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What responsibilties when it comes to your ccw?

3K views 20 replies 18 participants last post by  Edsel 
#1 ·
My wife and I are seriously considering acquiring our CHL. I have never personally been assaulted or had a "reason" to carry. My wife on the other hand experienced a very traumatic event when she was younger. For me it really boils down to personal choice since owning multiple firearms. Legally my pistol can go anywhere with me in my vehicle, but obviously does no good when I enter a business.

My question is what responsibilties do those of you who have a CHL/CCW feel comes attached with it?

Thanks for your input.
 
#2 ·
In my opinion, the answer to your question would be a very long list. I will throw out the first responsibility that comes to mind.

Know your state CCW laws inside and out. Know when and where it is legal to carry and under what conditions is it legal to carry. Also know the laws in other states where you may travel. Here is a good website that I use to check reciprocity and laws in other states.

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/travel/
 
#3 ·
Carry often and always
Train religiously, then go train again
Never break cardinal gun safety rules
Understand you are not a police officer.

That's the first 4 I can think of

Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Tapatalk 2
 
#5 ·
This little tidbit has been floating around for some time now, and every time I find it it's always been something someone read from somewhere else.

As a gun owner, you have to be cool-headed, more-so than the police ever have to be. And you do not ever run around pretending to be the police while carrying a gun because then, **** like this can happen. You do not start ****, act aggressively, flip the bird, roll your eyes, talk ****, or even raise your voice. To anyone. Ever.

A combat instructor (who happened to be Buddhist and a Marine) once said to me: "From now on, when dealing with (ed.) crazy / possibly violent people, you will lose every argument. You are always wrong. You are sorry for impinging on their day. You will apologize and apologize again. You will back the **** down. You will put your tail between your legs. You will let them talk **** about your ladyfriend. You will let them call your mother a ***** and a ***** and your dad a *******. You have no ego. " "You do all this because if you are the one to start a fight, by default that fight now has a gun in it, and if you start losing, you're going to pull it and kill him. And even if you don't go to jail because you could convince the jury that it was self-defense, you're going to have to live with the fact that you could have saved someone's life and yet you let your ego kill someone." "You are not the police, so don't act like them. Though all of you [civilians] are better shots than the police, you do not have the training, the continuum of force policy, or a union plus free lawyers protecting you if you screw up."

He also said: "but after backing down and trying to apologize, if at any time you then feel your life or that of a loved one is in danger, put three rounds into his [cardiothoracic] vault, call the police, give a statement, go home, and sleep like a baby. You did all you could for your attacker, and he was the one that made the final decision...

... to kill himself."
 
#6 ·
The biggest responsibility to me is having good judgement and not going stupid places, with stupid people and doing stupid things. There's a lot of liability that goes along with having a CHL, when I first started to carry I really felt an overwhelming sense of cautiousness. I'm a lot less likely to give people dirty looks when they cut me off in traffic, or get upset when someone cuts in line at the grocery store. A fist fight is a whole different deal when you've got a gun and you've got to be mindful of not making a mistake that could get you in a lot of trouble, or God forbid get someone else hurt. Knowing when and how and be willing to use deadly force if it came down to it. We're not cops, so you can't just pull a gun to deescalate a situation. If the time ever comes where you have to use deadly force to protect yourself or some else you've got to be fully committed, and fully aware of the consequences. Our instructor made it very clear that for even a justified shooting you're more than likely gonna get arrested and possibly charged with a crime. I said all that to say, in my opinion your state of mind and self discipline are two of the biggest responsibilities, after knowing the law and how to use your gun in a stressful situation. Just my 2 cents.
 
#9 ·
Here's a very good list of "10 reasons why I carry"... I don't know who the original author is.... It's the best reasoning I've read on the topic.

1. We don't carry firearms so that we can ignore other basics of personal safety. Every permit holder that I know realizes that almost all dangerous situations can be avoided by vigilance, alertness and by simply making wise choices about where one goes and what one does. We don't walk down dark alleys. We lock our cars. We don't get intoxicated in public or hang out around people who do. We park our cars in well lighted spots and don't hang out in bad parts of town where we have no business. A gun is our last resort, not our first.

