So what happens now?

Any time there are significant economic troubles crime rates rise.  The time to prepare is BEFORE you or yours become a victim.

A mother sacrificed her life to save her children.
Story here.

She saved her kids and lost her life.  It did not have to end like that.  She could have defended herself-but may not have had the tools or the training.  She did have mindset, and that saved the children.  Mindset more than anything determines who wins or loses, only problem is that the losers in violence sometimes die.  Sometimes even the winners feel like losers.  Loan Kim Nguyen is lost to her children and husband-but to any parent out there she is a WINNER. God rest her soul and may her killer suffer in hell for the rest of eternity.

So what happens now?  Random violence can escalate into deadly confrontations and there is no way of knowing ahead of time how bad it can be.  Do you have a plan?  Can you execute the plan with your family?  Are the tools available for the defense of the home?  Do all of the adults know what is expected of them and how to use the tools available ?  Mindset. Preparation is not wasted and planning is part of preparation.

Don’t allow yourself to become a victim because your mind is not ready.  Use the Cooper color code.  Think through different scenarios.  Make your mind consider the hard choices that you may have to make.  Do it now, not later when under the stress of a real situation.  Do your thinking and planning now.  Reinforce your doors now.  Get the dog now.  More outside lights now.  Teach your kids what to do and what words you will use  now. Better alarms and more secure windows now.  The reality that destroyed the Nguyen family may come crashing through your door……….now.

New link

I added a new link to the Gun Right category, “Know your rights.”  If you follow it you will find some very interesting information, for example this quiz.

Think of your God given rights as muscles that must be exercised to remain strong, all too often we allow them to atrophy by negligence.  When this happens it is but a few more steps and those rights are gone.

We as CHL holders are already under more scrutiny by merely applying for and obtaining a carry permit.  Yet there are states where no permit no application fee no testing is the norm.  Is the fact that I have to apply for what is enshrined in our constitution as the 2nd amendment not an indication of how far we have strayed from the path that was set for us?  Consider how radical the ideas enshrined in our founding documents were for the time and yet are  but a dream for large parts of the world.   Perhaps a bit more exercise of our lethargic freedoms will start us down the road of recovering that which has been lost,  and set the stage for stopping further erosion’s.

The safest loaded handgun in the world.

Consider that shooting and doing it well is mostly a mental game, anywhere from 80-90% takes place in the mind.  Consider that the best safety device then has to be your mind.  What then is in second best safety device?

By my way of looking at things a properly designed and build holster for your handgun is the second best safety device available.  There is no doubt in my mind, I am even willing to put $100 bill on that statement in every CHL class I teach.  The test is really very simple, an airsoft glock 17 in an Aker pancake holster.  The object of the test is to lighten my wallet of $100 by discharging the glock without taking it out of the holster.  That c note is going to be around for a long time.

The reason that c note is sticking around for the foreseeable future has to do with the holster involved.  Because of the design of glocks and other modern handguns, discharging a loaded gun without pulling the trigger is almost impossible.  Even so called “accidental” discharges are more negligent in nature that most people will admit.  A quality holster like the Aker will not allow you to pull the trigger without  clearing the gun from the holster first.  Just  looking at a typical modern holster designed by any of the major or minor name brand makers will show this.  All will cover the trigger guard, none will permit the easy insertion of a finger into the trigger area, and some will even place a safety strap between the hammer and the firing pin on certain guns meant to be carried “cocked and locked” (more on this later).

