Rob Morse

Armed Defense Up Close in Public, as you Drive, and at Home

January 27, 2022 by contrib1 Leave a Comment

Armed Defense Up Close in Public, as you Drive, and at Home, iStock-1174295368
U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- You probably didn’t see these stories covered by the mainstream news media, but again last week, responsible gun owners defended themselves and the people they love. Self-defense instructor Ben Branam joins the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast to look at four new examples. Were these gun owners lucky, or did they have a plan?

http://traffic.libsyn.com/dgustories/sdgs264.mp3
First story- Are you armed at night in public?
You have some firearms for sale. You advertised them online. The buyers agree to meet at the local taco bell at 11 at night. You bring the guns. You settle on a price of 27-hundred dollars. One of the buyers is looking at one of your CZ handguns when he points the gun at you. You loaded the gun with snap caps. The second buyer draws his own firearm. He points his gun at you and says they will take all your guns.

Well, not all of them. You’re carrying concealed. You grab the barrel of your robber’s gun. You turn that pistol to the side while you’re drawing your own handgun. You shoot your attacker until he lets go of his gun. Then you turn your firearm to the person holding the gun you were selling. The story isn’t clear if you let the first robber run away, or if he dropped your gun and put his hands up. You call 911 and ask for emergency medical services and for the police.

Police take your attacker’s firearm. EMS transports the wounded robber to the hospital. Your armed attacker dies from complications resulting from a close-range gunshot to the abdomen. The police also arrest the surviving attacker. He is charged with first-degree aggravated robbery and manslaughter because he “knowingly engaged in conduct that resulted in the death of another person.” He is 19 years old.
You are not charged with a crime. The robbers didn’t bring any money to buy the guns.
Second Story- Are you armed at work as you drive?
You work as a home healthcare nurse. You deliver medication and monitor patients. You pull up to one of your patients’ homes and it is almost midnight. You turn off the car and a young man appears at your door out of the dark. The stranger points a gun at you. The robber tells you to get out of your car.
You own a gun. You have your Pennsylvania concealed carry permit. You’re armed tonight and carrying concealed on your body. The news story doesn’t say if you presented your firearm while you were seated in your car or if you were standing next to it. You shoot your attacker several times. He runs away.
You stay at the scene and look around. Now you put your gun away and call 911. You give a statement to the police when they arrive, including a description of your robber. Police arrest your robber when he arrives at a local hospital suffering from gunshot wounds to the face, neck and thumb.
You’re not charged with a crime, and you’re late to see your patient.
Third story- Are you armed as you drive home?
You pull up to your house in North Philadelphia. You’re lucky to find a parking place on the street. It is about 7:30 in the evening when you turn off your car. Two young men walk up to the driver’s side door. They point a firearm at your head. They tell you to leave your keys in the car. You’re being robbed.
You have your carry permit. You’re carrying concealed tonight. You take off your seatbelt and get out of your car. The attacker still has his gun pointed at your face. You step to the side and present your handgun. You shoot your attacker several times. He shoots at you. You keep shooting until he drops his gun. Now your attacker limps around the corner. The other robber runs away. You stay near your car and call the police.

You holster your gun and pull out your cell phone. You call 911 and tell them what happend. Your ears are ringing and there are powder burns on the side of your head. You show the officers your carry permit when they arrive. The police find your wounded attacker in a jeep parked around the corner. He is shot in both legs and in the shoulder. EMS takes him to the hospital in critical condition.
The blood stained Jeep your attacker used was reported stolen a few days ago. This is Philadelphia’s 91st carjacking in the first two weeks of 2022. You are sixty years old and your attacker was sixteen. You are not charged with a crime.
Fourth story- Do you have a firearm nearby at night?
You hear a long crashing sound. There is another one and it is loud and your house shakes. Now someone is knocking on windows outside. You and your wife get out of bed, pull on clothes, and go see what happened. You also grab your firearm. A stranger standing next to your neighbor’s house sees you. He runs onto your porch. He knocks your wife down as he forces his way into your home. You follow both of them and tell him to get out. He charges you and you shoot him until he lets go of you. You and your wife step away and call 911. Your wife isn’t hurt.
Emergency medical services enter your home and declare your attacker dead at the scene. It is 5am when you give a brief statement to the police. Your attacker crashed through the building of a nearby fast food restaurant, drove through another front yard, and backed into your house before he started beating on your neighbor’s windows.
You are not charged with a crime.
A discussion of each story is at the Self Defense Gun Stories podcast webpage.

