Consequences of Carrying When Attacked By a Mob

[my-rifle]

Sorry I couldn't come up with a better title, but I have a question to put to LEOs here. My brother who has average exposure to firearms (Our dad let us use them a lot as kids.) told me last night that he wants to start carrying a pistol to protect himself against "flash-mobs". Now leaving all politics out of this (if possible ) I tried to convince him of the foolishness of this choice. My take on it was this:

1) If he isn't very well versed on the legalities of the situation he's very likely to wind up in jail for murder.

2) If he's not very familiar with his weapon, its limitations and capabilities, he's very likely to wind up in jail for murder - or murdered himself.

3) Carrying a weapon requires frequent and systematic training in order to be able to use it correctly in times of need.

He's one of the owners of a mid-sized business (around 500 employees), and he's not likely to be willing to spend the time to do the things I listed above - specially since he has no interest in firearms beyond his fear of crime.

From the perspective of police, do you think a) his fears are justified, b) that his desire to carry is wise, and c) that my arguments were sound? Bear in mind that neither of us are anti-gun, and I in fact own about 150 of them.

 

[Hitman]

So you left him with the option of not defending himself and succumbing to the mob which could lead to his death?

Did you give him any positive advice?

3) Carrying a weapon requires frequent and systematic training in order to be able to use it correctly in times of need.
.

I disagree with this and many untrained folks have defended themselves properly without it.

 

[bravo3]

So you left him with the option of not defending himself and succumbing to the mob which could lead to his death?

Did you give him any positive advice?

This is exactly what I was wondering.

Don't tell him he can't or shouldn't have one. Of course he should, but ONLY after the right classroom time, learning the law, justifiable actions, that not every bullet will hit his target and consider his environment. Don't discourage him. Just make sure he does it right. And to answer question A, of course his fears are JUSTIFIED. Why wouldn't they be?

 

[lsu fan]

You could buy him a nice informative book like The Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry by Massad Ayoob. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/08..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0CWYPJX6BRR043J7FNM0

He may be busy, but he should have a little spare time to read a book. Massad Ayoob is full of information about self defense from a tactics standpoint, as well as from a legal standpoint. You could also provide him with a cheat sheet of gun laws for the state so he can familiarize himself with them. If he wants to use a gun for self defense than he must do it responsibly. If he's not willing to learn about it before, then I'm with you, he shouldn't be carrying.

If he wants to carry concealed he'll at least be forced to attend the class (unless he plans on breaking the law right off the bat). That's a good step, I think the book will help as well. Once he starts learning more about it, if he's willing, he'll probably become extremely interested and start seeking out information himself. My dad wasn't fond of me getting my CHP, but after he realized that its becoming more and more common, he opened up to it and eventually got his license. Now he listens to Tom Gresham's GunTalk radio all the time, and streams the podcasts while he's working.

 

[my-rifle]

Positive advice? Yes. I told him he'd be better off evading than confronting. Evasion is almost always possible if you put your mind to it, and getting out of trouble is better than getting yourself deeper into it. Let's face it, he really doesn't want to kill someone.

Actually I was thinking of putting him in touch with some of the concealed carry instructors I know from this board. That way he could get some realistic information about carrying instead of just reading blogs which is mostly what he's doing now. The thing is that he runs a pretty big business (compared to what most of us do), and I doubt he'd be willing to put the time and interest into learning what I think he needs to learn to carry a gun without putting himself in danger rather than protecting himself. Then there's the fact that my brother's a fat target for a civil lawyer wanting to enrich himself from a personal injury suit.

On the other hand the fact is that he (and I) have been in more fights than we can count in our lives, and he's pretty calm in the face of fast-moving adversity.

 

[lsu fan]

Gordon Hutchinson was my instructor. I think he's a member of this board. He's extremely knowledgable and he responds to emails promptly. http://www.gordonhutchinson.com/Home.html I highly recommend him.

He's also got a column in the Sportsman and you can read all his old articles on the site. It's called "The Shootist."

 

[bravo3]

Gordon Hutchinson was my instructor. I think he's a member of this board. He's extremely knowledgable and he responds to emails promptly. http://www.gordonhutchinson.com/Home.html I highly recommend him.

He's also got a column in the Sportsman and you can read all his old articles on the site. It's called "The Shootist."

That was my instructor too. Gordon's a good guy

 

[VeedUp]

What's the business?

 

[bravo3]

What's the business?

http://www.gordonhutchinson.com/Home.html

 

[my-rifle]

Thanks Bravo3. I'll pass that along to him along with Brannon's contact info. I know Brannon has been doing this for some time as well.

 

[bravo3]

Good Deal man, glad I could help

 

[VeedUp]

No, I'm sorry I meant what's the business the brother has?

 

[my-rifle]

It's an engineering firm. I'd rather not get much deeper than that. It's his information to give, not mine if you know what I mean. Also he's a partner, not the sole owner. And he doesn't do hiring, his HR dept does, so forget it

 

[VeedUp]

I'm sorry I was just trying to figure out why he needed protection from a flash mob, I'm employed at the moment and not looking for work, but that is my area of skill. I'm still unclear of this threat of a mob. Who hangs out at an Engineering firm waiting for the owner to leave?

 

[lsu fan]

I'm sorry I was just trying to figure out why he needed protection from a flash mob, I'm employed at the moment and not looking for work, but that is my area of skill. I'm still unclear of this threat of a mob. Who hangs out at an Engineering firm waiting for the owner to leave?

I don't think his occupation had anything to do with it, except for the fact that he was trying to say he's a busy man.

I'm sure the recent flash-mobs a part of his motivation.

I for one hope I never get into that type of a situation, to me it seems like the worst possible place to have to defend yourself, but sometimes you get stuck.

I've heard some people say, "just get into your car and avoid it." My grandfather did that, and he ended up getting pulled from the car and beaten half to death.

 

[my-rifle]

I'm sorry I was just trying to figure out why he needed protection from a flash mob, I'm employed at the moment and not looking for work, but that is my area of skill. I'm still unclear of this threat of a mob. Who hangs out at an Engineering firm waiting for the owner to leave?

That was kind of my reasoning too. He lives in an affluent suburb, and he moves in pretty well-heeled circles. I suppose he thinks that the incidents of random, unpredictable, violent gang attacks are going to become endemic throughout society, and he wants to be able to protect himself and his wife if one were to engulf them (wherever they are).

He and I differ in that he thinks this will become a major and frequent occurrence, while I do not. We shall see.

 

[kz45]

The criminals are branching out, their taking the high crime to you now!
Help your buddy help/protect his family

 

[my-rifle]

Again I'm trying to get LEOs opinions on this.

My questions are: a) are his fears justified, b) is his desire to carry wise given the situation he's concerned about, and c) were my arguments sound?

 

[Leonidas]

Positive advice? Yes. I told him he'd be better off evading than confronting. Evasion is almost always possible if you put your mind to it......

On the other hand the fact is that he (and I) have been in more fights than we can count in our lives............

"One of these things is not like the other" - Sesame Street

 

[headshot]

He could always hire a body gaurd