and her teachers have persuaded her that the idea of open carrying will cause anyone nearby to duck for cover and call the police. Even worse than that is they're taught her that the addition of a gun turns EVERY potential engagement into a gunfight.
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I just don't know quite how to deal with her in the situation. every time we go for a walk i tell her im going to grab my pistol. she gets noticeably upset. Never trys to stop me, she knows that wouldn't fly. But i want her to be as confident in me carrying as possible. Oh, i guess i should also note. She finds nothing whatsoever to be wrong with CCW.
Howdy Again!
Interesting that her instructors would tell her what you say here; Considering that every street cop carries open. Guess they must be looking to make every interaction with the public turn into a gunfight???? Does that really make any sense whatsoever?
She needs to understand that her instructors are... what are they called?.... People! And as people, they have their own personal biases and opinions. As such, they preach their personal opinion, even if it is wrong. Even if it is dead wrong! Consider, if you will, that I've carried daily, everyday, everywhere, since shortly after I joined up with this forum. Guess how many gunfights I've had in these many months! You can count them all on the fingers of one hand, without using any fingers!!! And worse, I have yet to see my first person ducking for cover or calling the cops. In fact, I haven't had anybody call the cops yet. Now either her instructors have thier heads up their backside, or the cops do by not responding to all those calls from alarmed citizens complaining about my carry of a pistol!
Think about it amigo! On this forum are many folks who carry their handguns everywhere, at all times, right on their hip where everybody can see it. How many cop calls do we get, as a collective group? Not too darn many, I can tell you that. And I'm just talking about the Colorado forum. Multiply that by all the other states on the entire OCDO forum? Calls to the police do happen, but are shockingly few and far between. And then consider how many folks here can report alarmed citizens running and ducking for cover. Fewer, and even farther between. Now check around the forum and figure out how many gunfights result from our practice of embracing the 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution, and the Constitution of the State of Colorado, specifically Article 2, sections 3 and 13! Why... if her instructor had anything more rational than an opinion, we'd all be veterans of many shoot-outs, and our membership much smaller because some folks on the forum would come out second best in a gunfight!
What I'm trying to illustrate here is the nonsense she is being handed, and the very presence of this forum and all the members who open carry every single day, everywhere they go, is iron clad proof that such opinions are nonsense. Her instructors are hosting a fecal festival, and more than happy to share a load of crap with anybody who will believe it without question.
My wife, my pardner and I all attended Adams County Sheriff's Citizen's Academy. It was one place we most emphatically were prohibited from carrying, either open or concealed. So we didn't. But during the course of 16 weeks, our happy trio heard a great many opinions that we knew were nothing short of BS right on the spot. I won't elaborate here, but we certainly heard some very mistaken information, and unlike some in our class, we knew it for precisely what it was. BS. Don't get me wrong, we learned a great deal of terrific stuff. But peppered throughout those 16 weeks was a healty load of steaming hot, fresh from the oven, done to a turn, pile of crap! Just because they have a star on their chest doesn't mean their report cards were ever festooned with them!
Common sense will tell you that bad guys aren't in their line of occupation because they are notably courageous. They seek prey, and like any predator, look for the easy mark. Why chase something across the front range when you can pick a victim that can't run. Or, why get into a fight with a critter that is perfectly capable of fighting back. It doesn't work that way in the animal kingdom, and it doesn't work that way with bad guys either. They look for easy marks. They look for prey that won't give them trouble. They look for victims they can overpower with minimal effort. Therefore, the very presence of a pistol openly carried sends the message that you ain't going down without a fight that could prove fatal to your attacker. Not the sort of prey they're looking for. It would require a degree of courage they typically don't have! There are all manner of resources on the web to explain how to avoid becoming a victim, and they all will tell you to avoid looking like a victim to begin with. Open Carry shuts down that particular perspective right on the spot. You might visit the Ruger website, and check their videos. They have some that discuss how to avoid being a victim. And it starts with how the bad guy views you. What's really scary, in terms of her instructors, is they should be the very first to acknowledge precisely what I'm saying here to be true!
I think that meet and greet would be an excellent opportunity to bring your lady along to see, with her own eyes, and hear with her own ears, the reality from those who openly carry every day. Some of us are ex-military. Some ex-cops. At least one of our number is a current fugitive recovery agent. We get all kinds. But the one thing we have in common is that we open carry all the time, and are still waiting for all those folks ducking for cover, calling the cops or the supposed gunfights we all aren't having.
If that sounded ludicrious on face value, it is because what she's being told is precisely that.... ludicrous!
Another reason to come on an outing with me and let's run around to a bunch of different places to see with your own eyes what is true.
And what is true is... you won't see people ducking for cover, calling the cops, or taking part in gunfights. Reality ain't nearly so exciting as the fanciful flights of fantasy her instructors entertain in their imaginative opinions. But you know what they say about opinions... not unlike something else everone has one of.... everybodys got one. All the matter is what is real.
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
