No Safe Places

[fm2]

For those familiar with the Matthew Butler Stephen Swan killings in Garland Tx,( Discussed here: http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... nd#p198989
) here is an article written by Swan's CCW instructor.
The mere presence of a gun does not solve all your problems. Managing unknown contacts would have helped these fellows. Let's remember not to get lulled into a sense of "it can't happen to me" or "it can't happen now" or "it can't happen to me/us"......





== "No Safe Places" ==

by Don Myers


Recently, there were two Christian musicians who were leaving a recording studio and were murdered for two dollars and their car. Initially, I paid little attention to the news reports nor did I listen to the names of the two victims. Three days later, I received an e-mail from a woman friend who had received her CHL by taking my course along with her son and daughter. The e-mail read, "Hi Don, my son, Steve, was murdered Thursday. His funeral is at...."

I sat there stunned. Steve had been licensed through my instruction. I had been to a couple of activities that he and his mother attended - in both cases they were armed. I knew Steve's mother believed as I do that you never go anywhere unarmed if it is legal to carry in those places. I did not know Steve as well as I did his mother, but I found him to be very likable and smart. In fact, I later discovered that he was probably a genius. Of course after getting that terrible news, I couldn't help wonder if he was armed that night. I assume that he wasn't because of the deadly results of his encounter with two heartless thugs. Both criminals were captured the next day. A television interview showed that one of them was almost proud of what they had done. Apparently, he is feeling good about being a "gangsta" now."

I attended Steve's funeral wishing that I could ask if Steve had been armed that awful night, but knew it would be totally inappropriate to ask such an insensitive question. After the funeral service was over, I watched as the ushers allowed the family members to leave the sanctuary first. I couldn't help notice that Steve's mother and sister were carrying handbags made of nylon that were an odd shape. Of course, it was obvious to me why they were carrying those bags and what was in them.

I waited my turn to give condolences to Steve's mother. Then as I approached her, she said in a voice that was a mixture of crying and disbelief, "Don, Steve didn't have his gun! He always carries his gun! When he comes to my house, he has his gun on him under his shirt. He doesn't go anywhere without his gun! Don, he didn't have his gun! In fact, when the police were telling me about the shooting, I asked them where Steve's gun was. They said that they had not found his gun so I told them that the criminals have it. Later, we found it at his home."

I was sick. The tragedy was bad enough, but for him to be killed on one of the few nights where he had forgotten to take his gun seemed to rub salt into the wounds of those of us who cared for him. I am always amazed at how many people who have taken my CHL class do not carry all the time. Some almost never carry a pistol. And yet, here was a case where someone who practically always heeded my advice to be armed at all times was killed while the others who continue to walk around in an un-armed condition, in a mental state of white, don't pay the price that Steve did. No, I don't want those others to pay that price. It's just that they are more likely to be hurt or killed than those who do carry where it is legal. The irony cannot be ignored.

One of the reasons that I became a CHL instructor was because of a conversation I heard during my first renewal class. An elderly gentleman asked the instructor, "I live in a nice neighborhood. My wife and I go walking nearly every evening. Do you think I should take my gun with me?"

Incredibly, the instructor replied, "Well, that's a personal decision that you will have to make for yourself."

I wanted to scream, "Of course, you should! There are no safe places!" In fact, I was so stunned at the stupid answer that I didn't say what I was thinking. I still feel guilty about not speaking up. However, I do speak up now. Throughout the classes that I teach I use examples, many of actual shootings, to show the need to carry all the time. One such example is an appeal to logic. I ask the students if you could turn off and on your fire insurance at will, would you ever turn it off because there was little chance of a fire on a particular day? Of course, you wouldn't! But, that's exactly what you do if you decide to leave your home un-armed. You have chosen to let yourself be vulnerable to a mean world that can take you or your loved ones from this world for two dollars or for your tennis shoes.

There are no safe places! One woman who took my class has for many years worked as a contractor in federal housing, i.e. high crime areas. Unfortunately, her employer will not let her carry her gun in her car (she can't go in the federal buildings armed), but she has never needed a gun in those high crime areas. On the other hand, she has needed a gun for protection three times in "safe areas."

