Dick Jones - Gun Digest Guide To Concealed Carry Handguns

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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There are two kinds of people in todays society: those who believe our government and public servants can do the job of keeping us safe, and those who believe they should have the right and ability to protect themselves if faced with predators or aggressors and no law enforcement is present. Both sides of this argument are completely convinced their opinion is correct, and since the late 60s theres been an ongoing war between these two factions.

Those who believe citizens should be passive and allow society to take responsibility for their safety are convinced were more likely to injure ourselves or worsen the situation if we take responsibility for our safety as individuals. They believe firearms in the hands of individuals create more crime and catastrophe than would be the case if firearms were only in the hands of law enforcement and government entities.

Of course, there are multiple problems with this mindset. To begin with, there are estimated to be well over 300 million firearms in the United States. Theres no way to collect all these guns and even if there were, the right of citizens of the United States to own firearms is guaranteed by the Constitution. Even if such laws were passed, criminals who live their lives outside the law wouldnt comply. Furthermore, theres never been an instance where reducing the number of firearms in a country has reduced crime, though there are numerous cases of confiscation of firearms preceding the organization of a totalitarian system of government.

Since all but the most rabid of the anti-firearms faction realize that removal of all citizen-owned firearms is impossible, other approaches at reducing citizens from firearms access have been attempted. Certain classes of guns have been banned for import and manufacture, there have been limits imposed on magazine capacity, guns have been banned from certain areas, and the results of these attempts have had no effect in reducing crime. In fact, it is an almost universal truth that the parts of the country that have the most stringent firearms laws also have the worst rates of crime, indicating that crime isnt related to availability of firearms.

Certainly most of the mass murders that achieve monumental levels of media coverage almost exclusively occur in areas where guns are banned. Situations where firearms are allowed probably dont represent a high-value target for mass murderers, since they seem to have a desire for high body counts in order to make their crimes more notable and memorable. Most of these events are planned and contemplated ahead of time, and planning a mass murder with a high body count where one of the intended victims might have the ability to end the event would be foolish. In fact, there have been multiple events where a well-prepared would-be mass murderer encountered an armed citizen who ended the event early. Those situations dont draw non-stop media coverage and rarely even make national news. When something doesnt happen, theres no story.

Depending on whose numbers you believe, between 180,000 and 2,500,000 people successfully defend themselves with a gun every year. Given the highest number of deaths and comparing them to the lowest number of successful uses of a firearm for defense, for every person that dies from a criminals gun, there are more than 13 people who successfully defend themselves using a gun for every one that dies from a criminals gun.

Carrying a gun isnt an unreasonable decision. The odds of needing to use a gun for defense during your lifetime are similar to your house burning down. I assume most homeowners who read this have fire insurance. I have several fire alarms in my house, in spite of having homeowners insurance and a fire department thats only 4.6 miles and eight minutes away. In fact, recent statistics from our own government have shown that in spite of the fact that firearms sales more than doubled over the last ten years, crime has declined at a remarkable rate for the same period. Indeed, recent times have seen a lot of positive legislation for firearms owners, rolling back much of the draconian Gun Control Act of 1968 which was fueled by a strong liberal shift in national politics and the assassinations of President Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King.

In part, the new public acceptance of firearms ownership has come as a result of the passage of concealed carry legislation in so many states. In almost every state where concealed carry laws have been enacted, crime rates have declined and none have increased. Ordinary citizens whove never had an interest in guns are suddenly realizing the value of having the ability of reasonable self-defense. In teaching the North Carolina Concealed Carry Certification Course, I find that the students in my classes often have no prior connection to firearms ownership. They have decided theres value to the ability to defend themselves and the ones they love. Many want to learn to use firearms without the intention of daily carry and I do everything in my power to convince them to becoming committed, daily carry concealed carry citizens.

I havent always been a committed concealed carry citizen who carries a gun every day. When I began teaching my certification class, I kept a gun in my kit bag and that bag went everywhere I did between the seats of my truck. During a class, one of my students reminded me that carrying a gun every day isnt something you do simply to save your own life. Its something you do to make sure your life continues so you can continue to be a part of the lives of those you love.

If I lose my life, Im not the only person affected. The premature end of my life affects everyone who cares about me as well. It affects my wife, my daughters, my grandchildren, all my friends, and the lives of all those people who could be positively affected by my actions. Since I live my life with the intention of others, a lot of individuals would be adversely affected if my life ended today. My responsibility isnt just to me, its to all those I love, and all who love and care about me.

At that point, I committed myself to daily carry and I carry in every place I possibly can without violating the law. Furthermore, I often avoid locations where I cant carry because I know, based on past mass murder locations, that a no weapons sign is a welcome sign for violent crime. In the last calendar year, I carried 354 days. Four of those days I was in Italy and the rest, I was in New York. If Im pulling out of my driveway and realize Ive left my gun, I return and fetch it. As I wrote this book, sitting in my office, my gun was on my person, because its an integral part of the way I live. My life or the life of someone I love may be ended prematurely, but Im determined it wont happen because I was too lazy to have my means of defense handy.