2. We don't think we are cops, spies, or superheroes. We aren't hoping that somebody tries to rob the convenience store while we are there so we can shoot a criminal. We don't take it upon ourselves to get involved in situations that are better handled by a 911 call or by simply standing by and being a good witness. We don't believe our guns give us any authority over our fellow citizens. We also aren't here to be your unpaid volunteer bodyguard. We'll be glad to tell you where we trained and point you to some good gun shops if you feel you want to take this kind of responsibility for your personal safety. Except for extraordinary circumstances your business is your business, don't expect us to help you out of situations you could have avoided.

3. We are LESS likely, not more likely, to be involved in fights or "rage" incidents than the general public. We recognize, better than many unarmed citizens, that we are responsible for our actions. We take the responsibility of carrying a firearm very seriously. We know that loss of temper, getting into fights or angrily confronting someone after a traffic incident could easily escalate into a dangerous situation. We are more likely to go out of our way to avoid these situations. We don't pull our guns to settle arguments or to attempt to threaten people into doing what we want.

4. We are responsible gun owners. We secure our firearms so that children and other unauthorized people cannot access them. Most of us have invested in safes, cases and lock boxes as well as other security measures to keep our firearms secure. Many of us belong to various organizations that promote firearms safety and ownership.

5. Guns are not unsafe or unpredictable. Modern firearms are well made precision instruments. Pieces do not simply break off causing them to fire. A hot day will not set them off. Most modern firearms will not discharge even if dropped. There is no reason to be afraid of a gun simply lying on a table or in a holster. It is not going to discharge on its own.

6. We do not believe in the concept of "accidental discharges". There are no accidental discharges only negligent discharges or intentional discharges. We take responsibility for our actions and have learned how to safely handle firearms. Any case you have ever heard of about a gun "going off" was the result of negligence on somebody's part. Our recognition of our responsibility and familiarity with firearms makes us among the safest firearms owners in America.

7. Permit holders do their best to keep our concealed weapons exactly that: concealed. However, there are times with an observant fellow citizen may spot our firearm or the print of our firearm under our clothes. We are very cognizant that concerns about terrorism and crime are in the forefront of the minds of most citizens. We also realize that our society does much to condition our fellow citizens to have sometimes irrational fears about firearms. We would encourage citizens who do happen to spot someone carrying a firearm to use good judgment and clear thinking if they feel to need to take action. Please recognize that it's very uncommon for a criminal to use a holster. However, if you feel the need to report having spotted a firearm we would ask that you please be specific and detailed in your call to the police or in your report to a store manager or private security. Please don't generalize or sensationalize what you observed. Comments like "there's a guy running around in the store with a gun" or even simply "I saw a man with a gun in the store" could possibly cause a misunderstanding as to the true nature of the incident.

8. The fact that we carry a firearm to any given place does not mean that we believe that place to be inherently unsafe. If we believe a place to be unsafe, most of us would avoid that place all together if possible. However, we recognize that trouble could occur at any place and at any time. Criminals do not observe "gun free zones". If trouble does come, we do not want the only armed persons to be perpetrators. Therefore, we don't usually make a determination about whether or not to carry at any given time based on "how safe" we think a location is.

9. Concealed weapon permit holders are an asset to the public in times of trouble. The fact that most permit holders have the good judgment to stay out of situations better handled by a 911 call or by simply being a careful and vigilant witness does not mean that we would fail to act in situations where the use of deadly force is appropriate to save lives. Review of high profile public shooting incidents shows that when killers are confronted by armed resistance they tend to either break off the attack and flee or choose to end their own life. Lives are saved when resistance engages a violent criminal. Lives are lost when the criminal can do as he pleases.

10. The fact that criminals know that some of the population may be armed at any given time helps to deter violence against all citizens. Permit holders don't believe that every person should necessarily be armed. We recognize that some people may not be temperamentally suited to carry a firearm or simply may wish not to for personal reasons. However we do encourage you to respect our right to arm ourselves. Even if you choose not to carry a firearm yourself please oppose measures to limit the ability of law abiding citizens to be armed. As mentioned before: criminals do not observe "gun free zones". Help by not supporting laws that require citizens to be unarmed victims.
 
