CONCEALED CARRY LESSONS: Unarmed Man Disarms Legally Armed Man

Carrying A Handgun Can Be Dangerous.  Are You Prepared?

A.T.M. = Awareness - Training - Mindset

More and more of us have taken our concealed carry classes and decided to legally carry a handgun for self-defense. As a result the odds of seeing someone in public with a gun or you being spotted with a gun are high.  Are you prepared for this reality of concealed carry?

Beyond the debate about open carry, one must consider the ramifications of concealed carry and the good possibility another citizen will see your firearm in public.  While in many states it is legal to carry open and it is legal for your concealed carry gun to "flash" (become temporarily visible) or remain partially visible at all times, one must be aware of the problems that arise when others see your self-defense weapon. 

We all know about citizens calling the police whenever they spot others exercising their open carry right, but what about cases were the sharp eyed citizen takes matters into their own hands.  What about times when a citizen is legally carrying concealed and is attacked because his or her gun was spotted? 

In such cases, we cannot assume others will think of us as a good guy with a gun. In the video below we see Florence Daniels (green shirt) entering a Florida Walmart with his concealed carry gun on his right hip concealed beneath his shirt.  At the time Daniels did not know that when he got out of his car Michael Foster (black shirt) saw him holster his handgun and tuck it under his shirt.

Foster followed Daniels into the Walmart and tackled him while yelling, "He's got gun!"  As you see in the video several bystanders entered the fray to help disarm Daniels, who was shouting, "I have a permit!  I have a permit!"

[Before proceeding it should be noted that Foster was arrested and charge with assault.]

The video tells us a great deal and gives us much to think about as we carry our guns for self defense or when we see others carrying their handguns in public.

Is everyone you see with a gun in public a bad guy?  

Conversely are folks carrying guns in public always good guys with guns?  

How do you tell and what do you do?  How much worse could this situation have been had Foster also been armed and had drawn his own gun on Daniels? Instead of a wrestling match, a shootout could have occurred .

What about the fact that in a matter of seconds an unarmed man took-down and disarmed a concealed carry permit holder.  At Frontier Firearms in Kingston, Tennessee thousands of people have taken the Handgun Carry Permit Class but aren't really prepared for the reality of day to day carry.  Frontier Firearms owner explains, "We see far too many people who believe carrying a firearm will make them invincible.  This simple is not the case."

AWARENESS - If you are going to carry a gun, you must:

• Always take steps to ensure no one sees your handgun or that you are armed.
• Always be aware of your surroundings - what is in front, to the side, and behind you.
• Always be apprehensive and aware that simply carrying a firearm does not make you safe from attack and certainly does not make you invincible.

What if the unarmed attacker, Foster had had a knife and wanted to kill Daniels instead of disarming him.  In all likelihood Daniels would be dead. Daniels had not trained himself to fend off an attacker long enough to engage him.

TRAINING - If you are going to carry a gun, you must:

• Learn how to carry without the casual observer seeing that you are armed
• Learn how to fend off an attacker long enough to deploy your own weapon
• Learn how to protect your weapon so an attacker cannot easily disarm you.
• Learn how to deploy your backup weapon(s) while protecting your primary.

What did Daniels do when he was attacked?  He heard Foster yell, "He's got a gun!" and began shouting back, "I've got a permit!"  Did Daniels protests stop Foster from disarming him? No!  One must always be prepared to meet any attack head-on with force, with deadly force if necessary.  With the correct mindset, Daniels could have fought back as if his life depended on it.  

MINDSET -  Be ready to fight for your life:

• Teach yourself to flip the switch, to go from peace to battle mode the moment you are attacked.
• Understand that when you are carrying a firearm any attack is a gunfight and should be fought as if it is to the death
• Be willing do what ever it takes to protect your life, the life your loved ones and your firearm.

In this video we see that Daniels simply was not prepared for an attack.  He had no plan and no back up plan or weapons.  Anytime someone goes for your gun it is a matter of life and death but Daniels did not fight back as if his life were at stake.   

Watch this clip and think about what you would do if you were Daniels the legal concealed carry permit holder or if you were Foster.

Remember A.T.M. - Awareness, Training, Mindset