When discussing the notion of law-abiding citizens carrying guns in public, a common refrain from those against the notion goes something like “I don’t want those people around me and my children.” They find it scary and horrible that such people would exist and dare go out in public and mingle. The belief tends to be that those people are dangerous and will kill me for sneezing in their general direction.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

People who have concealed weapon/handgun permits/licenses tend to be more law-abiding than most. Click here to read the facts about what owning a gun and a CHL says about a person. To own a gun, to get a license, you have to go through so much. Then to keep it, you have to go through even more. By nature, you must be a law-abiding person.

So how does the logic hold that a CHL-holder is dangerous and ready to kill you for your parking space? I’ll grant, there are exceptions, but the exception does not prove the rule.

But what’s worse about this is those same people don’t seem to acknowledge what they are certainly surrounded by: felons. Violent felons. Yes, as you walk around the grocery store, as you stroll down the street… do you realize who is mingling among you?

Paul Markel spent 17 years as an Ohio State Certified Peace Officer.  Recently he wrote an article that presented a solid point: (h/t The Shooting Wire)

I spent 17 years as an Ohio State Certified Peace Officer.  During my time spent with a badge I frequently encountered criminals, bad guys who I had previously arrested, in the aisles of the local grocery or big box store.  My wife learned early on in our marriage that if I pointed someone out during a shopping trip we needed to move to another area of the store.  The last thing I wanted to do was encounter some maggot I’d arrested a month earlier while my family was present.

For the naïve in the audience; no, the bad guys don’t go to jail and stay there after the police catch and arrest them.  Vermin arrested for vicious felonies will bail out of jail and spend months on the street before ever going to trial.  Even if they are convicted our broken justice system sees them back on the street much sooner than most citizens would imagine.

What’s my point in all this?   It’s simple, every time you leave your home and go out in public you are brushing elbows with felons.   You just don’t know it.

Chew on that for a moment. Have you ever looked at one of those sex offender registries where you can plug in an address and it shows you all the registered sex offenders in the area? Of course you’ll plug in your home address and likely discover you’re surrounded. Shopping for a new place to live, you plug in every address of every house/apartment you look at, and they’re all surrounded.

Yes folks, you are surrounded by people who have done bad things.

You just haven’t met them yet.

And when the time comes for you to meet them, how are you going to respond? Certainly it depends how they introduce themselves to you. But assuming it’s not with a smile and a handshake, how will you respond? Do you truly believe fighting back isn’t worth it? Are you truly going to passively submit to them? to let them have their way with you… with your wife… your daughter…. Really?

Give Mr. Markel’s article a read. Long ago, I was in that camp. Then I realized how the logic of that camp really doesn’t hold up when faced with the (ugly) realities of life.

Here’s an article discussing self-defense strategies for students on college campuses. (h/t The Gun Wire)

The strategies discussed in the article, on the whole, are reasonable for the circumstance and situation. They discuss keeping yourself out of trouble or possible trouble situations in the first place. For example, parking close to a facility, and if when parking you know you’ll be returning after dark to ensure to park in a well-lit area. To carry your purse or backpack in front of you to act as a distraction to help you escape from an attacker (throw it at them). They also talk about planning ahead, such as studying the campus map to know proper walkways, and where the emergency/911 callboxes are located.

I also liked some campus-specific reminders, such as keeping your door locked when you’re inside. I recall from my college days how everyone was very trusting and left doors open or unlocked. This lead to a lot of undesired behavior, from things being stolen, to drunk students walking into wrong rooms, to female students receiving unwanted visitors.

Taking steps to keep yourself out of trouble in the first place, to think ahead, plan ahead, be proactive with your safety, this is all good stuff.

Even when the article talks about when an attack is imminent, they give some handy insights. Of course, it’s a brief news article so they really can’t go into details. But this is the time when things like SouthNarc’s “Managing Unknown Contacts” (MUC) or Insights Training Center’s “Street and Vehicle Tactics” would come in very handy.

And of course, the article ends talking about an actual attack.

* If an attacker grabs and tries to escort you to a car or secluded area, begin screaming for help and use a weapon of opportunity (pens, pencils, books, purses, etc.) to starting hitting the attacker in vital areas (Head , neck, throat, groin).

* Most attackers are looking for victims not willing to fight, so have the mindset that no matter what happens you will fight the attacker off using whatever tool you have (hands, feet, or weapons of opportunity). Make a quick assessment: do they want you, or what you have?

All colleges acknowledge such things can and do happen on their campus; if they didn’t, they wouldn’t have to even talk about these safety and self-defense measures. So they know people get attacked. Yet, most colleges refuse to allow students the means and mechanisms to better defend themselves. Pepper spray is good, but there are better tools available… so long as law-abiding citizens aren’t denied.

Someday….

But in the meantime, do what you can to stay safe and be prepared.