She started carrying a gun at seventeen because the police would not believe that she and her boyfriend had been robbed and that she had nearly raped (she said that she was in her menstrual period or she would have been raped). The police did not believe her because at that time there had never been any crime in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens (this occurred in the 1960's). This "safe place" soon became a hot spot of rape and murder during the following year causing it to be fenced and closed at night. Fortunately, the gang of youths were caught and convicted of multiple rapes and murders.

Those of you who are instructors have probably had many stories of similar need for a gun for protection told by your clients. I use real life stories as much as I can, but I am still frustrated at how many people have the "it won't happen to me attitude" and don't carry all the time. I have finally decided that few people really take to heart my cajoling and warnings. Fortunately, many have, but I want to be even more effective in getting that point across since not only are they safer being armed, but we are too.

Since many of you who are reading this newsletter are instructors, I invite you to e-mail me if you have found effective methods to get the point across that it is important to be armed. Hopefully, there will be enough information that I can pass it on to others via this newsletter. If you have something that will help, please e-mail me at happydad1@sbcglobal.net. If I do write another article on that subject I will give you credit for your ideas.

I truly believe it is important for us to teach our clients and friends that CHL holders should be armed whenever possible and this safety advice is just as important to teach as it is for us to teach conflict resolution and the use of deadly force required by the state. I hope you agree. Be armed; be safe.

Don Myers
Texas Concealed Handgun License Instructor
7624 Hightower Dr.
N. Richland Hills, TX 76180
happydad1@sbcglobal.net

[mr.72]

That's an excellent article and very much appreciated perspective.

This bolsters the point that I continue to try to make. If some hard-headed CCW advocates insist that you must do things like alter your wardrobe to include uncomfortable or unfashionable clothes, refrain from off-body carry or small of the back, buy expensive holsters, be equipped either with certain larger caliber guns, or a certain amount of capacity, or certain number of reloads, etc. then it sends the message that maybe it's too much trouble or not worth it to carry for many people. IMHO we need to find a way to make it easier for people to carry, rather than introducing all of these things that seem to make it more difficult. You have to admit that if the CHL holder who was killed in this horrible crime had been mexican-carrying a .25 cal automatic in the small of his back with no belt and under a rock-&-roll-tight t-shirt he'd have stood far higher odds of making it out alive. Maybe he left the weapon at home because he knew that the mode of dress that was necessary for this particular outing did not favor concealment with his normal carry rig.

I ran a recording studio for two years and a record label for four years. I have extensive experience playing in the recording studio and I can tell you that carrying a firearm in that environment does not sound like fun. When playing an acoustic guitar in the studio you empty your pockets, so even pocket carry is out. You can't use a smartcarry if you are going to be seated playing an acoustic guitar either. If you are playing a guitar with a strap then the typical strong side 4:00 carry won't work (interferes with the strap), and any carry in the front on the strong side is out. Guitarists who play pro-quality guitars will also routinely not wear a belt because the buckle damages the back of the guitar. This means the advice of buying pants a couple of inches too big doesn't wash... those pants fall off with no belt. I can also tell you that from personal experience, playing in the studio is an activity that benefits greatly from absolute complete comfort over all things, regardless of what instrument you are playing or if you are singing. Any distraction of any kind will ruin a performance. This is not a CCW-friendly environment, especially if you've been indoctrinated to the normal party-line about carry methods and gun choice.

Anyway I hope this tragedy will help us to realize that not all people are able to easily conform to the standard ways of carrying concealed weapons all the time, but we still may need to carry all the time.

BTW let's please not allow this thread to deviate towards how all of you who are guitar players or musicians have figured out how to carry. I never said it is impossible. That's not the point. At least one musician didn't figure it out and he's now dead. The point is that for all kinds of people, the normal good advice will not work all of the time.

[Mike from Texas]

When I first got my license my wife used to ask, do you have to carry that thing everywhere? My response then was the same as it is today. Yes. The only time I don't carry is if I have to go somewhere that it's not allowed, and I avoid those places as much as I can. With the selection of guns available today I can't think of one clothing situation where carry is not feasible. Mouse guns like the Kel Tecs and Ruger LCP make carry possible anytime. I can pocket carry a Kel Tec PF9 in my cargo style hiking pants.

