Via Facebook.
Dammit, how many times do we have to say this?
1) Be armed all the time! This isn’t a game played only on Tuesdays and Thursday. ALL THE TIME! The universe doesn’t care whether today is the day you decided to leave the gun at home so you could wear your comfy shorts.
2) YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN! Police response time was excellent — 6 minutes — but 20 people still died. You will decide in that 6 minutes whether you and yours live or die. You…only you.
3) Have a damned plan…ANY plan! Where might the threat come from? Where are the exits? Where is cover? Concealment? Additional weapons? A quick plan when you step into a new place takes seconds, SECONDS!
4) Where is your spouse or your kids? Did they head out on their own? Where? Do they have a place to meet you? HAVE YOU TALKED TO THEM ABOUT THE UNTHINKABLE?
5) Carry medical gear! Don’t get all wound around the axle about which tourniquet to,choose — HAVE ONE! And have the knowledge to SAVE LIVES!
6) If it sounds like a gun, IT’S A GUN! It’s not fireworks; it’s not a car backfiring; it’s not someone dropping a big tin box — it is gunfire! Act accordingly! Every single second you hesitate brings you — and your family — closer to death.
7) “Be without fear in the face of your enemies.” None of us who do this, who prepare people for the worst day of their lives, can guarantee those people will get home. I can’t save you, although God knows I would if I could. Remember that when you put that gun on in the morning, you are swearing an oath. Honor it.
I can assure that right now somebody who was in that Walmart is thinking why the hell wasn’t he/her carrying a gun they have at home. And another one will rethink the smartness of delaying over and over getting a carry permit. Maybe they will think “Shit, I could have done something to stop this guy, but I did not have a gun.”
Carry. All. The. Time.
Yup.
I wish I could carry at work … but I’d rather not commit a federal felony.
My students ask me :” When should I carry?”
My answer: “If you are wearing pants, you should be armed. And whatever is the same thing for ladies. Be armed.”
Even when you’re not wearing pants, you should at least ponder accessorizing your nudity with appropriate weapon. Or, at least, have it within reach.
(Though, if you’re without pants at WalMart, you might have bigger issues.)
If you’re without pants at WalMart, you’re in your natural habitat!
The name of your blog is most appropriate..again, unfortunately
The problem with Texas, until 1 September, when I’ve heard an offence becomes a trespass it you don’t leave when asked, is that if a business is properly signed a GFZ according to Texas law, it’s a misdemeanor to be armed in it.
I know that some will disregard that, but many if not most, will be law abiding citizens…until 1 September.
In Florida, we cannot get arrested for trespassing:
810.08 Trespass in structure or conveyance.—
(1) Whoever, without being authorized, licensed, or invited, willfully enters or remains in any structure or conveyance, or, having been authorized, licensed, or invited, is warned by the owner or lessee of the premises, or by a person authorized by the owner or lessee, to depart and refuses to do so, commits the offense of trespass in a structure or conveyance.
(c) If the offender is armed with a firearm or other dangerous weapon, or arms himself or herself with such while in the structure or conveyance, the trespass in a structure or conveyance is a felony of the third degree,
Miguel, that last (c) a felony, doesn’t get people arrested?
Here in Missouri, we’re a little less strict about what happens after being asked to depart by the property owner if caught CC. (of course, you have to get caught and if CC is CC, no one should be able to see it, so…..
http://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=571.215&bid=33881&hl=
*571.215. Permit authorizes carrying on person or in vehicle — prohibited areas — penalty for violation. — 1. A Missouri lifetime or extended concealed carry permit issued under sections 571.205 to 571.230 shall authorize the person in whose name the permit is issued to carry concealed firearms on or about his or her person or vehicle throughout the state. No Missouri lifetime or extended concealed carry permit shall authorize any person to carry concealed firearms into:
(15) Any private property whose owner has posted the premises as being off-limits….. If the building or the premises are open to the public, the employer of the business enterprise shall post signs on or about the premises if carrying a concealed firearm is prohibited.
2. Carrying of a concealed firearm in a location specified in subdivisions (1) to (17) of subsection 1 of this section by any individual who holds a Missouri lifetime or extended concealed carry permit shall not be a criminal act but may subject the person to denial to the premises or removal from the premises.
If such person refuses to leave the premises and a peace officer is summoned, such person may be issued a citation for an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars for the first offense. (from all accounts, the popo, tells the miscreant that if they don’t leave, they’ll be cited and only the stupid remain)
If a second citation for a similar violation occurs within a six-month period, such person shall be fined an amount not to exceed two hundred dollars and his or her permit to carry concealed firearms shall be suspended for a period of one year.