About Rob Morse

Rob Morse writes about gun rights at Ammoland, Clash Daily, Second Call Defense, and on his SlowFacts blog. He hosts the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast and co-hosts the Polite Society Podcast. Rob was an NRA pistol instructor and combat handgun competitor.

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They Didn’t Expect an Attack, but Fortunately They Were Armed

January 26, 2022 by contrib1 Leave a Comment

More than 30 percent of American gun owners say they have used a gun in self-defense.
U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- You probably didn’t see these stories covered by the mainstream news media, but again last week, responsible gun owners defended themselves and the people they love. Self-defense instructor Heather Reeves joins the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast to look at four new examples. Were these gun owners lucky, or did they have a plan? (20-minute audio)

http://traffic.libsyn.com/dgustories/sdgs263.mp3
First story- Are you armed in public?
You saw the advertisement online. The seller has some shoes you want at a price you’re willing to pay. You go to the meeting point after work. You meet the seller. He asks to see the money before he shows you the shoes. You reach into your pocket to show him the cash. As you take your hand out of your pocket the seller shoots you.

You own a gun. You have your Illinois Firearms Owners Identification Card in your wallet right next to your concealed carry permit. You’re armed tonight. You present your gun. You shoot your attacker as you back away. You get into your car and try to drive away, but can’t drive. You call 911 for help. You give the police a description of your attacker.

You’re taken to the hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound to your shoulder. Police arrest your attacker at the hospital when he seeks treatment for a gunshot wound to his hand. You are not charged with a crime, but you never did get the shoes.
Second Story- Are you armed in your car as you drive?
It is either a late lunch or an early dinner. You’re sitting in your car eating some fast food before you go shopping for groceries at Walmart. Your girlfriend is sitting next to you and her teenage daughter is sitting in the back seat. It is about 4pm when a stranger pulls open your driver’s side door and points a gun at you. He tells you to give him your money and get out of the car. You are armed. You take off your seat belt. You move to get out of the car. As you turn you present your concealed firearm and shoot your attacker striking him in the chest and the neck. Your attacker turns away and you stop shooting. You yell for everyone to get back in your car. You drive across the street and call the police.
Police take your statement. They interview you, your girlfriend, and her daughter separately at the police station. You are released and not charged.
Your attacker survived because an Emergency Medical Team was shopping at Walmart and heard your shots.
Third story- Do you have a firearm nearby as you sleep?
You and your family are at home before dawn on Sunday morning. You hear someone banging on your door and yelling to get inside. You move your wife and children into your bedroom and grab your gun. You lock your bedroom door and call the police. The stranger breaks down your door. A few minutes later he tries to enter your bedroom. You yell to go away, you’re armed, and you’ve called the police. Your wife is on the phone with 911. The stranger breaks down your door. You shoot him. Now he turns and goes outside. You stay inside and wait for the police.
You put your gun away when the police arrive. Police and EMS were already on the way because your neighbors heard the man yelling. EMS transports your attacker to the hospital where he died. His blood alcohol level was three-and-a-half times the legal limit to drive.
It took over six months for the police and the district attorney to rule this was a justified case of self-defense. Finally, you are not charged with a crime.
Fourth story- Are you armed at work?
The evening rush has slowed a little. You’ll close your restaurant in a few minutes. You are moving between the back room and the counter when a man comes into your restaurant. He talks to the clerk at the cash register and the clerk puts her hands up. You hear the stranger tell her to put her hands down and give him the money. You see the robber’s gun pointed at your employee.

You own a firearm. You are carrying concealed tonight. The news story doesn’t say how, but you shoot your attacker. The clerk steps back and you tell her to call 911 while you keep your gun pointed at the attacker on the floor.
Police arrive a few minutes later. You put your gun away. Emergency Medical Services declare your attacker dead at the scene. You give a statement to the police.
A discussion of each story is at the Self Defense Gun Stories podcast webpage.

About Rob Morse

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Armed Defender Faces Four Robbers at Jewelry Store

January 24, 2022 by contrib1 Leave a Comment

Armed Defender Faces Four Robbers at Jewelry Store, IMG iStock-460151141
U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- We start with this news story out of Upland, California, and covered by the local paper, the Fontana Herald News.

It is a few days after Christmas. You have customers in your jewelry store. Four men walk into your store in the middle of the afternoon. They are all wearing masks and hoodies. One of them starts spraying the customers and staff with something, and the victims double over, cover their faces, and start coughing. You are being robbed.
You’re armed. You step back and draw your firearm. The robbers see your gun pointed at them and they head for the door. You don’t shoot. You holster your weapon when they leave. You check on your staff and your customers, and then you call 911.
The news story doesn’t mention video surveillance cameras, but the police were able to identify the masked robbers very quickly. They arrested four of the five robbers. Three of the four had outstanding warrants for their arrest.
The robbers sprayed your customers with bear spray. You’re not charged with a crime.
Preparation
This small business owner started his defense months before, if not years before, the day his attackers walked in the door. He recognized that a small jewelry store was a frequent target of crime. He went through the cumbersome process of buying a gun in California. It sounds like the store owner learned to carry his gun on his body and to carry his firearm concealed. He learned and practiced how to present his firearm from concealment. That way his hands knew what to do.