Most modern handguns of the striker fired variety have an integral safety system that makes the discharge of the weapon without the trigger actually being pulled impossible.  The very popular Glock series of handguns has a firing pin lock that must be depressed by the trigger AND the striker is not cocked back unless the trigger is pulled.  The trigger has to be pulled for the weapon to fire.  Most modern hammer fired handguns also posses a similar system, and most are double action that have a hammer down as a matter of course.  An example of this would be the  Beretta 92 series of guns.  The exception is the classic single action autos exemplified by the Colt 1911 and the Browning Hi Power and their clones.  Here the weapon is designed from the ground up to be carried with the hammer back and the safety or safeties engaged.  This is referred commonly as “cocked and locked”  with the hammer being cocked and the safety being locked.  Most holsters designed for this type of gun will allow the user the choice of a safety strap that blocks the hammer from hitting the firing pin should the hammer accidentally slip off the sear.  Colt changed this with the series 80 guns to lock the firing pin in a manner similar to the striker fired guns.  On Colt series 80 guns the trigger must be depressed to allow the gun to fire, a hammer slipping off the sear will hit a locked firing pin.

A note for safety sakes: DO NOT USE SERPA HOLSTERS!!!!!!!

I have only  seen one, and the owner was gracious enough to allow me to run an experiment on his holster.  I was able to lock up the retention system with a bit of twigs and the gun could not be released from the holster.   The other more serious problem deals with the muscle memory of placing your trigger finger firmly on the lock release, this is where the trigger will be when the gun clears the holster, this has resulted in NUMEROUS negligent discharges in the real world.  There are better solutions out there, please save your money and possibly more than that.

So which is the safest loaded handgun in the world?  The one that is in a quality holster, not being manipulated everyday (load, holster, unload) and stored in a locking container if you have little  or not so little ones around the house.  This will allow rapid access in case that the weapon is needed, yet is perfectly safe should it be dropped or otherwise disturbed while in the holster.  The rest of the time if possible that weapon should be on your person, that is the only place that will do when it is truly needed.  See you in a bit.

It’s only useful if loaded.

One very common question that I field from people regards the carrying of a handgun-unloaded.   Most are shocked when I tell them that the law does not specify one way or the other.  Penal Code Chapter 46 covers weapons and “handguns” are treated  as any other weapon.   No reference is made to loaded or unloaded when dealing with various sub-chapters, the illegal carry of a weapon by a non licensed individual has no qualifications regarding a more serious offense for a “loaded” weapon.  Under the law an offense is committed if a non licensed individual violates the law in a particular manner OR if a licensed individual violates the laws governing CHL in a particular manner.  THE LAW TREATS ALL HANDGUNS AS DEADLY WEAPONS REGARDLESS.

Now let’s examine some of the logic involved with folks carrying an unloaded handgun, all the while claiming that the law prohibits carrying said handgun loaded.  If I see a person brandishing a gun at a bank teller and proceed to stop said threat, does the fact that the weapon was unloaded really matter?  How can a reasonable person assume that an individual engaged in such activites is carrying an unloaded gun?  By the same logic should that person engaged in robbing a bank also assume that my gun is unloaded because his is?  The introduction of a firearm into a situation makes a threat, the threat assumes a loaded weapon.  No reasonable person would assume otherwise.

The final nail in the unloaded gun coffin comes straight from the law.  Penal Code Sub-chapter 46.15 deals with peace officers and special investigators, the first sentence deals with non applicability of 46.02 and 46.03 over those officials.  This is just one part of Texas law that deals with peace officers, no mention is made over loaded vs. unloaded.  A handgun is assumed to be loaded by all that can legally carry.  There is no mention anywhere in the law governing CHL of permitting only loaded OR unloaded carry.  No distinction is made between a CHL carrying legally or a peace office carrying on or off duty. No distinction is made between loaded or unloaded.  In this case no specific prohibition means that is allowed for all parties that fall under the relevant statutes.  If the legislature had meant for the law to specify unloaded carry-it would be in the law.

Next time I will examine how to carry your loaded handgun safely.

Not just 911.

I  teach my students that calling the police is a good option in all cases involving suspicious activity.  Roma and Rio Grande City have great police response times, if you are out in the sticks the Sheriffs Office will take longer.  However most folk’s do not have the numbers handy or even a telephone directory available.  If you only have a cell phone you probably don’t have a phone directory.  Here is your phone directory for Starr County, copy and paste to a word processor if you need to go larger on the font or to make a handy list.  Save them in your cell phone and you will be able to communicate from just about anywhere.

