Many Americans are making the decision to carry a gun every single day. In fact, I just read an article that states 12% of Floridians have a concealed carry permit. I think the biggest reason for this increase is the fact that many Americans are not willing to allow criminals to hurt them or their families. Compare to Florida, cities such as Chicago experience an enormous amount of crimes regularly. For example, just on a regular weekend, we have seen more than 20 people being shot. This is why many Americans are saying “enough” and starting to buy firearms for self-protection. In this blog, I will share some things you may need to consider before getting a gun.
First, I like to start by saying that buying and carrying a gun is a serious deal. In my years of carrying and owning firearms, I have seen many people not exercising the basic safety rules. We need to understand that failure to apply these critical safety rules can result in yourself or someone being hurt. This is the opposite of what we are trying to accomplish. Mainly, we want to protect our families, NOT put their lives at risk. Therefore, it is critical that you think about several aspects of gun safety. For example, understanding “The 4 Rules of Gun Safety”, keeping guns away from children, conducting firearm training, keeping guns secured, buying the right gear, etc.
Second, I think many gun owners commit a big mistake by not knowing their Federal, State, and Local laws. Primarily, knowing the law will help you stay out of jail. Think about this, you are spending a great time with your family, but you have to make a quick stop at the post office to drop a package. However, due to lack of knowledge, you carry your firearm inside the post office. An incident like that, which you made think it is insignificant could put you in jail for a long time. Besides, now if you become a felon, your gun rights are pretty much gone. Here is another example, you find yourself in a verbal argument with an individual over a parking space. What can you do? Definitely, knowing the law as well as conducting formal firearm training will help you make the right decision.
People always ask me this question, what gun should I buy? However, I usually reply with a question, what do you need a gun for? I think knowing the purpose of your firearm is critical. This is mainly because firearms can serve different purposes. Some examples can be home defense, target shooting, everyday carry, open carry, etc. Let’s think for a moment about rifles vs. handguns. Essentially, a rifle can give a more extended range, more round velocity, a higher round capacity, the ability to mount lots of different accessories such as scopes, red dots, etc. However, we will definitely lose the concealment aspect that a handgun can offers. I am sure we all have seen videos on Youtube of guys walking around with rifles. What usually happens is that people quickly notice local authorities and cops end up on the scene. This is why handguns can offer other capabilities such as concealment, and they can be less intimidating in public. Also, you can still have a high capacity and the ability to have accessories such as weapon mounted lights. Obviously, we can break this point down even more as some handguns can provide different capabilities according to their sides and features. However, the point here is to understand your firearm purpose. Are you looking for a home defense firearm, concealed carry, or a battle rifle because the answer can be different according to your goals.
Now here is something that many new gun owners do not think about, additional gear needed. Here is what I usually see, a new gun owner buys a handgun for around $500. However, they fail to purchase items such as a good holster, a gun belt, spare magazines carriers, etc. Or on the other hand, they buy an $800 handgun, but they spent $15 bucks in a cheap holster and an inexpensive belt from Walmart. I think this is definitely a big mistake. We need to understand that a good holster will help you retain your firearm to your body, protect the trigger guard so you won’t have a negligent discharge, help you conceal your handgun, etc. In the other hand, a good gun belt will help you establish a stable and reliable platform to carry your firearm alone with a spare magazine, flashlight, or other items you wish to carry. Without that stable platform, your pants won’t stay in place, and your firearm could potentially move around. That is a NO GO as we want to ensure our gun always stays at the same location to have a consistent draw and create muscle memory. A good gun belt is definitely needed.
The next following two points may be difficult to understand or follow during a confrontation, but I think it is essential to understand. First, a gun is NOT the answer to every encounter. This is something that I always see in the news and get many gun owners in trouble. In fact, in many confrontations walking away can be just the best answer to resolve the issue. I remembered years ago, I was involved in a road rage incident where the individual cursed me out. At one point, he walked out of the car ready to fight me. I had to make a quick decision to protect my wife and children that were in the car with me. During this verbal attack, I was carrying a Glock 19 and felt that I had a solid plan to protect my family from this attacker. However, the best way to protect them was just to drive away. As I drove away, I continued to check my rear mirror to ensure he was not following me. This approach resulted in everyone being safe. However, many gun owners do not have that type of discipline. It is essential to know that a firearm should only be used as a last resource and NOT first. Again, understanding your gun laws and conducting training can help you mitigate these issues.
The second point is critical to understand as many new gun owners do not think this far. However, understanding that you may have to use your gun is vital. This means there is a possibility you may have to take someone life to protect your life, your family or some innocent person life. This is definitely something I pray I never have to do; however, understanding there is evil in the world is essential. Think about this, in every confrontation we find ourselves into there is at a minimum one firearm, we have it. This means that hesitation can result in the bad guy taking your firearm and using it against you or others. We must definitely need to protect our lives as well as our guns from criminals. Remember, they are always looking for ways to acquire weapons illegally.
There are definitely many more things that you need to know before getting a gun. However, understanding that carrying a gun is a lifestyle is critical. As the years past, I find myself being more of a student and I continue to learn something new every single day. The most crucial factor here is to be safe. The point is to protect our families and not to put them on an unsafe environment. Even worse, going to jail over something stupid that could have been prevented. Therefore, educated yourself on your gun laws, buy the right gun for the right job, get the proper gear needed to use your firearm safely, conduct firearm training routinely and finally continue to improve your gun knowledge as the years past. Thanks so much for reading this blog and God is in Control.
DISCLAIMER: I am NO EXPERT! This is just My OPINIONS!