am attacked in New York, Kalifornia, Illinois, and he has a weapon, I will still take my chances by following these rules with the law of any state.
Good aim
controlled breathing
and gentle squeeze
yes these are good tips of humor.
Oh, they are still out there- millions of them.
You see, they cannot be persuaded by logic, or even by facts (like the fact that there is practically ZERO incidence of illegal use of firearms by CCW holders). No, these folks are quite simply AFRAID- of you, of me, of guns, and probably of mice and loud noises. It is not rational, and cannot be overcome by argument.
Believe me, I have tried to talk quite a few of these folks out of their fear of CCW laws- and it is just a complete waste of time.
Sure, James Bond carried that .32 Walther PP - but he only faced enemies using blanks! So avoid all those new tiny .32 semis.
GUN REVIEWS free from ad-money bias - emphasizing woman-friendliness of tested guns!
keep talking. It is fun. Here are a few good ones to coin into your talks.
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I am intolerant. I'm intolerant of evil. That's a good thing.
Tolerance of evil would be evil.
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Statistics show that most fatal accidents(which occur at home)take place in the bathroom.I don't want ONE MORE FATAL ACCIDENT TO OCCUR,THEREFOR I AM GOING TO GET THE GOVERNMENT TO BAN ALL VISITS TO THE BATHROOM!!This sounds pretty stupid,RIGHT???
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I use a similar tactic. . . We had a neighbor who hit us up with the "Just Ask" campaign last year. We responded with a big, bright yellow sign for their front yard. "This home PROUDLY Gun-Free". If they'd leave it on their front lawn for a week, we'd answer as to whether we were armed or not.
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80 million gun owners provided protection for their families last night. What did you do?
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Joseph Sobran used to offer his anti-gun acquaintances window stickers that said:
PLEASE NOTE:
This Is A Gun-Free Household
No one ever took one from him. I wonder why?
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I carry in my synagogue open. The rabbi has no problem with it and even encourages me to do so. Hey its free security and I will be there before the police arrive.
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"It's been a burning issue," according to Bradley DeBraska, president of the Milwaukee Police Association, who says off-duty officers worry about retaliation from criminals they've arrested. "We basically have 50 different state laws that regulate police officers and concealment when we cross state lines, and we simply don't know them all. We don't have a clue."
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"Who then are this individual with such a universal wisdom that it gives them the right to veto the judgment of this intelligent multitude of 80 million gun owners?
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There is a huge difference between feeling safe and being safe.
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You can't control the wind, but you can certainly adjust your sails."
Concealment would be the only problem.
BTW, can anyone tell me what that shiny revolver Miss Shagwell lugged -is?
Yes if you are ever in a gun battle, a larger caliber is best.
WE are talking here about self defense. Just flashing a gun will send 99.5% of felons running. Therefore, that last .5% where meet all of the 5 rules, and end up in a gun fight, yes take
Good aim
controlled breathing
and gentle squeeze
as poster #9 suggests.
80 million honest american citizens provided protection for their families last night. What did you do?
chicagofarmer
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