Rio Grande City PD 487-8892

Roma PD                849-2231

Starr Sheriff           487-5571

In an emergency always dial 911. However that service may not work properly on some cell phones and it may not work properly on digital home phone service.

If you save them to a cell phone placing a number right before the first letter will take that entry to the top.  A number 1 will be first followed by 2 etc.  Try it and see if your cell phone will do this or some variation of this.  The idea here is that the first entry in your directory should be these entries, with everything else following. I think of these details as part of maintaining condition yellow at all times and an essential part of any plan for personal security.

Coopers Color Code and You

Col. Cooper’s Color Code

White

Relaxed, unaware, and unprepared.  If attacked in this state the only thing that may save you is the inadequacy and ineptitude of your attacker.  When confronted by something nasty your reaction will probably be, “Oh my God!  This can’t be happening to me.”

Yellow

Relaxed alertness.  No specific threat situation.  Your mindset is that “today could be the day I may have to defend myself.”  There is no specific threat but you are aware that the world is an unfriendly place and that you are prepared to do something if necessary.  You use your eyes and ears, and your carriage says “I am alert.”   You don’t have to be armed in this state but if you are armed you must be in yellow.  When confronted by something nasty your reaction will probably be, “I thought this might happen some day.”  You can live in this state indefinitely.

Orange

Specific alert.  Something not quite right has gotten your attention and you shift your primary focus to that thing.  Something is “wrong” with a person or object.  Something may happen.  Your mindset is that “I may have to shoot that person.”  Your pistol is usually holstered in this state.  You can maintain this state for several hours with ease, or a day or so with effort.

Red

Fight trigger.  This is your mental trigger.  “If that person does “x” I will shoot them.”  Your pistol may, but not necessarily, be in your hand.

Most self defense problems can be solved before they happen if you apply the color code to your daily activities.  The end result that we desire is to avoid problems, if we are in a situation where a weapon has to be presented or worse yet used, the situation will hopefully have been evaluated with enough time to make a difference in the outcome.  What we want is to win.  Winning without having to  use your weapon is the best result.

Having to use your weapon brings another set of problems, some of which are solved by your actions as guided by the color code.  The biggest problem will be innocent bystanders, your awareness of them should be very high in your decision loop. Every bullet you fire can be the bullet that maims or kills an innocent bystander by all means  train to the highest level of proficiency possible.  That is why a specific trigger should be primary in your mind regarding a shoot/no shoot situation.  Remember what the Penal Code calls for and what actions are justified.  Don’t be drawn into situations that have NO good solutions, by all means stack the deck in your favor.  That may mean retreat even when the law allows you to stand your ground-if retreating will allow you a better tactical environment that minimizes the threat to innocents.

Read my “Good guys 1-Goblins O Game over” for a real life shooting that could have ended in tragedy.  Luck played a large part in the good guys success, don’t trust your life to luck, train and follow the color code to prevent problems if possible or deal with them decisively if needed.

Good guy 1-Goblin 0 Game Over

Thugs will be thugs.  But the good guys do win sometimes.

Sheriff: Attempted carjacker gets shot.

EDINBURG – The clerk warned Alejandro Salinas about the suspicious men who had been hanging out in front of the convenience store for the past hour.

He told Salinas to be careful as he went back out to his Chevrolet Z-71 pickup truck, that he had just filled at the Aziz Convenience Store about 11 a.m. Saturday.

Salinas walked out to his truck and hopped in.

But before he could close the door, 18-year-old Hector Severo Ramos was holding a .25-caliber pistol at Salinas’ neck, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño.

“He says ‘Get out of the truck. I’m going to take it and I’m going to kill you,” Treviño said of Ramos.