#16 ·
For the legal response, here is the link to the Texas DHS CHL handbook.

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/InternetForms/Forms/CHL-16.pdf

The key elements of this are taught in the 8 hour course you'll have to take to get your CHL in Texas. While the handbook is clearly written by lawyers, it is understandable, if not a bit tedious In places. In addition, there is other info on the Texas DPS website you may find helpful.

My take away from having taken the course twice now is that if you ever have to use your weapon, you'll likely spend months, if not years in the court system and a lot of money. So, you better know what you are doing.

I'd recommend taking a CHL class. They will explain your responsibilities as a CHL holder and if you are uncomfortable after the class, you don't have to follow through and get a liscens.
 
#17 ·
I am not an expert but I do have some experience.
With about 25 years of LEO experience well behind me I can say that I've been punched, I've been kicked, I was stabbed by a drunk once and even thrown over my patrol car by a crazy person.
I have been threatened, called every name under the sun and even had my family threatened.
I have never had to take a mans life.

But I have come close to doing so.

Having a firearm is like having car insurance. You hope you never need it, but it can sure come in handy when you do.
 
#18 ·
As far as I'm concerned, your responsibility as a CCDWL (CHL) is simply be responsible. If you are a responsible law abiding citizen, and you own guns, especially handguns, I encourage you to take the steps necessary to get your license to conceal and carry.

If your state does not require training make sure you understand all laws applicable to conceal carry, use of deadly force, and liability.

I do not believe that carrying a CDW means that you have to put your tail between your legs and avoid all confrontation. If you are a responsible law abiding citizen I believe that you will not make the decision to use deadly force when it is not prudent to do so. If you think that you lack the ability to make good decisions in situations then avoid them or don't carry in those situations.

Although I encourage people to carry, I don't believe you have a duty or responsibility to do so 100% of the time, or 70% of the time or even 40% of the time.

I encourage handgun owners to get their CCDWL for two primary reasons. First, they might learn something in the class, maybe they don't learn anything, but the chance that they will is enough to encourage it. Second, in my state as well as many others putting your pistol under your seat of your car or wherever is considered concealed. My father is a good example, all my life he would put his .38 under the front seat of his car when we went on trips. I made sure he went and got his CCDWL so that he could do this and avoid many potential problems (Note: states vary widely be sure to check laws before traveling to other states, it can cause you a lot of trouble).
 
#19 ·
thoughts in ccw

I believe after reading and taking the short ccw course there are real basic things i personally would try and always remember.Hold yourself with self control in any situation where someone may just disrespect you.watch out for road rage ,its very common and there are books written on this subject alone.every permit holder must quickly identify intent ,opportunty and means also theres preclusion.Ill be honest I dont carry everyday and im sure alot of people dont.Its a gamble .The reason i obtained it in the first place is because my cousin who is leauitenant with major police dept told me "with my hand size carry a 45 caliber and try not to leave it in a vehicle and make sure if something happens it must be justifiable or you are screwed".I do agree with him and
carry a 38 in the pocket because its always a rat race world and always seem to be in rush.Sorry for spelling errors.Im slowly working into carrying my sig tacops 1911.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Hmm.

If your CCW Permit suddenly supersizes your balls or grows more hair on your chest, more introspection is needed.

If it suddenly boosts your confidence and assures your that you'd be able to "take out the assailant to save your friends, family, and loved ones," more introspection is needed.

If it makes you think that you now have the right to bring firearms hidden to where other folks don't really welcome them, more introspection is needed.

If you already have the preconception that you're a sheepdog and everyone around you are merely sheep, more introspection is needed.

If you go around with loose shirts and cargo pants with oversized pockets so readily associated with the tacticalisti CCW crew, you stand out like a sore thumb to the baddies that really count, and more introspection is needed.

If you got your CCW permit just to skip all those pesky delays called background checks when buying (hoarding) firearms (toys), more introspection is needed.

If you got your CCW permit thinking it'd somehow influence your (man - ) Forum (man - ) Argument on Gay Marriages, more introspection is needed.

Hoo

hoo

hoo!
 
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