I am still trying to get my wife to get her CHL although she is still resistant. I worry about her every day, especially since she works nights. She also works at a hospital and I have tried to come up with a reasonable way for her to carry at least to/from her car and locker. Her gun will do her no good if it's locked in her car and she's confronted on the way to/from the parking lot.

[bdickens]

Um...
I don't mean to pick on you, mr.72, but you sure do seem to have a whole long list of can'ts and not very many cans.

My Glock 19 carried IWB behind my hip on the strong side does not interfere with the strap on any of my guitars. Nor is it uncomfortable at all. And I don't have to wear a tent to conceal it, either. There are others here who have mentioned how they carry 1911s onstage in front of a whole church full of people on Sunday morning with no one being the wiser.

If I recall, the two victims in the referenced article were leaving the recording studio, not in it. Maybe I'm just a master of seeing the obvious, but why couldn't you be carrying normally and then make the necessary adjustments at the studio before playing. You could then "suit up" again before leaving.

If, as you say, comfort is of prime importance in the recording studio, why in the world would it matter how "fashionable" you are? Fashinable clothes aren't really that comfortable in the first place.

There are a whole lot of other people here who have been there and done that. You really should open your mind some and take their advice into consideration. But then you just might have to let go of some of your preconcieved notions.

[Greybeard]

For those who may not have listened to the shooter's confession, the pair had came down from Texarkana to Garland because "that's where the rich white people live" ...

For several years, I've included in out class handout a quote from one of our original DPS instructors (Dan Walker). It's to the effect of "The CHL holder who only carries their gun sporadically is like the cop who wears his body armor only on the days he thinks he might get shot."

[Excaliber]

"The CHL holder who only carries their gun sporadically is like the cop who wears his body armor only on the days he thinks he might get shot."

Or the folks who only wear their seat belts only on the days they think they might have an accident.

If they're smart enough to figure out which days those are (I'm definitely not in that category), I hope they're also smart enough to stay home.

In my experience, here's what determines who carries and who doesn't:

If someone truly understands that anything can happen anywhere at anytime, it will make sense to him to be prepared to take effective defensive action because he knows he'll only get one chance when a situation he can't avoid explodes on him. That person carries whenever and wherever he's legal.

If, despite lip service to the above precept, he really, truly, deep in his heart believes that a bad thing won't happen to him (because he's special and nothing like that has happened recently to him or any of his friends), he thinks he can afford to choose convenience over preparedness. That person carries sporadically (usually with decreasing frequency), randomly, or not at all.

[yerasimos]

That's an excellent article and very much appreciated perspective.

This bolsters the point that I continue to try to make. If some hard-headed CCW advocates insist that you must do things like alter your wardrobe to include uncomfortable or unfashionable clothes, refrain from off-body carry or small of the back, buy expensive holsters, be equipped either with certain larger caliber guns, or a certain amount of capacity, or certain number of reloads, etc. then it sends the message that maybe it's too much trouble or not worth it to carry for many people. IMHO we need to find a way to make it easier for people to carry, rather than introducing all of these things that seem to make it more difficult.

I think the CHL instructor's essay can be somewhat misleading, in its emphasis upon, "Have a gun." I agree that having a gun and carrying it is important, but it is just the start, not the end-goal.

I think the tragedy best illustrates that not only are there no safe places, but that trouble does come looking for you, even if you have done nothing to deserve it. Furthermore, it is best to complement one's handgun skills with "soft" skills such as managing unknown contacts, that can be useful when one is not carrying a handgun or that can help avoid the need to use a handgun, if possible.

You have to admit that if the CHL holder who was killed in this horrible crime had been mexican-carrying a .25 cal automatic in the small of his back with no belt and under a rock-&-roll-tight t-shirt he'd have stood far higher odds of making it out alive.

On the contrary, this could lead to a false sense of security. What you describe seems to be consciously chosen for its unfavorable characteristics, including insecure placement on the body, difficulty in acquiring initial grip on the handgun, marginal ballistic payload, and the danger of spinal injury if knocked onto the back. This is one of the worst ideas I have ever found.

