This year we have had several examples of armed citizens stepping in to make a difference, preventing or stopping mass murders. The most famous examples being Jordan Salinas in Idaho and now Kaylub Giamanco in Oregon. Where restrictive gun laws, plastic signs, and policy statements failed, good guys with guns did not.
Of course, the two incidents above are just a couple of the estimated 500,00 to 2.5 million defensive gun uses that take place each year. The majority of those DGUs end after a citizen displays a firearm combined with the determination to use it…and without every pulling a trigger. Unless these incidents are caught by a surveillance camera enabling the local news to show the footage, most of them receive little to no acknowledgement.
That’s one of the reasons so many people apparently believe that armed citizens don’t stop crime nearly as often as they do. They didn’t see it on the news, therefore it must not have happened.
Often when there’s a justifiable DGU, the media will give it a “one and done” story treatment. Rarely do they examine the event in any detail after it has been initially reported. The last line of the story is invariably, “…police are still conducting their investigation into the incident.”
However, during more famous or noteworthy incidents such as those above, when the media sense a what they perceive as a good story, they will continue to dig. We’ll find out what make, model and caliber of gun the defender used, if and when they’d had any training, what they ate for breakfast that morning, etc. Also, while the story is still hot, the media will attempt to interview the good samaritan.
While you might be thinking, yep, I knew all that already, our goal here is to address the reality that your preparation for winning the fight — the gunfight that you can’t avoid — begins the moment that you decide to purchase and carry a gun for self-defense.
Establishing the Correct Mindset
I feel certain that of the tens of thousands of Americans who buy their first handgun for the stated purpose of self-defense or personal protection, a tiny percentage would acknowledge or consider that their preparation for the gravest extreme only begins with that decision.
Prior to committing to be armed, you’re just another member of the mass of helpless sheep who rely upon the fantasy that their mobile phone can instantly summon a man with a gun to save them. We all have that friend or relative who thinks that it’s absolutely crazy to carry a gun and they reassure you that they have their phone for safety.
Being an armed citizen — actually carrying a handgun on your person every day — requires a commitment that most adults aren’t willing to make. Carrying the gun incorporates an aspect of responsibility and at least a tacit commitment to actively participate in your protection. Most modern people are perfectly willing to outsource their personal safety to the state. After all, if you never do anything, you can’t do anything wrong.
However, for those who have made the mature decision to purchase a firearm for self-defense along with the commitment to become an armed citizen, that’s the moment you should acknowledge that preparation to be victorious has just begun. Whether or not you take that seriously is up to you.
Dispelling Myths and Misunderstandings
While it shouldn’t need to be said, the following does indeed merit discussion; guns are not good luck charms and owning a firearm does not provide some invisible cone of protection around you. A while back, I was talking with a fellow shooter at an indoor range. The topic of concealed carry came up and the man stated, “Well, I have my permit, but I don’t carry all the time, just sometimes if I think I might need it.”
Folks, having a laminated plastic card in your wallet that says “Concealed Carry Permit” doesn’t shield you from the ill intentions of robbers, thieves, and murderers. Having a Kimber loaded with Hydra-Shoks locked up in your gun safe or the console of your truck isn’t going to do you any good when the person threatening you is standing three feet away.
Once you have committed to being an armed citizen, that means all day, every day, not occasionally. If you can’t commit to actually carrying your gun all the time, you’re fooling yourself and, as Sheriff Jim Wilson is fond of saying, “playing at self-defense.”
Part of your preparation to win the fight begins with the acceptance that your nice, mature, reasonable behavior has about a one percent chance of keeping you out of the fight. The other 99 percent is completely out of your hands. As in, you don’t get to decide.
Sadly, we do not live in a 1950s ‘Leave it to Beaver’ world where you can rely on being a well-intentioned person to keep you safe. My dearly departed father grew up in the 1950s and told me as a child, “No one is going to give you trouble unless you give them a reason to.”