If a third citation for a similar violation is issued within one year of the first citation, such person shall be fined an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars and shall have his or her Missouri lifetime or extended concealed carry permit revoked and such person shall not be eligible for a Missouri lifetime or extended concealed carry permit or a concealed carry permit issued under sections 571.101 to 571.121 for a period of three years.
Upon conviction of charges arising from a citation issued under this subsection, the court shall notify the sheriff of the county which issued the Missouri lifetime or extended concealed carry permit. The sheriff shall suspend or revoke the Missouri lifetime or extended concealed carry permit.
I guess the garlic festival didn’t raise enough eyebrows. They had to pump up the volume, as it were….
I wish I could say I thought you were just being paranoid.
But after Las Vegas I’ve started to wonder sometimes.
It is unfortunate, but the bad guys almost always get to pick the time and point of attack. There is no way to get around it; you need to be prepared if you are out of your bed.
That means you MUST carry and be prepared ALL the time because you have no idea when some random bad guy bonehead will decide to start shooting. And, make no mistake, the responsibility to protect yourself and your family IS YOURS, AND NO ONE ELSES. If you think the police will be there to protect you when criminal activity occurs, you’re dreaming. Any honest street cop will make that perfectly clear to you if you ask them. Consequently, if you aren’t ready to act in defense of your loved ones when the trouble goes down, it is you and your family that will pay the price. Plan and act accordingly.
I’d add one more suggestion. For places as large as a shopping mall, some of the response time is taken up getting to the right location inside. If the situation permits, position yourself at the entrance so you can direct them toward the shooting.
Also, take note of the time and number of shots. If you can tell them, “The shooting began 5 minutes ago and I’ve heard 20 shots” will give them an idea how urgent the situation is. This killer is shooting someone every 15 seconds.
Very good advice. For me, unless there’s a metal detector involved, i.e. entering a courthouse (which is rare), I am never w/o my firearm. I could care less about their “no weapons” signs. Also, I always try to make an unobtrusive pause for a few seconds when entering. I then do a right-to-left scan of my surroundings.
Scenario: many armed adults converge to the sound of gunfire a slightly different moments. They witness many other adults with weapons. Who is the bad guy?
In a mass shooting incident? The asshole shooting innocent people.
If you cannot make a determination, maybe you shouldn’t be carrying.
Fog of war type situations concern me as well.
It simultaneously seems simple to make a determination, shoot the guy with the rifle, and impossible how do I know none of these guys are not involved and how do they know I’m not involved.
I think it is just something you need to accept as a calculated risk that you may be mistaken for the bad guy or have to make a very important decision with bad info if you are running into it.
Regarding this incident there is speculation I have read (totally unconfirmed) that the reports of multiple people with guns were people cc’ing and beating feet.
I will not be running towards the shooter, I will be running away. DON’T BE A HERO. Your gun is there to save you and your family, no one else. If you shoot the wrong person, even if by crossfire or ricochet, you will be prosecuted. The cops won’t. Use your gun to protect you. If anyone else wishes to live through this, they need to get their own gun.
If you read this blog for any period of time, you know that the official position is… we don/’t know till it happens.
If you are with your family at arms reach, yes it would make sense to gather and run while the gun is out.
If the family is separated and the shooting is near or where you left them? You will make tracks that way because that is your duty.
There is no proper answer till the shooter starts.
You can be pretty sure that small children aren’t perps. Likewise, the adults holding their hands. You should consider escorting them out of danger.
Warm weather, especially in places like Texas, pose challenges for conceal carry. 90+ degree heat can make a double-stack 9mm feel like a heavy tote BUT…ONE PERSON carrying in that store could have made a difference.
Are you saying you don’t believe anyone was carrying in a Walmart in Texas on a Saturday?
Really?
I am saying somebody wised he/she had the gun left at home with them at that moment.
This mall was a gun free zone.
[…] but good. […]
I embrace the dad and fannypack carry in the heat, which is 9 months out of the year here in Alabama.
[…] I have been reading the comments in Miguel’s post Michael Bane: “Dammit, how many times do we have to say this?” […]
What’s needed isn’t just decriminalizing CC in disarmed victim zones. The better answer is a law making the property owner liable for death or injury by criminal shooters in a disarmed victim zone.
Sorry. I’d love to follow your advice, but I live in New York. We have been told by our government that, in such a situation, we are to die – it’s for the greater good.