At best, if Stephen Swan had been armed as you prescribe when he was attacked, he might have been able to take down his attackers with him---and this is highly optimistic. I reckon he would have had much better chances with his regular mode of carry (from his mother's description). More important than the choice of hardware, though, is the "software" of profiling and managing unknown contacts, and recognizing a pending criminal assault, and running this software all the time, in both "good" neighborhoods as well as the "bad" ones.

Maybe he left the weapon at home because he knew that the mode of dress that was necessary for this particular outing did not favor concealment with his normal carry rig.

If I recall, the two victims in the referenced article were leaving the recording studio, not in it. Maybe I'm just a master of seeing the obvious, but why couldn't you be carrying normally and then make the necessary adjustments at the studio before playing. You could then "suit up" again before leaving.

bdickens' advice is great. If your workplace requires you to dress a certain way that does not fit with your personal armament, then dress as necessary for the workplace, and then change your dress to accommodate being armed outside of the workplace. Use a bag with a chain and pair of locks (one for the zipper, one for the chain) to keep your gear secure while working, and try to hide or restrict access to the bag as best you can.

I ran a recording studio for two years and a record label for four years. I have extensive experience playing in the recording studio and I can tell you that carrying a firearm in that environment does not sound like fun. When playing an acoustic guitar in the studio you empty your pockets, so even pocket carry is out. You can't use a smartcarry if you are going to be seated playing an acoustic guitar either. If you are playing a guitar with a strap then the typical strong side 4:00 carry won't work (interferes with the strap), and any carry in the front on the strong side is out. Guitarists who play pro-quality guitars will also routinely not wear a belt because the buckle damages the back of the guitar. This means the advice of buying pants a couple of inches too big doesn't wash... those pants fall off with no belt. I can also tell you that from personal experience, playing in the studio is an activity that benefits greatly from absolute complete comfort over all things, regardless of what instrument you are playing or if you are singing. Any distraction of any kind will ruin a performance. This is not a CCW-friendly environment, especially if you've been indoctrinated to the normal party-line about carry methods and gun choice.

Anyway I hope this tragedy will help us to realize that not all people are able to easily conform to the standard ways of carrying concealed weapons all the time, but we still may need to carry all the time.

BTW let's please not allow this thread to deviate towards how all of you who are guitar players or musicians have figured out how to carry. I never said it is impossible. That's not the point. At least one musician didn't figure it out and he's now dead. The point is that for all kinds of people, the normal good advice will not work all of the time.

I suspect 99.99% of the people here do not sleep with a firearm on their person (ie, bellyband under their pajamas), and many people here have to deal with "gun-free zones", authoritarian workplaces that demand "no weapons", or practice occupations that are not CCW-friendly (comfort, confined spaces, etc). So no method is going to work literally "all the time".

If you must disarm for whatever reason and there is no way to avoid it, then you have to do what you must. But when you can carry a gun, do so as soon as you can, and do so in a way that you can practice effectively, and that is optimized for fighting under real-world pressure and conditions.

[mr.72]

Well the problem with disarming when you have to enter some place that you are going to be for 12 hours because of some condition or work issue or whatever is where are you going to put the gun? How do you keep it secure? Where does this guy leaving a recording studio put his gun while he's in the studio? I have not been to a recording studio with a weapons locker. More than likely it would be in your car, and you are still at risk going from the building to the car.

You guys keep missing the point so I guess I shall stop trying to make it eventually. It is certainly possible to carry under these conditions. But it is not likely to be done if effective options for doing so are either hidden or discouraged when the newcomer begins to ask. So when someone comes along and says "blah blah how/what can I carry within these limitations" and 99.9% of the advice is about changing the limitations then it really discourages them from carrying, perhaps to their eventual detriment. But like I've said before, those who are in the crowd have a real hard time seeing that there is anything else other than the crowd.

[yerasimos]

Well the problem with disarming when you have to enter some place that you are going to be for 12 hours because of some condition or work issue or whatever is where are you going to put the gun? How do you keep it secure? Where does this guy leaving a recording studio put his gun while he's in the studio? I have not been to a recording studio with a weapons locker. More than likely it would be in your car, and you are still at risk going from the building to the car.