That simply isn’t true. The cold bucket of water on your head reality is that there are hundreds of thousands of creatures living in the United States who don’t possess the capacity for shame and remorse. Of those, a high percentage also have an intelligence quotient that’s room temperature at best. Don’t believe me? Go watch a few TikTok videos.
The primary lesson here is that you can’t rely upon the mythical concept of “nice neighborhoods” or “being in public” to guarantee your safety. We still hear people make excuses for not carrying by stating that they “live in a safe neighborhood” and they “don’t stay out late or go to places I shouldn’t.”
Places you shouldn’t go? You mean like an In-N-Out Burger in the middle of the day? Or did you mean a school, a church, a shopping mall?
Stop acting like you get a say in when some vermin or deranged monster decides to commit a violent felony against you, your family or other innocent people. You can’t alter their decision to commit evil, but you can make a determined effort to be prepared if and when it happens.
When the Super Bowl Never Comes
I was having a conversation with a fellow trainer when we reached the topic of complacency. My friend put it like this, “How do you get people to train like they’re going to play in the Super Bowl when the Super Bowl never comes?” That’s a great question.
Many folks, after they’ve made the commitment to purchase a self-defense gun, are excited to enter that new world. Some of them will even go so far as to take an actual professional firearms training class. Then they return home and practice what they were taught, at least for a while.
However, the insidious human trait of complacency is always waiting just around the corner, ready to pop its head up and say, “Why go through all the trouble to strap on a gun? You’re just going out to run some errands. What could happen?”
The initial excitement and motivation soon fades as time marches on and you haven’t needed your self-defense gun. A year or two go by and you might even think, Was I just being paranoid? This is akin to the parable of the sower and the seeds. Some seeds fell upon the rocky soil and immediately sprang up, but they had no root and quickly withered and died.
It is not the initial excitement and motivation that keeps you doing the right thing, day in and day out, it is discipline. Anyone can go to the gym when they are motivated. However, it is the man with personal discipline who goes even when he doesn’t feel like it. The same applies to firearms training and practice.
A genuine armed citizen does not carry their gun only when they “think they might need it” (a crazy statement when you think about it) or when they’re going to shoot an instagram video. They don’t engage in training and practice only when it’s convenient or fun.
I had another friend express some frustration to me recently. He explained that he set up a range training day for his church security team and informed all the members. One of the team members raised his hand and asked, “But, what if it’s cold out that day?” My pal was exasperated. What he didn’t say was, “For fuqsake, put on a jacket.”
When You Least Expect It
“When you least expect it, you’re elected.” is one of those phrases we use to help each other stay in the right frame of mind regarding personal responsibility and being ready for the fight. During the two previously highlighted incidents in Idaho and Oregon, neither of the armed citizens had left their house that morning anticipating a gunfight. They were doing what everyone else does, living their lives, when out of nowhere they were faced with the decision to respond and save lives by using lethal force.
Just how mentally and physically able you will be to respond to such an incident will be based entirely upon what you have done before that moment in time. Did you take your responsibility seriously, get training and then engage in deliberate practice? Are you even carrying your gear today or did you leave it on the dresser because you didn’t think you’d need it?
American author and trainer, Mark Twight once wrote
Seize whatever opportunity comes your way because there will be nothing worse than knowing you could have.. but didn’t, that now you can’t and you’re still alive to wish you had.
I can’t imagine the remorse and guilt that I would experience were I to find myself in a position where I could save innocent lives by stopping a killer, only to realize that I had decided not to carry that day because I didn’t think I’d need it.
From the day you made the mental commitment to be an armed citizen right up to the moment that you are called upon to save a life, you must seize every opportunity to strengthen your mind and body, to train and prepare, to ensure that when faced with pure evil, there can be no possible outcome but victory on your part. Live life as you see fit, but know this, your responsibility to be ready for the fight never ends.
Paul G. Markel is a combat decorated United States Marine veteran. He is also the founder of Student the Gun University and has been teaching Small Arms & Tactics to military personnel, police officers, and citizens for over three decades.