Eimer Ph D. - Armed - The Essential Guide to Concealed Carry

The first law of nature is self preservation. Most animals, and even plants, are born with protective physical mechanisms to ward off natural predators. Human beings are born with a highly developed brain, at once our most dangerous and formidable weapon. Our ability to use symbols, tools, to delay gratification, and to think abstractly has allowed us to evolve as much as we have. It is because of our mental complexity and our abilities to solve most problems that we are the top predator in the animal kingdom.

Yet, from a physical standpoint, human beings are inferior to many predatory animals. Our strength and place at the top of the food chain come from our intellect or mental intelligence. We can devise and use all manner of tools, readily adapt to different circumstances and environments, and hunt and defeat larger and stronger beasts through a combination of both. But, our greatest enemy as a species is ourselves. Any given individuals survival can be hampered by other predatory humans (i.e., violent criminals) and by predatory governments that are for themselves, rather than for their citizens.

It has been said that, God created men, but that Sam Colt made them equal. Nowhere is that more evident than in the history of peoples who rose up against and overthrew their oppressors. Look at some examples in history. There is the classic Bible story in of the armed Judean Maccabees, who rebelled against King Antiochus, who had outlawed the practice of the Jewish religion. There is the unforgettable story of the armed Polish Jews uprising against the German Nazis in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II. And there is our own countrys valiant story of the American Revolution for independence from the British, during Colonial times. These stories and many others tell the tale of peoples who were disarmed by their oppressors and who found a way to become armed and fight back against tyranny.

Firearms are the great equalizer. They allow mankind to hunt larger and stronger animals, they are the means through which outnumbered rebels have managed to overthrow oppressive, tyrannical regimes, and, for those who have the disadvantage of suffering a physical infirmity that limits you in a bare-knuckled fight against an opponent, owning and having been trained to employ a firearm can be an effective means of personal-defense.

I am physically challenged. I suffer from a number of conditions, such as rheumatoid and degenerative arthritis, chronic pain, and spinal deformities. These conditions impair my physical strength, flexibility, endurance, and speed of motion. They also have limited my muscular development and the extent to which I can roll around on the floor and grapple with an opponent in a fight. Therefore, for me, the gun is an essential tool for personal defense.

Of course, the gun is not my only personal-defense tool. Its not even my best. That charge falls to my mind. My judgment, awareness, and efforts to stay out of harms way are paramount to my safety. I have also studied less-than-lethal personal defense methods and tactics. Some of these are addressed in the chapters here, and while Im no martial artist, the point is that, no matter how skilled you are at fighting, there are times when only a firearm will give you a chance to prevail and survive.

One is well advised, especially if one carries a firearm, to go to all lengths possible to avoid social confrontations. However, if a conflict cannot be avoided, and you are in a place where you have a right to be and you cannot safely retreat, you will have no other choice but to defend yourself with a level of necessary force. It is a matter of survival.

We shall address the judicious use of deadly force, and appropriate rules for engagement and disengagement, extensively in this book. However, the point I am making here is this: If you are accosted by someone who is bigger, stronger or more skilled at fighting than you, such that your life or limb are in imminent danger unless you go to a greater degree of force than you are capable of mustering with your own two hands and feet, you have the right to step up to the use of deadly force. As I said before, the gun is the great equalizer, as it has been throughout history, and unless you have initiated the fight or caused it to escalate out of control, you are justified in using the gun to defend your innocent life or the innocent lives of those who are under your mantle of protection. Keep in mind the key word here is innocent. You, as the defender, must be the innocent party, and so must be the people you are defending.