It depends whether you are a "regular" at the recording studio and work regularly there, or just go there on a one-time basis or sporadically.

If you are a regular at a studio, you could get away with putting your own locker or lock-box there, and changing as needed in a bathroom stall or another room where you can control ingress.

If you are not a regular at the studio, or you are dealing with an open-air performance venue, then you will have to make do with an improvised safe, such as using a sturdy gym bag and locking it closed and chaining it in place somewhere unobtrusive. Again, rearm or change as needed in a bathroom or somewhere you can control ingress or visibility. Just do the best you can.

You guys keep missing the point so I guess I shall stop trying to make it eventually. It is certainly possible to carry under these conditions. But it is not likely to be done if effective options for doing so are either hidden or discouraged when the newcomer begins to ask. So when someone comes along and says "blah blah how/what can I carry within these limitations" and 99.9% of the advice is about changing the limitations then it really discourages them from carrying, perhaps to their eventual detriment. But like I've said before, those who are in the crowd have a real hard time seeing that there is anything else other than the crowd.

It is not so much that things like ankle holsters, Smartcarry rigs, mouseguns, folding knives, etc, are completely useless. It is just that belt-holsters, high-capacity/major caliber handguns, fixed blade knives, etc, are much more likely to help win a fight---particularly if it is an ugly, hands-on, in-your-face criminal assault that affords minimal time-space opportunity (inches and fractions of second) for accessing weapons. Subordinating fight-or-flight effectiveness to aesthetic criteria, and willfully choosing less-effective hardware over more-effective hardware, smacks of wishful thinking/excessive hope, unawareness of the consequences of their choices, or perhaps misplaced priorities. Demanding endorsements for such choices from those who know better will always yield poorly.

[BigDan]

The lessons to be learned:
*Be adequately armed at all times.
*Be proficient with the weapon you carry.
*Always be on-guard especially in the evening hours.
*If you have butterflies in your stomach when approached by someone or by multiple people, you're probably right.

Even you homes aren't safe locations any more. Home invasions are happening even during the day (was that in Richardson the other day?).

Never EVER let your guard down.

[Excaliber]

The lessons to be learned:
*Be adequately armed at all times.
*Be proficient with the weapon you carry.
*Always be on-guard especially in the evening hours.
*If you have butterflies in your stomach when approached by someone or by multiple people, you're probably right.

Even you homes aren't safe locations any more. Home invasions are happening even during the day (was that in Richardson the other day?).

Never EVER let your guard down.

I'll add another important one that's often overlooked:

When people who make you uncomfortable approach,scan 360 for the others, then move and challenge before they get close. If you allow them to close within striking distance, it's going to get ugly.

[bdickens]

Well the problem with disarming when you have to enter some place that you are going to be for 12 hours because of some condition or work issue or whatever is where are you going to put the gun? How do you keep it secure? Where does this guy leaving a recording studio put his gun while he's in the studio? I have not been to a recording studio with a weapons locker. More than likely it would be in your car, and you are still at risk going from the building to the car.

Look, I know you've already got your mind made up about this, but I enjoy a challenge anyway.

Where are you going to put the gun while you're in the studio playing? Real simple: Get one of these lock boxes http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... mid=274442 and stuff it in your gig bag. You know, the bag you carry with the extra strings, picks, tuner, cords, sheet music, etc. in it. Arrive at the studio and go straight into the bathroom. Gun comes off, goes into box box goes into gig bag, gig bag goes wih you. How hard is that?

[heliguy972]

This story is a good reminder for me: Glock 27 with Clipdraw, there is never an excuse for me to be unarmed...

[bauerdj]

Seven shot and critically wounded at Unitarian church in Knoxville, Tennessee, authorities say. Suspect arrested.

There are NO safe places. No details yet on this; it just happened.

Dave B.

[mr.72]

Look, I know you've already got your mind made up about this, but I enjoy a challenge anyway.

The only thing I have my mind made up about is that for some people it can be kind of a pain to carry.

Apart from being a somewhat of a pain, that's not a bad idea, BTW.