Is Your Gun a Weapon or a Talisman?

[Michael Brown]

I'd guess that an employee could carry if specifically authorized by the owner. I would think that an employee would be like a designee.

However I'm no lawyer and not really qualified to interpret the law in another jurisdiction, so my best advice would be to consult the district attorney's office where you work,or better yet have your boss do it.

I would say it would be illegal to simply carry based on your permit without some sort of authorization from the owner.

Either way, let's get this thread back on track. J.P.

Michael Brown

 

[JD8]

Well I know my current employer wouldn't allow it but it would be really handy to know in the future. Oh well.

Michael what is your best suggestion to get those whom are a little stubborn to listen to you about awareness? When I remind my g/f to do things, like not sleeping with the windows open, have someone walk her to her car after her shift (waitress) etc she'll agree and say ya I should really do that. However she doesn't go about anything with forethought. What's the best way to teach someone this? Or rather instill some of thie aspects of awareness you have listed?

 

[okla-lawman]

It is not a talisman nor fashion statement for me. I have survived encounters on and off duty. Both armed and unarmed. I am still here not to talk about it.

 

[MDT]

O-L,

I think that you and others who have experienced encounters are the ones that the well-intentioned but uninitiated look to for advice/ feedback/ training. Again, while examining myself, I am not in LE (like you and Mike, and others), I don't shoot competitively (J.P., Eric, etc.). I'm an average joe who sees human depravity on a day-to-day basis and wants to take steps to protect me and my family from it.

If you are involved in a violwent encounter, no-one will say "that guy had a ultra-caliber, 1 lb Vanadium trigger, uber gripped, GlockaColtBeretta". What I want them to say is that guy handled himself smartly and he is still here to be with his grandkids.

This is why I try to listen and learn from those that have been there.

 

[Michael Brown]

"Michael what is your best suggestion to get those whom are a little stubborn to listen to you about awareness?"

For me, it took dogged persistance and irritation to get my wife on board. I just had to keep pestering and pestering and not giving up. Its gotten much easier since we've had a child and she realizes she's responsible for someone else.

For most, unfortunately, it takes an incident to get them a reality check.

Michael Brown

 

[J.P.]

I believe that a person can never stop learning.
Truth be told,we could *all* benefit from taking some of Mike's classes.

Violent attacks are seldom static and we need to train in ways to efficiently deal with this.
I have trained in various forms of martial arts and at one time competed.
Most of this stylized 'training' had little benefit in any of the real world fights I have been involved in.
The one thing that I learned was how to control the adrenaline flow and channel it into productive,although anything can happen,this is why it's important to keep up your training,IMO.
That said,I do not train nearly enough anymore.

At the risk of another thread hi-jack,i would like to address another issue of preparedness.....Alcohol.
Usually the times/places that you are out drinking are the times when the criminal element is most prevalent.
I believe that drinking to excess is an extreme liability.
What kind of judgement are you going to have if you are intoxicated and who is going to believe your side of the story?
Just something else to consider.

 

[Michael Brown]

J.P.

Don't make me pull a Todd Beamer on your hi-jacking!

Michael Brown

 

[okla-lawman]

If you look at old west gunfighters, and look at the REAL facts it was often not the
fastest shot that won but the one who kept their cool. I have read some of the stuff from the Phd over at OU who has researched this extensively. He claims that Wild Bill Hickock was probably the deadlyest gunfighter. I remember read about a shootout he had in Springfield Mo., right down town. Apparently the other guy fired two or three rounds before Hitchcock killed him dead. He kept a cool head and had killed before.
Why was I researching this? It was over 20 years ago the first time I was forced save my life by firing rounds at somebody. I was fairly young at the time and luckily I did not hit him but I was still physically and emotionally ill for several weeks. I talked to many gun fight/combat survivors and found out what I went through was very normal. In fact most police officers involved in shooting quit law enforcement within one year.
So what does this have to do with training? It should be as realistic as possible. It you do nothing but stand there and punch holes in paper you are not really training to win.
If you are deploying a gun, knife, trash can lid whatever you have probably already made a mistake, tactically. So you will need to rely on your training to survive. While
you may not be going up against Wild Bill you may be up against some street kid/thug
that has no qualms about killing you. Most of us have been raised that thall shall not kll. That kid/thug may have not. He will be at the advantage psychologically. You will be amazed what is racing through your head as that gun comes on to target. This wil make you hesitate for a second, which is what gunfighters like wild Bill counted on.
So it is imperative that you train and train as thought your life depends on it. A
case in point I used to teach rape defense. I have since gave it up. We taught a very aggressive system. One of my exstudents was raped. I was amazed. She was one of my very toughest students. We had to calm her down cause she was hurting other students. What happened when it actually happened. She froze. After that I never taught anything with out dynamic training. It is as close as you can get to the real thing. If you choose to carry a gun you need to be prepared to use it. Not as a fashion statement, to be cool or whatever. When you train remenber two things
1) The people out there may be younger, better, faster whatever or someone who has been through it before. So train to live.
2) There are sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs in the world. Which are you going to be?

 

[MDT]

Good post...again, very sobering and learning from those that have been there is important. Thanks OLM.

 

[IDtheTarget]

"Damn you! Damn you and your kind!"

There I was, sitting all fat and happy in my belief that I was ready for anything, since I have an SDA license and carry a glock most places I go. Then you have to go and show me that I've been deluding myself for the past year. Now I'm going to have to figure out how to practice for the "guy standing next to me decides he wants my stuff" type scenarios. It also means that I have to come up with non-convenient but more realistic ways to carry my glock during the summer... *sigh*