Firearm Disrespect and Correction

As responsible concealed carriers, we take personal safety extremely seriously.  Unfortunately, not everyone can handle the responsibility of carrying.  Irresponsible gun owners tend to make life miserable for the rest of us by doing foolish things like brandishing to threatening others.  When you see activity like this, what are your recourses as a concealed carrier?

Call The Police

A person in possession of a firearm who is making direct threats against you or someone you know is a serious matter. If you see a concealed carrier brandish his firearm or attempt to threaten or coerce you or someone you know, report that action to the police for investigation.  Even if nothing comes of it, it begins a paper trail so that the police will have more to work with if this clown actually does become a problem.

Sometimes it will come down to a “he said, she said” situation.  Don’t get caught up in other people’s affairs.  If it’s someone you know who is being threatened by an irresponsible gun owner, that person needs to be the person to act on it.  You shouldn’t be filing police reports based upon second or third hand information.  But always take the threat seriously.

Avoid The Irresponsible Gun Owner

Some people were born angry fools.  If a person poses a direct risk of confrontation to you, avoid him or her.  If you’re following these steps in sequence, the police already have your report on file.  Your legal recourse at this point is to break all possible contact with the person.  Because you’re a concealed carrier, you are under a legal responsibility to follow the law and obey its definitions of force and deadly force.  If you’re in a state with “Stand Your Ground” laws on the book, you are free to travel anywhere you are legally allowed to be without worrying about defending yourself from violence.

File A Restraining Order

If the threatening person is someone you cannot outright avoid, you may consider filing a restraining order.  A restraining order is one more piece of documentation showing that this person poses a threat to you and others around you.

Don’t feel bad about doing these steps.  It’s not your fault that someone cannot control himself.  You can only control your actions.  If violence can be avoided, it should be.  Don’t worry about bad feelings or what that other person feels – that person forfeited your concerns the second he threatened you with deadly force.

Carry Everyday – Even At Home

Your concealed carry permit is only good if you are also carrying a handgun.  If you have reason to believe that you’re dealing with the type of unbalanced person who would attempt to circumvent the previous restrictions (restraining order, police report, etc.), then you have even more reason to carry.  Carry at home, carry everywhere permitted by law.  Make sure you have more than one magazine on standby and make sure to communicate with your family to ensure they know where you are and vice versa.

A lot of people – especially concealed carriers – get stuck in that place where they want things to “return back to normal”.  You can’t ever go back, unfortunately.  But you can make a new “normal” –  one where you are constantly prepared to defend yourself, your family and your property from unlawful assault.

James England is a former United States Marine Signals Intelligence Operator and defense contractor with over two tours spread over the Al Anbar province and two more operating across Helmand and Baghdis. He is presently a writer focused on Western foreign policy and maintains an avid interest in firearms. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, he presently resides in New Hampshire – the “Live Free or Die” state. He is finishing up his first novel, “American Hubris”, which is set to hit shelves in Fall of 2015.