Why you should still take a Concealed Carry class, even if the law doesn’t require it.
Some of you may already know that House Bill 746 is making its way though the government of North Carolina. Currently it is stalled within the Senate. But it made it through the House Judiciary Committe, the House Finance Committe, and through the House of Representatives. There are A LOT of Second Amendment supporters who desperately want to see this bill pass and become law. The reason? Because it’s unconstitutional for the government to mandate our (already) protected rights. I get that. But this bill means something different to me. Of course I am a 2A supporter! Of course I want all law-abiding citizens to have the right to protect themselves with measures up to and including deadly force. Of course I want to beat the bad guys! But at what expense will all of these come? I feel there will be hard consequences. And here’s why.
1) Education never hurt anyone.
Currently, North Carolina law states that you must take an eight hour class to obtain a permit to conceal a handgun. It also adds that the law lecture must be a minimum of at least two hours. The class should include lecture on firearm operation and safety also. So, let’s look at that eight hour requirement. The class must be 8 hours (not including range qualification time), but the law lecture only has to be two hours. What does that leave us with? Six hours. Yes. Six hours of what? SAFETY EDUCATION.
We all hear the stories, and we may even know a person (or two, or three) that have injured themselves while handling a firearm. Do you think those situations might have been avoided if those that were injured had been educated in the safety of firearms? Or do you think those that already know and understand the safe gun-handling rules might benefit from a refresher on safety education? If you say no, then stop reading, because you are simply being stubborn. Yes. EVERYONE can benefit from firearm safety education.
2) Don’t shoot ‘em in the back, and drag ‘em back in the house.
Yeah. How long do you think that silly anecdote has been floating around? Generations. But for some reason, people actually think that by dragging a fleeing criminal back into their house after using deadly force against them after they have exited the home, it will fly and law enforcement will never know. We (meaning law enforcement) are smarter and more technology-driven than ever before. Dude, they’re gonna know. And I have a question for you. Who told you that dragging them back in the house was the answer, and why did you believe them? Another scenario. You walk out of the grocery store and someone is breaking in your car. (And boy oh BOY do we have a lot of car breakins in our area). Most people, I’ve found, believe they have the right to use deadly force to protect property. NO. No you don’t!
You see, someone who is versed in the actual law would have told you that by doing that, YOU become the criminal. Do you think that it’s a good idea to give anyone the right to conceal carry when they have no idea if they can or can’t legally use deadly force to protect themselves and the ones they love? Better question. Do you think it’s a good idea to allow people who have no idea if they can or can’t legally use deadly force to use deadly force against YOU, when, in the eyes of the law, they actually do NOT have the right to use deadly force against you? Think about THAT!
3) How much you got in the bank?
Because it’s a hundred-thousand times not enough. Maybe even a million times not enough. You honestly think that after you shoot and kill a person, the Sheriff is going to roll up, spit his tobacco, and say, “Welp. Yeah. Looks like self defense to me” don’t you? How far disconnected from reality can we get? I’ve been lucky enough to sit through law lectures with one of the country’s best defense attorneys and an expert on the use of deadly force. I was also privy to going through a deadly force shooting simulation where a Dr. of Criminology with the FBI was present and watching my reactions and offering information to what I did right and what I did wrong. It was no less than eye-opening. Actually, it was quite scary and shocking. Of course, I can’t list everything from the lectures here, but I can say that in ALL of the self-defense shooting cases we reviewed during lecture, the defendant was found guilty. Ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t anywhere you want to be. It will ruin your life. Forever.
4) A community of educated citizens make a safer community.
I’ve recently followed a group on Facebook whose main goal is to save a parcel of land from being developed and being turned into concrete. But it’s not just a “parcel of land”. It is an area that breeds amazing wildlife. It has a large natural pond that probably holds a lot of secrets, confessions, prayers, and hopes. It is a very important piece of land to many many community members. Unfortunately, the town government is fighting them. I don’t know why. Tax revenue? Perhaps. I always hear this song in my head when I tune into their page to see the latest. My point is this. With this group of protesters, I have been enchanted with the level of education by practically all of them. I have seen legal documents, and private texts and letters from town officials that this group somehow has the knowledge to obtain and provide to the community. They are a thousand percent transparent and want the citizens in their town to know the truth and, most importantly, be educated on the process. It’s refreshing to see such educated comments throughout this Facebook page, rather than strangers who honestly have no idea what they are talking about in-fighting among themselves. This group is the real deal. I can relate that to the law of concealed carry. I can relate that if we are all educated on the proper terminology, nomenclature, rules, laws, do’s and dont’s, that we will be a safer community. Every single time I conduct a conceal carry class, fifty percent of my students say in some fashion, “Huh. I didn’t know that.” How many people in our community of uneducated people carrying guns hell-bent on saving the world will say, “Huh. I didn’t know that.” AFTER they’ve essentially committed a crime? And an even more important question. Will innocent people be in the crossfire? Bet you don’t think about that too much, do you? Do you think that crimes can be avoided and innocent lives saved if the person carrying a concealed handgun is committed to keeping his community safe in the correct manner by obtaining firearms education? I do.
5) A word on open-carrying.
The nay-sayers of my argument will tell us that it is already our right to open-carry without a permit, so it should be no different for a concealed handgun. Honestly, I see their point. But it doesn’t paint the entire picture. I would like to ask you, how many people (other than law enforcement) do you see in a day open carrying a handgun while you are at work, at the grocery store, at the park, at the farmers market, at the 5K, at the fair, etc.? Really. How many? For about 99% of you, the answer is never. Why is that? It’s because most (not all) people who open carry are probably involved in firearms safety and law education to some extent and know the law up one side and down the other, and they know that open carrying will bring unwanted attention. OR. They have no conceal carry permit, which equates to no law education, and quite possibly no safety training. You’ve got a 50/50 chance of something good or something bad happening. It’s the luck of the draw. (Pardon the pun.)
In conclusion, I do want to note, because there seems to be a lot of confusion at this point about stalled House Bill 746. Currently, you MUST have a permit issued by the state of North Carolina to conceal a handgun on your person or anywhere within arms reach of the carrier. If the bill is passed, you will still need a permit to carry a concealed handgun across state lines into a state that has reciprocity with North Carolina. If you feel as strong as I do about the importance of firearm safety and law education, you can contact our state Senators to let them know. That’s really our only choice at this time. Well, that, and hope that North Carolina remains a state that values education.