A few years back I took a young couple to the range to shoot guns. The husband wanted to buy a gun but the wife wasn’t sure because of her fear of guns and the safety of her children. At the time I was working with the husband and he shared his problem with me. Even though a few years prior his wife was discharged from the military, she still was apprehensive around guns. I told my friend we could set up a time when we could all meet at the shooting range and I could help to educate his wife. We met and we talked about our experiences with guns. I wanted her to be put at ease that I had significant training and experience with guns. I wanted her to be confident in my ability to train. After we talked a little I then explained and showed them all the safety equipment and we talked about the safety rules. All this was done without a gun in sight. Then I got out a .22 rifle. We talked about sight picture and she shot that gun quite accurately. Then I brought out a .22 pistol. She shot that for a while. Then I brought out a .380. Then a 9mm. I brought out a .357 revolver and we talked about the differences and she shot that. I brought out an AR chambered in .223/5.56. There were some guns she liked better than others. She loved the .22 and the AR. We finished and I had her hold her target and I told her she just qualified for a concealed weapon license if she wanted to apply and pay the fee. She was happy that she qualified even though she was not planning on carrying. After the shooting we sat again and talked about safety and storing a gun safely. We talked about various ways to store guns and even ways to store it safely where an adult had easy, quick access if needed. Going into the class she was apprehensive about even being around a gun. Leaving the class she had a knowledge that alleviated that apprehensive feeling. Knowledge is power. So how do you live with guns? “What the heck is this Burn!?” You say? There are some people who have a gun with them always. They must learn to live with guns. I have had guns near me for so long, I have to change up the way I do things often enough to not be complacent. The other day I had a panic attack. It was because I did not have my gun on me and for a moment I could not remember where I put it. It was only for a moment and then I retraced my steps and remembered where I had secured it. In the bubble (green zone) you had to be armed always. One of the things that frustrated me as an instructor is that soldiers were taught how to use weapons, but not really how to live with them. It’s not like you’re carrying car keys. You have to be safe and secure with a gun. You can’t leave it just anywhere. It must be secured because there are kids and adults who do not know how to handle them. In a combat situation it could mean the difference between engaging the enemy, or being behind cover with your rifle 5 feet away next to a chair. You’re like a sitting duck.
This fearless and audacious system of gun-handling, combined with good judgement, and common sense will enable you to live with loaded guns daily and never experience even your first accident. Professional gunmen are distinguished from pretenders by four main points.
(1) We’re always armed. Yes, we really live it.
(2) We don’t have accidents with guns.
(3) We don’t hesitate
(4) We don’t miss.
Too often we bask in the sunshine of good times. I’m not wishing ill or difficulty on anyone, but with no problems comes complacency.
Complacency Kills
Many have heard the phrase complacency kills. There is more to it than the actual killing of a person. There are actually 3 more areas besides the battle field in which complacency is killing us regarding the use of force. The others are the mind, the media and the courts.
Here is how complacency and the lack of training on the reasonable use of force can kill you:
While many may focus on the fact you could be killed by an act of violence, while true, that is rare in comparison to the other areas we are getting killed in.
The MIND- Being complacent about proper training, the kind that includes the mental preparation for dealing with violence and the use of force, has turned us into people who are jaded. Complacency kills the compassion for others because you begin to see everyone as evil. This in turn changes our culture into accepting the behavior regardless of the perpetrator.
The MEDIA- We are getting killed in the media. Both mainstream and social. Recent events like the ones captured on video showing gun owners doing stupid things. Or worse, instructors having a negligent discharge or teaching bad habits through bad example. Bad examples, though I believe rare, travels much faster and becomes viral more so than any acts of good we do.
The COURTS- Real and public opinion. Failing to understand the reasonable use of force is killing us in not only the real courts, but the court for public opinion as well. We have to be better at informing and educating. No one knows when violence may affect them. Without being paranoid, we need to be prepared.
Complacency about the use of force in self-defense is in fact killing us. It is killing our kindness, our compassion, our perception by the public and our peers.
It would only make sense that practicing peace requires as much effort as preparing for war.
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn
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