Our defender also studied the legal use of lethal force. That is important so we don’t waste precious time. It is no use having a quick draw if it takes us minutes to recognize a complex situation and then know what to do. Our defender had studied crime in his area. That let him recognize a robbery and know what actions were appropriate. He knew when to put his plan into action.

He did not see an immediate and lethal threat. Yes, he would have had an articulable reason to shoot if the robbers had moved towards him. He would have had a reason to shoot if the robbers had started to move the victims to another room. If the victims were in immediate and potentially lethal distress from the bear spray, then he would have been justified in pressing the trigger. He should have shot if he saw that any of the robbers were armed, even with hammers let alone firearms. According to the news story that didn’t happen. Instead, he stopped the robbery by having an armed defense.
Recognizing the difference between what our defender was legally justified in doing and what he had to do bought the defender some time. Those few seconds probably saved the robber’s lives.
He could shoot but didn’t have to.
Our defender was ready to use lethal force and shoot his attackers. In this case, the attackers stopped, turned, and ran. That is the rule rather than the exception. A recent survey reported that we pressed the trigger less than 20 percent of the time in armed defense. There may be many reasons for not shooting even though the gun is in our hands.
The use of lethal force may have been entirely justified, but perhaps innocent people were standing too close to the criminal for us to confidently take a shot. Maybe the robbers were standing in front of a glass window at the front of the store and our shot might have sent our bullet flying across the street. The law recognizes what we may do, but the particular circumstances of the attack dictate what we should do.
Our defender recognized that the robbers were running away. That means he didn’t need to shoot. It is good that he didn’t chase the robbers down the street, and that also indicates he’d thought about what to do ahead of time. (Remember the getaway driver who was waiting outside?) Instead of chasing the bad guys, the store owner checked on his customers and staff, and then called 911 for help.
Planning
In the calm of hindsight, it would also have been a good idea if the store owner had locked the doors until the police arrived. That lets us re-holster our firearm because the scene is safe and relatively secure. Maybe he did lock the doors but that simply wasn’t reported in the news.
You don’t think of things like this unless you practice, but ask everyone at the scene to call 911. That includes customers, staff, and any bystanders near your store who might have seen part of the robbery. Ask one of your co-workers to keep talking to the police dispatcher so you know when the police are about to arrive.
The news story doesn’t mention if the store owner had his permit to carry a concealed firearm in public. While the store was near Los Angeles, it was not in Los Angeles county. The store was in San Bernardino county and that sheriff issues concealed carry permits. The permit process is slower and more expensive than in many other states, but there are excellent reasons for a citizen to get a permit.

You may be able to carry inside your store without a permit, but you are often considered to be in a public space when you step outside to put up a sidewalk sign. You may be in public when you go out the back of your store to take a delivery or to carry out the trash. Going through the burdensome legal process of getting your permit identifies you as a law-abiding citizen. If you have to use your firearm in self-defense, then having your permit shows that you were the one who followed the rules all the time.
Now let’s look at the things we might want to do that were not mentioned in the news. If an armed defender is good, then several armed defenders would be better. Yes, you want your co-workers to get their permits and go armed at work.
Perhaps the simplest reason for everyone to have a permit is that your staff can arrive with their defensive firearm already in place. They never have to put the gun on or take the gun off at work. That is safer for everyone.
Criminals often plan to strike when the store is opening or closing. Having a permit and carrying in public means we can defend ourselves and other employees as we arrive at work and as we leave. We’re armed as we talk on the phone in the backroom, and as we come and go to lunch.
It is a poor defensive plan that leaves your co-workers unprotected, simply because the single designated defender was in the bathroom during the robbery.
There is a gray area with robbers using pepper spray or bear spray. Weapons of that type mean we can’t see. We are in pain and we are probably confused. We are severely limited in our ability to defend ourselves. Every advanced class I’ve taken said to not let yourself be moved from the scene of the robbery.
The only reason robbers move people out of the front of the store is that they are going to do something they don’t want others to witness. Don’t let that happen to you, your co-workers, or your customers. Talk to your co-workers. Have a safety plan at work and exercise that plan.
That safety plan should include pre-paid legal issuance, so call your lawyer when you hang up with 911.
-Rob Morse highlights the latest self-defense and other shootings of the week. See what went wrong, what went right, and what we can learn from real-life self-defense with a gun. Even the most justified self-defense shooting can go wrong, especially after the shot. Get the education, the training, and the liability coverage you and your family deserve.

