Treasonous Traitors And The Sweaty Padre Syndrome

Robert A. Heinlein wrote: "An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life".

I think we can all agree that Concealed Carry is a very serious business, not to be employed without investing time in the education of the perils of concealed carry, how to conceal carry, where to conceal carry, the tactics involved and the aftermath of the situation most of us would just as soon avoid in the first place - and a million other considerations.  It is time-consuming, expensive, and for me (and I suspect most CC proponents) a sobering responsibility that weighs heavily on the mind.

So, knowing this is how advocates of Concealed Carry feel, why do those Treasonous Traitors (Second Amendment Haters) still contend that allowing trained, law-abiding individuals their God-given right to keep and bear arms will bring about middle-of-the-muddy-street old west shootouts, gunfights at Baby's First Birthday Party, drunken target practice in the neighbors backyard with a heavily perspiring Priest duct-taped to a tree and a half-eaten apple upon his head... and Armageddon, all at once?

First law of Concealed Carry... Your number one option for personal security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and De-escalation.

The above quote says it all.  This is the mantra of any person who chooses to carry a concealed gun and should be for everyone who doesn't.  If you carry and don't follow this First Law, you may end up spending the rest of your life in prison... and if that doesn't sober you up to the responsibility of carrying a loaded gun, nothing will.  If you don't carry a gun and you follow this First Law, you will live a safer, longer life, guaranteed.  Not a bad proposition, for everyone, if you ask me.

To the Treasonous Traitors the quote "An armed society is a polite society," means that everyone will be nice to each other because an individual is afraid the other person may have a gun.  The Treasonous Traitors believe they would be living in fear on a daily basis (thus the whole "I'm irrationally afraid of guns, so no-one may have one" thought process), when in truth, the quote has nothing to do with the individual who doesn't carry, while having everything to do with the individual who does.

If you carry, you must be nice.  You don't put yourself in a situation where you may have to unholster your gun.  You don't go to bars.  You don't go to sketchy neighborhoods.  You don't react to idiot drivers.  If you're walking down the street and several guys are walking at you, maybe they look suspicious, you cross the street.  If you're having dinner with your wife and someone makes a lurid comment about her, you don't respond... you don't escalate, you have management handle the situation or you leave... but you don't engage.  If a drunk decides that he would like to take you on, you back down, you find an exit, you leave.

Why?  Because if it all goes to hell in a handbasket and you have no choice but to unholster your gun and fire in defense of yours (or others) lives, the scenario in which the shooting took place will be under the microscope by a District Attorney looking to win another case.

Imagine you're sitting at a nice restaurant, you and your wife, having a peaceful meal.  A drunk at a table close by starts up, louder and louder.  Before the manager can get a handle on the situation, the drunk looks at your wife and says something you wouldn't repeat at an Old Sailors Convention.  Taking offense, you say something (not very nice) back to the drunk.  He then stands up and barges his way between tables straight at you, cussing and slurring a string of expletives that would make a Marine D.I. blush.  You jump up, ready for him.  Your wife is telling you to sit down (as most wives would), patrons have stopped eating and are watching with wide eyes (dinner and a show!)  The guy, who's 5" shorter than you, throws a roundhouse right, you step inside, cover with your left and hit him with a right elbow to the cheek and he goes down like a base jumper with a depth perception problem - landing with a splat.  Two of his buddies get up and come to his aid as you sit back down.  They cuss you and threaten you as they help him back to his table.  Suddenly one of the friends brings out a switchblade and says he's going to kill you. 

All hell has broken loose.  Officially.

He is 30' away and the restaurant is in an uproar as you again spring to your feet, drawing your 1911 and flicking off the safety, taking a step to the left to clear your background.  The drunk becomes enraged at the sight of the gun and comes at you, you fire three times.

The knife drops from his dead hand.  One of the other drunks is also shot but still breathing.  People are screaming and running for the exit which sits not 10 feet behind you. 

It is pure, unadulterated mayhem.

In this situation, you will be arrested and have a very likely chance of being convicted of Murder, spending the rest of your foreseeable future behind bars with people who have nicknames like "Bad Bubba" and "Vaseline Victor". 

Several things have happened here that the prosecuting attorney will convey to the jury.  He will ask you if you called over the manager when the man said something to your wife.  "Um... No." 

Did you attempt to leave at this point?  "Um... No." 

What did you say back to the man after he insulted your wife?  "Um... &#^$% you, you *@#*&!"

The man who you knocked to the ground was 5' 10" and weighed 175 lbs.  How tall are you and how much do you weigh?  "6'3" and 300 lbs."

After you knocked him down, did you and your wife then attempt to leave the restaurant?  "Um... No."

When the victim you shot and killed, pulled out his knife, did you then attempt to leave?  "Um... No."

It goes on and on.  But in the end, even though he began the altercation, you escalated the situation at every step of the way.  You never tried to extract yourself from the premises (Avoidance).  You never tried to calm the situation or call over the manager (DE-escalation).  You were bigger and heavier than the assailant (Disparity of Force).  You were far enough away from the switchblade man that you could have retreated (Avoidance vs Opportunity / Jeopardy).  But you didn't, you escalated the situation. You made it look like you couldn't wait to pull your gun.  Couldn't wait to use deadly force.  And for that, you will spend the rest of your life in a cell.  For that, your wife will be involved in civil suits that will bleed her dry.  For that, its all over but the crying.

But lets say the drunk says something to your wife and you calmly put down your napkin, raise a hand to the waiter and ask him to send over the manager.  The drunk continues his verbal onslaught, but without the escalation of a retort from you, he stays in his seat.  The manager comes over, sees the situation for what it is, calls over his people and they ask the drunk to leave. 

Or, you and your wife, calmly stand up, walk to the cash register, state your problem, pay and leave.

Which way is the better way to handle the problem?  No man wants to walk away from someone degrading his wife, but as someone who is carrying concealed, its your safest play.  Avoidance, DE-escalation and deterrence. 

Its not fun, but when you commit to carrying a gun, its what needs to be done.

This is why an "Armed society is a polite society.  Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life."  Or, the rest of his life!  Those who carry, must be polite.  Those who carry, must be forgiving.  Those who carry, must avoid those situations that can turn bad.

To the Treasonous Traitors... we are not the enemy, nor will we be a victim.

But we will be polite.