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Here is the test of the article. It is in a subscriber only area of the Journal web page. There is also a short article on avoidance as well as the 4 rules of safe gun handling. The "editor's Note" appeared at the beginning of hte article in the print edition of the Journal.
EDIT: The author's e-mail is: [email protected]
http://www.abqjournal.com/cgi-bin/print_it.pl?page=/news/state/139905nm02-01-04.htm
Editor's Note: After years of legal wrangling, New Mexico has started issuing licenses to carry concealed weapons. But first, you must take a safety course. Journal News Editor D'Val Westphal, who is also the Journal's Road Warrior, recently finished such a course.
Sunday, February 1, 2004
Aiming To Make the Grade
By D'Val Westphal
Of the Journal
Nobody wore camo.
Or a gun on their hip.
Or came in with a manifesto against the government.
But they did express concern about carjackings.
And road rage.
And home invasions.
They had stories, some first-person, of confronting bad people with even worse intentions. They wanted a way to protect themselves and the ones they love. And they wanted to do it legally.
So after 16 hours of class time, 25 rounds of target shooting, fingerprinting, background checks and paperwork, they'll be licensed to carry concealed handguns in the state of New Mexico.
Doing something
This year, the state started issuing concealed-carry permits, and Department of Public Safety staffers are already swamped.
DPS spokesman Peter Olson said "the official word is only a handful have been issued," but since the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled the licenses were constitutional, "we're just getting inundated with applications. Lots and lots of applications are coming in, so that number will rapidly jump up. We haven't tabulated them yet— by Monday we should have some (idea) of the number that have been issued."
To date, 47 people have taken the required firearms training course at Calibers Shooters Sports Center; five of those have been women. The state Department of Public Safety Web site, www.dps.nm.org, lists 38 approved instructors available, from Aztec to Las Cruces.
Anonymity goes with the license territory. Advertising you have a concealed weapon kind of defeats the purpose for most people.
When I asked my class why they wanted the license, they quickly threw a couple of questions back at me: Do you read your paper? Watch the news?
Yeah, I do. So does my husband. That's why we signed up.
So we spent last weekend at Calibers with instructor James R. Glover. Joining us were a surgeon, his wife, two computer experts, a former Army Ranger, a man who works at a local car dealership, a Department of Energy consultant, a former sheriff's deputy and a guy who sells jewelry on the Home Shopping Network.
Each of us listened as Glover verified that our safety concerns were very real and we needed to do something to keep from becoming victims of horrifying things we like to think only happen to other people.
Your last resort
That something doesn't start with pulling out a gun. Probably the biggest surprise to people who don't take the course is what it actually teaches.
"The most important things you'll learn in this class have nothing to do with guns," Glover told us soon after we filed in.
Covering 10 hours on a Saturday and six on a Sunday, all but the last few hours focused on how to avoid firing a weapon. How to spot trouble before it finds you (like walking down the middle of the parking lot so you can see if a creep is hiding around or under cars). How to prepare for threatening situations so you can get out of them (have an escape route and know what you're willing to use, whether it is pepper spray, a knife or a gun— and be sure to have it with you). How to stop talking yourself into thinking things are OK (some people wear parkas and ski masks in July, right?) and start asking yourself what could go wrong and what you'll do about it.
Glover called what we were learning "crime fighting without bullets" and had us consider our nonshooting options in a variety of hypothetical situations before we even talked about using our guns. It was made clear that it was our last resort.
We shared stories about random violence, like road rage. Spillover violence, like stray bullets from a gang shooting. And target violence, like in a domestic dispute.
Glover told of a scam where a person comes to your door with a bloody baby and a story about a wreck and asks to use the phone. Once they're in, you find out they've got a doll smeared with ketchup and a gun.
A class member told of a friend being hit in the head with a brick by a panhandler in front of the Downtown library.
Another told of a friend driving down Coors with his wife and three kids when a driver pulled up, flashed his lights, waved a gun, emptied a magazine and drove off. The wife called 911, and cops were waiting at the gunman's house.
Glover said having a cell phone is "an absolute obligation" if you carry a concealed handgun. With each situation class members brought up and each videotape he showed of a police officer being shot, Glover said we had to ask ourselves why we, as armed observers, would get involved. Could we perform triage on the baby? Take away the brick? Pull over the gun-waving maniac?
It's "not your job to solve societal problems," he said. Law enforcement officers "are trained at intervention." We could and should call 911 for help. But as for pulling out our guns in a bar fight (you can't carry where liquor is sold or poured) or a road-rage incident (that would be aggravated assault), New Mexico has a mandatory firearm enhancement provision that makes it a felony and tacks on a year in jail upon conviction. We were training to use them only to defend our lives or the lives of our loved ones in the face of deadly force.