About Rob Morse
Rob writes about gun rights at Ammoland, at Clash Daily, at Second Call Defense, and on his SlowFacts blog. He hosts the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast and co-hosts the Polite Society Podcast. Rob was an NRA pistol instructor and combat handgun competitor.

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Armed Defense, the Lives We Save, and the Lives We Live

January 22, 2022 by contrib1 Leave a Comment

Rick Ector, a Detroit resident and founder of “Legally Armed In Detroit” with student Thera Mayo
U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Lots of us own guns. We also carry those guns legally in public. That is critically important because concealed carriers save a lot of lives. You knew most of that already, but there are a few things we keep hidden from you. Every day there are over 17 million of us legally carrying concealed in public. That happens seven days a week, with no days off. We save thousands of lives a day.

You already know that using a firearm is serious business. The law says an innocent person can only defend themselves with lethal force if death or great bodily injury are imminent and unavoidable. In plain language that means someone might go to the hospital or the morgue unless you present your firearm to stop the bad guy right now. If you didn’t know that, then you probably assumed something very close to it. The gun is a last resort, and we only threaten to take a life if an innocent person is about to lose theirs.

What you might not know is that one-out-of-11 adults alive in the US today used a firearm in self-defense. You might not know that honest gun owners legally use their guns to save lives over 4500 times a day. The great news is that they didn’t have to shoot 4500 people. Far from it. Most bad guys don’t want to be shot, and that is why the bad guys ran away when these defenders presented their firearms. In fact, we discharged a gun in self-defense a little more than 800 times a day. Even then, we only had to shoot and kill the bad guy a little more than once a day. That says that guns are almost always used to save lives rather than take them. That good news shouldn’t come as a surprise. That is what we’d expect from our neighbors who own guns.

What does it mean to save 4500 lives a day? Honest gun owners save more lives than are lost each day to heart disease, to cancer, and to all accidents combined. Each year, gun owners save twice as many lives as are taken by chronic lower respiratory diseases (read emphysema from smoking), by strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, kidney disease, flu and pneumonia, and by suicide. That is an amazing number of lives that were saved by ordinary people like you.
The reason honest gun owners do so much good is that they are like you. They are everywhere and they happened to be in the right place at the right time.
They were willing and able to stop a threat and save lives.
Concealed carry is common. The number of concealed carriers is comparable to the number of office and administrative support workers. There are more concealed carriers in public than there are healthcare, education, and library workers combined. On average, one-out-of-a-dozen adults in public is legally carrying every day.
Their guns may be hidden, but with that many armed citizens on the streets we would already know if gun owners were a problem. In fact, they are a solution; they stop a dangerous threat until the police arrive. That isn’t everything, but to 1.7 million of us a year, it was desperately important to be armed.

About Rob Morse
The original article, with sources, is posted here. Rob Morse writes about gun rights at Ammoland, at Clash Daily, at Second Call Defense, and on his SlowFacts blog. He hosts the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast and co-hosts the Polite Society Podcast. Rob was an NRA pistol instructor and combat handgun competitor.

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Armed as you Walk, as you Drive, and at Work

January 18, 2022 by contrib1 Leave a Comment

Armed as you Walk, as you Drive, and at Work, iStock-595328708
U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- You probably didn’t see these stories covered by the mainstream news media, but again last week, responsible gun owners defended themselves and the people they love. Self-defense instructor Amanda Suffecool joins the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast to look at four new examples. Were these gun owners lucky, or did they have a plan?(20-minute audio)

http://traffic.libsyn.com/dgustories/sdgs262.mp3
First story- Are you armed in public?
You’re getting some exercise on a walking trail. Several teenagers run by you, then they turn. One of them tells you to give it up. Another draws a gun and threatens you. You’re being robbed. You have your carry license in your wallet. You also have your legally purchased firearm on your hip.

The news article doesn’t say what happened next, but you shot your armed attacker, and you were shot. You run to get help. The police received calls about the gunshots. They find you and call emergency medical services. They transport you to the hospital. You give a statement to the police. You show them your carry permit. Police find your attacker dead on the park trail. You are not charged with a crime.

