By John Farnam
Ft Collins, CO –-(Ammoland.com)- Incident in TN:
“… and when I am through, you think my advice is not good. Then, go out into the world and pay with thy blood. Heed not my words of warning. Remember not what I say. Pay dearly for thy ‘first-hand wisdom,’ as you cast away my advice!” ~ Samurai Axiom
On Monday, a woman loading groceries into her car in a Murfreesboro, TN shopping center parking lot was approached by a man who asked her for a light for his cigarette.
The woman responded by producing a pistol and pointing it at him. He ran away immediately and called 911, saying he had been threatened by a person with a gun.
When police arrived, they were told by the woman that the man who approached her represented an immediate and dangerous threat . However, investigators concluded that physical evidence, combined with witness statements, did not support that contention. Her fear may have been “real,” but it was not “reasonable.”
She was subsequently arrested at the scene and now faces charges of unjustified brandishing, recklessness, etc. It will be a painful and expensive experience, no matter the outcome!
The pistol she was carrying was legally owned, and she had a valid state CCW permit.
Comment:
In most states, CCW permits are not hard to get [sorry New Jersey]. Some states require “ training,” but it is usually less than minimal. So, many essentially untrained people carry guns these days, ostensibly for self-defense. More join them every day, as our violent crime problem, after decades of decline, is now back on a rapid rise.
Many (unlicensed) criminals carry too, and are also mostly untrained!
The vast majority of licensed gun-carriers are not serious students of our Art, don’t carry on any kind of regular basis, have scant exposure to tenants of legitimate self-defense, and have no idea of what to expect from, nor how to deal with, our criminal/justice system. Most “training” to which they have been exposed is watching cop-show rubbish on TV!
It is not enough to “just be a good person.” The fact that you’re a “good person” doesn’t automatically make you a competent driver either.
When you go armed, you must be adequately trained in:
- Low-risk lifestyle
- Concealment options
- Alertness
- De-selection
- Aggressive disengagement
- Verbal skills
- Administrative and tactical gun skills
- Marksmanship
- Internal, external, and terminal ballistics
- Tactical movement and use of cover
- Minimizing risk-exposure
- Our criminal/justice system
- Our civil law system
- Communicating with police
- Protecting your options
- Understanding what is in your best interests
- et al
It’s not just a matter of knowing “how to run a gun.” There are many other interrelated subjects with which you must be familiar, if you are to be victorious.
Thus, the woman in the above-described incident will pay dearly for her ignorance, naivety, lack of training, and lack of interest.
The time to get adequately trained and equipped is BEFORE this happens!
We can only hope a few “good people” get the hint.
“It is time we steered by the stars, not by the flickering lights of each passing ship.” Omar Bradley
/John
About John Farnam & Defense Training International, Inc
As a defensive weapons and tactics instructor John Farnam will urge you, based on your own beliefs, to make up your mind in advance as to what you would do when faced with an imminent and unlawful lethal threat. You should, of course, also decide what preparations you should make in advance, if any. Defense Training International wants to make sure that their students fully understand the physical, legal, psychological, and societal consequences of their actions or inactions.
It is our duty to make you aware of certain unpleasant physical realities intrinsic to the Planet Earth. Mr Farnam is happy to be your counselor and advisor. Visit: www.defense-training.com
Dead men my tell no lies, but blood splatter patters tell the whole truth.
Bill,that’s right. Part of crime scene reconstruction. It’s never smart to brandish a firearm. Take care.
The problem with showing a gun at all, when you are not sure your life is in danger, is even pointing it at the sky will not stop the person from lying and say you pointed it at them. When the police find that you have the gun you are all but convicted then and there. Always make sure your life is in danger and shoot to kill. Dead men tell no lies.
Year 1974, my Triumph Spitfire has a bad universal joint. And I turned about and began driving home, keeping pressure on the gas pedal when braking to keep the bad u-joint from thrashing about. And maintaining the then 55 mph national speed limit while South Bound on I-45 from Conroe, Texas. A car came up on my bumper, the finally pulled around and passed. This happened several times, include a couple of pick-up trucks, all larger than my two seat sports car with the top down on a sunny day. And then an 18 wheeler, upright radiator, much higher than… Read more »
Look like a case of real poor judgement. Here is a link to the news story.
https://www.newschannel5.com/news/local-news/woman-arrested-after-she-said-she-pulled-gun-in-self-defense
The laws regarding “brandishing” are different in every State. When you decide to carry, part of your early training Must be knowing the laws in your jurisdiction. How you do that is up to you. In my case I went on the Internet and looked up the listing of every State law. Found the section on Criminal acts and looked through it, reading a lot, and saving a copy of some to my computer for later reference. The Real separation between serious and not is having a short meeting with a lawyer in your area that has a specialty practice… Read more »
FYI Re: “have scant exposure to tenants of legitimate self-defense”. I’m sure this was a typo, but in this context “tenants” should be “tenets”, meaning basic doctrines, more or less. I do agree with the main points of the article, however. It is a shame that so many of “us” are so lackadaisical about carrying a deadly weapon, as if it’s no more than carrying a rabbit’s foot on our key chain.
I am wondering if the guy had outstanding warrants on him? Wish there was a link to a news article.
Hopefully the woman gets a Jury trial and at least one of the Jurors is someone like me.
Her BIG mistake was in not calling 911 before he did. General rule: always be the first to call 911.