Salinas told the gunman to calm down; they could work things out.

Then he pushed Ramos’ pistol away, pulled out his own pistol and fired two 9 mm bullets into Ramos’ chest.

Ramos fired once into the air and his arms fell onto Salinas.

The two men tumbled to the pavement as blood spilled from Ramos’ chest.

Three men who were with Ramos took off from the convenience store at Texas Highway 107 and Alamo Road in a brown Chevrolet Impala, deputies said.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene and emergency crews rushed Ramos to McAllen Medical Center, where he died upon arrival.

Salinas had a license to carry a concealed firearm and a clean criminal record, Treviño said.

Ramos, a U.S. citizen who lived in South Alamo, had been arrested for giving a false report to a police officer, aggravated robbery, theft and engaging in organized criminal activity, Treviño said.

Ramos may have been involved with a local gang or attempting to start a new one, Treviño said.

Deputies continue to look for the three men who were with Ramos before he was shot. They could face murder and aggravated robbery charges, Treviño said.

“If they fled knowing (Ramos) was dying at the scene and they were all responsible for the commission of this felony, then they could be held liable for that,” Treviño said.

Meanwhile, the sheriff said he would likely not pursue criminal charges against Salinas, who told deputies he killed Ramos in self-defense.

“This is not a murder,” Treviño said. “This is a justifiable homicide.” (Bold mine.)

Original story here.

Not knowing all the circumstances I only see one mistake by the CHL. I teach my classes that if it appears that the police are needed, by all means call them. If the clerk and the CHL had followed this rule perhaps ALL of the bad guys would have been picked up. The CHL in this case now has to worry about the dead goblins buddies, but that sure beats being severely injured or killed.

On the carrying of weapons.

I place considerable emphasis on actual carry if licensed as compared to having it in the glovebox or at home.  Whenever possible having your weapon handy and on your person is a much better way to security than having it proximate but not on your person.  The barrier to this tends to be the unreasonable expectations that people have regarding what weapon to carry, with most making the mistake of getting something so large as to be almost impossible to conceal.  The other end of the spectrum runs towards getting just one tiny little gun that might stop a mouse-maybe.

The great middle tends to be where experienced weapon carriers will find the best solution.  Getting that experience tends to be expensive if not done right, with multiple purchases that do not work as intended, and much time lost in getting to something that will work.

The great middle here refers to mid size guns like glock 19, kahr k9 and smaller, kel tec pf9, colt commander and officer size guns, the smaller taurus autos, the smaller S&W MP autos, the smaller springfield armory XD autos.  In revolvers any quality .38 or .357 with a 2 or 3 inch barrel fits the bill.  The power floor in my mind starts at .380 for autos and .38 special for revolvers.  More power is better if you can adequately shoot it and carry it.  There are many good choices out there, but before you go and whip out the plastic answer the following question:

Are you willing to compromise on your wardrobe and lifestyle to carry your weapon?

If the answer is yes, then be prepared to spend some money on weapon and clothes.  The advantage here will be that you can do better in power and quality than going the other route which I will cover shortly.  Here you pick the weapon that works for you and then build everything else around it.  Much easier for some people than others, this relies on the idea that “here is the gun that works for me, lets make my clothing and lifestyle work around it.”  The self employed,  the independent contractors, the person that has no active supervision over them or works out in the field fit in here.  So do your typical supervisor or managers that have to wear formal business attire that is especially suited for cover garments like blazers or sport coats.  Men have it much easier than women in this regard, but women can also make this work to their benefit if they fall in this category.

While it more difficult, women can find suitable guns and clothing that allow them to carry pretty much everywhere that is legal.  A practical examination of men’s and women’s wardrobes will show that pocket carry is possible most of the time IF your wardrobe allows it.  From here women have less choices, due in large part to the concealment requirement and the less than adequate choices in holsters and equipment.  There are ways for a women to carry on her waist but even allowing for good choices in wardrobe, successfully making it work is another matter.  The natural flair of women’s hips makes a holster designed for men a painful experience as the top portion of any weapon will dig into the ribs.  The solution is to carry in a holster that rides higher and with more cant than a men’s holster would have.  The number of companies that market such a holster is limited indeed.  One such company is here.

