Tag: concealed carry

May 26, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

May 26, 2022 /

This is a rewrite. I already had this entire week written by Tuesday but unfortunately something came up and this was the best day to interrupt the flow. You all know what that something is… a school shooting in Texas where 19 children and two adults were killed. This is the biggest tragedy and eerily similar to Sandy Hook (2012).

I am going to spare the hard lines of party talking points today. I see all kinds of people talking out of their asses about the situation. I see a lot of people that have their own contingency of personal security using this event to push their personal agenda. I am talking about NBA coaches, TV hosts and US politicians.

With all things, what do you do with this? I want to say, I cant blame all people for being angry. Someone very close to me said yesterday that they wanted to get some training and start carrying. I think that is actually the proper response not because I want a militarization of our culture but because we are our own first responders.

I have said this before, if I knew that there was going to be a fight somewhere then I would not go to that place. It is just smart. That leaves us with being caught unaware anytime something like this happens. If you are unaware, then how prepared are you really going to be? And if you are not prepared, it is only luck that keeps you alive.

My kids had a band concert a couple nights ago. Oregon SB554 was passed in 2021 in direct response to 2011 appeals court dismissal of college’s ability to prohibit firearms. The reason for this is Oregon has a preemption clause in the constitution which means that only the legislature can make laws that contradict the Bill of Rights. Or in other words, administrative bodies cannot arbitrarily create rules that are in contradiction to the constitution. This is a long way of saying firearms are banned at all schools in our district.

Had that circumstance in Texas occurred in my town, the results would have likely been the same or worse. 1) This is not Texas with the same sense of individualism 2) we don’t have a bunch of border protection officers just hanging around town. The sheriff has two – six deputies on duty, municipal police have two on duty and the adjacent town has two on duty. State police are fifteen miles away at best.

If the ‘good guys’ are following the laws and the ‘bad guys’ are not, then what is the result? The result is a defenseless shooting gallery. Did you also know that Great Britain is implementing knife restrictions as a result of a huge rise in knife crime? On one hand, the firearm is a better tool for killing but you see from the data that the problem is not the tool. Nor is the problem a lack of laws. The problem is sick and deranged people.

The story is still being written on this. 2020 followed by 2021 were the biggest firearms sales years for a reason. The largest segment of that population were first time gun owners. People know when something is wrong, defund the police being one example. This country is literally disintegrating before our eyes and people don’t realize what is wrong, only that it doesn’t feel right.

Since this is a complicated problem and I don’t want to disrespect the situation with simple solutions, I can only offer my opinion. It is a shame that we should abdicate our children’s safety and quite frankly their minds to a system that is counter-intuitive and unnatural. Instead of learning critical thinking and problem solving, we are training safety by bureaucracy and administration.

The question is not “how is this prevented” but “how do I survive”. You see, that flips the script on me imposing my will on you to you taking responsibility for yourself. I don’t think it will ever be prevented, but I do believe that there are steps I can take to potentially mitigate the damage. In a hypothetical situation, whether I am killed because I am disarmed or I am killed because my opponent was a better/quicker shot the result is still the same. But which one provides better odds?

I am not going to say whether I obey the no guns in school policy. What I will say is that this is not my first day after a school shooting. And, I will also say that my human right to self preservation exceeds any kind of policy. That is the basis of civil disobedience. If I did have a weapon and I was in the situation, my first priority is to get out of harm, not stop the threat or even engage.

End Your Programming Routine: If Whoopi Goldberg wants to come here and try to punch me, then I would like to see her try. Quite frankly, assault is acceptable grounds for self defense. Mind you, I think it would be more lucrative to let her hit me and then I can take this to civil court for a nice, fat judgement. Despite all of that, I stand for her right to be an idiot and say whatever she wants on TV. That goes for everyone, I stand with your rights to think and speak. Don’t mess with mine.

May 13, 2021 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

May 13, 2021 /

There are two things on my mind today and they sort of go together. The first one is an update on the belly band holster from December 17, 2020. I have tried it a number of times (maybe 20). I have ultimately stopped using it because the Velcro was rubbing raw spots on my body. I could wear it about three days in the same position and then I would have to move it. I don’t know if that is a function of the design or what.

At the time, I was doing a lot of moving. I would sit for two minutes and then get up and walk around. Maybe it was the up and down along with the bending and such, I don’t know but I suspect that it was the sitting that rubbed the Velcro more so than being upright. I won’t say that I am giving up on it, yet. I like the concept and the comfort (mostly). It may mean that I need to investigate a better built brand. The one that I have does work. As long as I am healed from the abrasions, I can wear it for a couple of days no problem until it starts scratching again.

The second thing I wanted to talk about is a concept that I have named ‘Running Dirty’. It implies that you are doing something that you should not do. Things like driving without a license or expired tags for instance. In this case, I am talking about carrying concealed when prohibited by policy at work. In my last three employment stints, policy expressly prohibited carrying concealed.

Now, this is a slightly sticky situation. On one hand, I absolutely endorse the right of companies to set their rules and policies as it has always been private property (in my case). But really, what is the aim? In my opinion, it is a liability play. The companies figure that it would be cheaper to pay off victims of some sort of crime rather than permit employees to potentially have the ability to defend themselves.

Let us analyze my recent stint as a driver for Amazon. When you pull up to the station, every door is marked with a ‘no firearms’ sign. It is expressly forbidden to carry a firearm, a knife or pepper spray. We were told as drivers that we did not have to make any delivery where we felt unsafe. I would argue, how do you know it is an unsafe situation? If I knew for a fact, of course I wouldn’t go into it policy or not. I am driving a loaded truck, alone into unknown situations.

During Christmas time, there was a UPS driver that was kidnapped and his truck was stolen in Portland. That could have just as easily been an Amazon driver. I was also bitten by a dog, not severely but it could have been worse. I heard of other drivers getting yelled at and threatened to be shot for trespassing when the accidently went down the wrong, poorly marked rural driveway. I would argue that drivers are some of the most vulnerable jobs out there. Sounds like a good case for ‘Running Dirty’ to me.

End Your Programming Routine: Ultimately, you have to assess your risks and rewards. I am always going to side on safety over policy. I doesn’t mean that I would or do carry everyday (or do I?). That’s the point. You might want to look at the Belly Band type holster if you need deep concealment because you cant get caught printing or brandishing.