Second Story- Are you armed as you drive?
You drive for Lyft. You are carrying a passenger in the middle of the afternoon when a car runs into you. You pull to the side of the road and the car runs into you again. You get out of your car. The passenger of the car that hit you points a shotgun at you. You’re armed too. You have your concealed carry permit. You get the passenger out of your car and away from the robbery. You duck behind your car and draw your handgun. Your attacker shoots at you and you shoot back. You retreat. The robber dives into your car and drives away. The car behind them tries to run you over. You shoot that driver, and he drives away too. You get out of the road and call the police. You’re shaken, but not hurt.
Police find your two wounded attackers nearby. Both of your attackers are taken to the hospital. Both had firearms in their cars. You are not charged with a crime.
Third story- Are you armed in public?
You get a call from your adult son. It is after midnight when he chased a stranger out of your home. He is still concerned and your son knows you’re armed. You tell him to stay outside and you’ll be home in a minute. You meet him in the driveway, and the two of you search downstairs. You don’t see anyone, but you hear sounds. When you reach your upstairs bedroom you find a stranger standing in your room. You raise your firearm and shoot him. He jumps out the bedroom window.
You and your son call the police and stay inside your home. You holster your gun and show the officer what happened. They find a cap and a bloody shirt in your backyard. You are not charged with a crime.
Fourth story- Are you armed at work?
It is a few days after Christmas. You have customers in your jewelry store. It is the middle of the afternoon when four young men come inside. They are all wearing masks and hoodies. One of them starts spraying the customers and staff with something, and the victims double over, cover their faces and start coughing. You’re being robbed. You’re armed. You step back and draw your firearm. The robbers see your gun pointed at them and they head for the door. You don’t shoot. You holster your weapon when they leave. You check on your staff and your customers, and then you call 911.
The story doesn’t mention a video camera, but the police were able to identify the robbers. They arrested four of the five robbers, and three of them had outstanding warrants. They sprayed your customers with bear spray.
You’re not charged with a crime.
Tag- no shots fired

A discussion of each story is at the Self Defense Gun Stories podcast webpage.

About Rob Morse

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Facts and Fantasies about Guns and Gun Control

January 6, 2022 by contrib1 Leave a Comment

Facts and Fantasies about Guns and Gun Control. IMG NRA-ILA
U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- The gun control lobby started it. Then the legacy media joined in and told us that guns and gun owners were dangerous. Their solution is to register and regulate guns and gun owners. They claim their gun control will somehow, someday, take the guns out of the hands of criminals. If you only read the words then you might be persuaded. Let’s fill in the facts the gun prohibitionists always leave out. Gun control laws do more harm than good.

Armed Defense at Home, at Work, in the Car and in Public

January 2, 2022 by contrib1 Leave a Comment

Armed Defense at Home, at Work, in the Car and in Public
U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- You probably didn’t see these stories covered by the mainstream news media, but again last week, responsible gun owners defended themselves and the people they love. Self-defense instructor Robyn Sandoval joins the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast to look at four new examples. Were these gun owners lucky, or did they have a plan?(21-minute audio)

Armed Citizens Defend Themselves at Home and from Coast to Coast

December 31, 2021 by contrib1 Leave a Comment

More than 30 percent of American gun owners say they have used a gun in self-defense.
U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- You probably didn’t see these stories covered by the mainstream news media, but again last week, responsible gun owners defended themselves and the people they love. Self-defense instructor David Cole joins the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast to look at four new examples. Were these gun owners lucky, or did they have a plan?(26-minute audio)

SCOTUS can Provide Restitution for Unconstitutional Laws

December 31, 2021 by contrib1 Leave a Comment

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an NRA-backed case about concealed carry laws in New York. IMG NRA-ILA
U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- There is an important case being considered by the United States Supreme Court. The case hinges on the fact that government officials in New York State can choose whether to give ordinary citizens a license to carry a concealed firearm in public. About one in a dozen of us carry in public now. That isn’t true in New York State where ordinary people are denied the right to carry personal firearms in public. Also, consider the fact that New York has arrested people who tried to pass through the state with a firearm. Now the case in front of the US Supreme Court takes on a different character.

Why Political Moderates Walked Away from Gun Control

December 30, 2021 by contrib1 Leave a Comment

I Voted sticker on a SIG P365XL 9mm handgun. IMG Jim Grant
U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Most of us have fired a gun at least once. Many of us have a gun in our homes today. Gun ownership has increased steadily over the decades and is now common. Running counter to that trend, Democrat politicians became increasingly hostile towards gun owners in the last ten years. The Democrat party took that position while public opposition to gun control grew. Today, democrat voters want gun-control as much as ever, but we saw the undecided middle and political independents step off the gun-control bandwagon. Here is why they abandoned the idea of gun control.