The Place of Concealed Carry Within A Comprehensive Personal Security Plan

 

Gaining Perspective 

“I feel naked without my gun.” is a statement sometimes made by someone who has carried a concealed firearm long enough that they have become comfortable with the practice and have made it part of their everyday routine.  Typically this statement comes about when the person is entering a gun free environment, e.g., on a commercial flight or in some other prohibited location.   Sometimes it is said aloud, and at times only said to one’s self.  I will admit there was a time several years ago when I found myself saying it.  But I looked inside and thought carefully about this statement and the feelings that give rise to it.  

If one feels naked without a gun, it is a sign that they have developed too great of a psychological dependence on being armed with a firearm.  In addition, it is a sign that this person does not understand how a gun fits into a personal security plan.  When you must leave the gun outside, you ought not to see yourself as “unarmed,” but rather as differently armed.  A gun is just one possible part of a comprehensive security plan.  

I think of a comprehensive security plan as analogous to a complex machine such as an automobile.  An automobile is constructed from thousands of individual parts which are assembled into components and systems within the vehicle.  For example there is an electrical system, brake system, exhaust, steering and so on.  No one part or system is “an automobile” by itself.  Some parts are critical to the function of the vehicle and some are not.  Some parts and systems work independently of the others, while others cannot function without interacting with another system.  The importance of a particular component may change with the situation; for example, the radio functions primarily for the purpose of entertainment, but the importance grows when it warns of imminent bad weather or other dangerous conditions.  In the mind of the owner, an automobile may have a number of secondary purposes.  For one person it may be a status symbol or ego boost.  For another it’s a way of compensating for the stereotypical midlife crisis. Yet to another it functions as a storage container for clothing.  But the primary purpose of any vehicle is to move people and material from one place to another in a relatively convenient and efficient manner.

Let’s apply the automobile analogy to a person’s security plan.  First, it has a primary purpose:  to keep the person safe, and perhaps it is intended to keep others safe as well.  Like a car, it can be large or small, fancy or bare bones, and it may be customized to fit the needs or desires of the “owner.”  Safe from what?  Well, that depends on what the person desires to be safe from… for the number of dangers in the world is large.  Dangers include diseases, injury, fires, dangerous animals, bad weather, earthquakes, and  poisonous plants, just to name a few.  Dangers also include events that many people would regard as less likely to occur:  asteroid strikes, coronal mass ejections, war, and societal breakdowns.  Depending upon how much a particular danger concerns an individual, that individual will take measures to reduce the amount of harm a danger can inflict.  For example to reduce the harm caused by household fires a person may install smoke detectors and buy a fire extinguisher and create a plan to be used in the event of a fire.  

  Concealed carry is intended to keep a person safe from crime, but only certain types of crime.  It has no application to crimes such as credit card fraud or identity theft.  As we think about this, it becomes more clear that concealed carry is a small part of a comprehensive security plan.  It is designed to address a fairly narrow set of possible dangers in life and has little or no relevance to the majority of dangers.  We are beginning to put it in perspective.  Does this perspective diminish the importance of concealed carry?  Of course not.  Crime is real, and violent crime happens with sufficient regularity that only a fool would dismiss it as a potential danger.  But only a fool would also see concealed carry as the be-all and end-all of protection from violent crime. Concealed carry (or simply having a firearm for protection in the house with no intention of carrying it elsewhere) must be regarded as only one of the many parts of the “violent crime module” that we include in the comprehensive security plan.  The violent crime module necessarily ought to include a very great number of things besides concealed carry.  Having a firearm isn’t even the most important part of the violent crime module, unless you are at a moment when a gun is the only thing that is likely to save a life or prevent great bodily harm.  If you have packed your violent crime module with many other useful things that are available, such a moment becomes less likely to happen.  It’s a nightmarish and horrible moment to be in, and for that reason there is much incentive to avoid it to the highest degree possible.  Inflicting gruesome injury on another person by the use of a weapon, or perhaps causing their death, is far from pleasant.  If you disagree, you are not the kind of person that I want to be around and most likely you are a criminal.  As horrible as it may be to inflict such injuries on a person, I believe it is even more horrible to have those injuries inflicted on myself or someone I care about.  Thus I am willing to inflict such injuries when justified, but only as a last resort.

 As I mentioned, there are many other parts and components that can be put into the violent crime module which will greatly reduce the chances you will find yourself in that moment of last resort.  First and foremost, it’s not what you carry on your belt, but what you carry inside your head.  Your mind is your primary weapon.  Load it with powerful ammunition and get proficient using it.  Develop your awareness skills, be knowledgeable of how criminals operate and of the crimes that have happened in your area.  Plan how you would react to different situations and visualize yourself acting as you planned.  Stay alert and aware of your surroundings and what people around you are doing.  Learn to recognize behavior that could indicate a crime is about to be committed.  Take note that to profile a person because of how they look is stupid, but to profile a person based upon how they behave is sensible and much more useful.  Plan your activities, so you avoid going to bad places or at bad times.  Know your travel route and alternative routes, and the locations of police stations, gas stations, hospitals and clinics, and facilities that have security personnel on the premises.  Learn first aid and CPR and how to control bleeding.  Learn about different kinds of violence, particularly the difference between “social violence” and “asocial violence.”  Also learn about human predators and the two basic types:  resource predators, who want something that you have; and process predators, who want YOU.  Outside of your head, keep in good physical condition and don’t forget that running is an overlooked defensive skill.  Wear shoes you can move in and run wearing. Install quality locks and use them. Walk with your head up and eyes moving to show that you are alert.  Don’t hinder your senses of vision and hearing by the use of earbuds and your eyes glued to your electronic devices.  Criminals have told us that they size up potential victims within seconds, and that body language is the most important factor they consider.  These are just a small sample of the things that belong in your violent crime module of your personal security plan.  Remember, awareness skills are much more likely to save your ass than skills with a gun.  They have the added advantage of costing nothing and you don’t need to visit a gun range to develop your skill.  You can train and practice literally everywhere and at any time.

For some people a firearm isn’t part of their violent crime module at all.  Is that wrong?  No.  There are many valid reasons that a person might exclude a firearm from their plan.  Perhaps they cannot legally possess a firearm, they find guns intimidating and cannot conceive of using one, they are physically limited in their ability to operate a firearm, they are afraid to keep a gun in the house with their children, or they simply hold moral objections to firearms.  I like guns, and I like concealed carry.  I am a concealed carry instructor.  But I am not you.  I cannot impose my values or choices on you.  And I resist another person trying to impose their values and choices on me.  Concealed carry and guns are not everyone’s cup of tea, and I respect the choices others have made; just as I hope others respect my personal choices.  How a person protects himself or herself is a very personal decision.  

I hope I have inspired you to reflect on concealed carry’s place in a comprehensive and systematic personal security plan.  It is an important piece, for some, but it is one component, made from many parts, among thousands of other components, each made from many parts.  More importantly, I hope you reflect on the broader topic of personal protection and security and that you begin to see it holistically. 

Learn, plan, train and put it into practice. Then do it again better each time.