Galco has many options for women and is one of the few major holster companies that caters to female CHL.  The situation is changing but it will take more time and more women involvement to really bring more product to market.

Lets now examine the far more common situation.

You cannot compromise your wardrobe and lifestyle to accommodate carrying a weapon.

People that find themselves in this situation would be teachers, nurses, tradesmen, professionals of many different types, many private sector employees, many food service employees, etc.  The job that demands a certain amount of conformity in apparel will be the job that makes carrying your weapon difficult.  The job that bans the carrying of weapons also makes it more difficult but not impossible.  Even then work arounds can be found that permit the discrete carry of decently useful handguns.

Out right bans on CHL while on employers property are permitted by law, however there has not been much case law regarding having the weapon stay behind in your vehicle.  The decision is yours, but lets examine the practical way to get it done.  I am not a fan of off body carry, but some of the best solutions to legal impediments revolve around off body carry.  One of the best solutions seems to be from here. The wilderness is linked on the right side under “where to get gear”. Here is what their safepacker off body holster looks like:

Safepacker

If you follow the link you will see there are many different ways to use the safepacker, the big advantage for me is the fact that is designed from the ground up to carry a weapon. This is not some adaptation of a day planner, considerable thought has gone into the design. What is seen is not what is really there, here is a product that even if accidentally left visible on a vehicles seat would not draw attention.  Yet you can easily carry it with you when stopping to run errands on the way home and nobody would be the wiser, the smaller models would not look out of place on your belt.

If not prohibited by employer, then carry is possible within the parameters set by the wardrobe.  Here the best options will be to go small and discrete.  Kel tec p3AT and Rugers new LCP are favored by folks that need to carry small yet potent handguns.  Both offer .380 acp power in startlingly tiny guns that make carry easier even if constrained by your wardrobe.  A gun like the Kel Tec or the Ruger paired with something more substantial in a Smartpacker would enable carry under most legal circumstances and nobody around you would the wiser.

Holsters have been covered here. I would only add that holster tech is constantly evolving, new stuff is always getting rolled out, should you need something different, it is likely to get introduced in the future. Keep informed and get active to protect your rights, see my “Gun Rights” links to see what you can do.

Penal Code 46.035 and you.

I knew when I renewed my CHL that the law had changed regarding 46.035.  I received several comments from my renewal students that made me realize  that not all CHL’ers can keep up with the law between renewals.

Here is brief summary of the changes in the law, first let’s quote the relevant section:

(4)  on the premises of a hospital licensed under
Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code, or on the premises of a nursing
home licensed under Chapter 242, Health and Safety Code, unless the
license holder has written authorization of the hospital or nursing
home administration, as appropriate;
               (5)  in an amusement park;  or
               (6)  on the premises of a church, synagogue, or other
established place of religious worship.
        (c)  A license holder commits an offense if the license
holder intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries a handgun
under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code,
regardless of whether the handgun is concealed, at any meeting of a

governmental entity.

Now lets take a look at the changes:

(i)  Subsections (b)(4), (b)(5), (b)(6), and (c) do not apply
if the actor was not given effective notice under Section 30.06.

What used to be prohibited by statue is now allowed IF the CHL
was not given notice under  Section 30.06.

Now notice is required  replacing the blanket prohibition that existed
before.  
 
 

Amusement parks that are now prohibited by statute are Fiesta Texas and Six Flags. Seaworld is not posted and I have personally carried there numerous times.  Hopefully this information will be useful for real world carry.

Next class second Saturday of September.

Call me at 437-2607  for more info.  Note that class will be second Saturday, I will be calling people to inform them.