The 2nd A – Where a Right Meets Responsibilities

Last December I became a U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) firearms instructor. Prior to that I served in law enforcement for 26 years with both the FBI and the Chicago Police Department. While with the Bureau, I was both a firearms instructor and a member of a SWAT team. In this past year, I have had the privilege of joining Guardian Training and Consulting (GTC), founded by Josh and Karen Logan. It has been humbling to learn so much from a team of truly caring professionals who are committed to sharing their knowledge with both civilians and law enforcement. As we say, “always a student; sometimes a teacher!”

Over the past eight months, it has been incredibly rewarding to work with civilians to help them understand the responsibilities that come with being a legally armed citizen. And this journey is what has prompted me to make this post.

I would never claim that there should be mandated requirements beyond what the law requires for someone to exercise their Second Amendment right. However, I strongly believe you should seek out proper training if you are going to own a firearm, and especially if you plan to carry that weapon concealed outside of your home. Along with that, I would highly encourage anyone who makes the decision to own a firearm to obtain insurance. Doesn’t that just make sense? By exercising your Second Amendment right, if you ever have to defend yourself, a consequence of that action might be a loss of life. Do you think that merits the same level of responsibility with training and insurance as say, owning and driving an automobile? Granted driving is not a right, but there is significant liability in doing so. I think we can make the same liability argument with owning a firearm. Let’s explore this a bit.

At Guardian, our ethos is quite simple - what are you doing today to prepare for tomorrow? If tomorrow brings you a deadly encounter, are you prepared to meet that challenge? Do you know the specific laws concerning the use of deadly force in your state, or in the state you may be traveling to? Do you know when you can legally use deadly force? Do you know the legal requirements concerning the interaction with law enforcement? And if you are in a deadly force incident, what do you do when the police arrive? If you do not clearly know the answers to the aforementioned questions, based on you state’s laws, you are not prepared for a deadly encounter. Let’s examine a question that comes up in every class – Can I shoot someone who breaks into my house?

As you might suspect, the answer is - “it depends.”  So, what does it depend on? Far too often, the “firearm and legal experts” will say that as long as you were in fear of your life, you were justified in using deadly force. While that might be a good opening line, for you to use deadly force you must be able to articulate what the circumstances were at that moment in time that placed you in “fear for your life.” For the State of Arizona, a relatively gun friendly state, to use deadly force there must be an immediate and otherwise unavoidable danger of death or serious physical injury to yourself, or an innocent third party. Further, the person you are considering using such force against must have the ability, the opportunity, and the intent to inflict such serious physical injury or death upon you. As an example, if an autistic child enters your house in the middle of the night and is simply confused as to where he might be, while you might be startled, or even afraid, does he represent such a threat to you where deadly force was justified? Is the threat immediate or imminent (big difference between these two similar words as to what you’re allowed to do)? And don’t forget, he must also have the ability, the opportunity, and the intent to carry out such a threat. That’s a lot to process in the middle of the night – do you think training in this area might help you?

Another question that is always asked - what happens if I travel to another state, does my Arizona Concealed Carry Weapon’s permit allow me to do this? Fortunately, the USCCA offers a free app, Reciprocity, which gives you the most up to date laws regarding reciprocity with regard to carrying concealed weapons between states. This is an absolute must have app if you plan on being armed while traveling. While I am at it, the USCCA offers insurance. It’s actually the insurance my wife and I use. I like USCCA because besides the insurance, they offer terrific training courses and material that helps me to be prepared. Like training, carrying insurance is a personal choice; however, if you ever engage in a deadly force encounter, you will feel far more confident knowing you have insurance that will protect you both criminally and civilly. For me, if you own a firearm, and even more so if you are planning to carry it concealed, having insurance, and being trained are two absolute musts.

If we agree that being prepared is important, I strongly suggest you consider the following:

·       Get insurance

·       Learn the laws governing the use of deadly force for where you live

·       Find a good use of force simulation class to best understand what a deadly force encounter is like, before, during, and after the event

·       Take a stop the bleed class. If you have prepared yourself to use deadly force, and a consequence of that might be the loss of life, can we agree that you should also be able to save a life

Please be prepared – we never know what tomorrow might bring us. And always, stay safe.