As for the seemingly endless tales of random, deadly, bloody badness, Glover said, "I worry about things like that happening to you. (But the chances) are remote if you follow what's in this class."
The decision to carry
Using PowerPoint and quoting Steinbeck ("The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain"), Glover emphasized over and over that carrying a handgun "is about you being personally responsible."
And he made it clear not everybody is.
The criminal star of each class horror story was someone whose sense of responsibility went no further than, "It's about me, and I want it now."
And while everybody in class had forked over $299 for training and will then pay the $100 application fee and undergo state background checks, it's pretty unlikely an attacker has dedicated the same amount of cash, effort and time. "All the bad guys have weapons," Glover said. "Nothing keeps the bad guys from having weapons."
And we learned that nothing keeps a gun safer than a responsible owner. Our class stressed safe handling, proper cleaning and loading, and secure storage— especially if there are children in the home.
Glover emphasized that owning a gun wasn't "a pleasure cruise." That gunfights aren't TV or a "Dirty Harry" movie. That if you have to use a gun, you smell gunpowder, see blood, hear sucking chest wounds.
He highlighted that we need to have a hard talk with ourselves and those important to us about the implications of having a firearm and using it.
Most people who take his class "won't choose to carry," Glover said. "They're here for the education."
Those who were considering carrying a concealed handgun were told they "must have the proper mind-set if you carry this weapon. You unalterably change your life if you choose to carry this weapon. ... It's going to be really hard, maybe all that you can do, to pull that gun out."
After his class, I'm ready. But I hope everything I've learned translates into never having to.
# HOW TO AVOID A VIOLENT CONFRONTATION
Before you leave the house
# Change your mind-set— be alert to what's going on around you and any signs of danger. That way you can find trouble before it finds you.
# Don't go alone if you can help it.
# If you have to ask yourself whether it's really safe to be somewhere, don't go or leave ASAP.
# Always drive with your doors locked.
If something feels wrong
# Ask yourself whether something is out of the ordinary— why your once-locked door is open, who that person is by your car, home or store entrance. Then get away or get help.
# Don't freeze if you think a situation is going bad. Ask yourself what you're going to do next, not what's going to happen to you next. Remember that the worst plan now is better than the best plan when it's too late.
# Have a code word or name so if a situation turns bad, you can make what appears to be an innocuous phone call to your spouse or a friend and they know to call for help immediately.
# Remember that criminals don't want attention, police or capture, so do what you have to to bring those to the situation. Embarrassment is the least of your worries.
If you are followed
# When walking, turn around and yell for the person to leave you alone if there are other people around. If you're alone, do a fast inventory of what you have to defend yourself with and how you can get away. Consider carrying pepper spray or a knife.
# When driving, make three right turns and head for a fire station or other place where you know there are people. If necessary, crash into a busy public building, like a grocery, at a slow speed.
# Call 911 and make sure it is law enforcement that is trying to pull you over if you have any doubts that it's a real officer.
If you are attacked
# Do not get into a vehicle— you have a better chance of surviving a confrontation in a parking lot than on a deserted mesa.
# Throw away your keys if you can't get into your vehicle alone so your attacker no longer has a means to take you away.
# If you are carjacked, wreck the car on the side the attacker is sitting at a slow speed so the side airbag deploys and you can get away.
# If you are grabbed, throw up, urinate, defecate— do something to make the situation not fit in with your attacker's plan.
# Ensure that everyone in your home knows the "safe room" to go to in case of a break-in as well as escape routes.
# Never trade property or body parts for bullets. Give up the purse, the wallet, the car, etc.
NON-NEGOTIABLE GUN SAFETY RULES
# All guns are always loaded. If you removed the magazine, it's loaded. If it's in pieces while you're cleaning it, it's loaded. People are killed with "unloaded" guns every year.
# Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target. It takes longer to align the weapon than to move your finger. There is no reason to fire an unsighted weapon.
# Never let the muzzle of your weapon cover anything you aren't willing to destroy. Consider the muzzle a laser that destroys whatever it covers.
# Be sure of your target. Know what's in front, behind, in line with and to the side of it. You own every round you fire.
EDIT: The author's e-mail is: [email protected]
http://www.abqjournal.com/cgi-bin/print_it.pl?page=/news/state/139905nm02-01-04.htm
Editor's Note: After years of legal wrangling, New Mexico has started issuing licenses to carry concealed weapons. But first, you must take a safety course. Journal News Editor D'Val Westphal, who is also the Journal's Road Warrior, recently finished such a course.
Sunday, February 1, 2004
Aiming To Make the Grade
By D'Val Westphal
Of the Journal
Nobody wore camo.
Or a gun on their hip.
Or came in with a manifesto against the government.
But they did express concern about carjackings.
And road rage.
And home invasions.
They had stories, some first-person, of confronting bad people with even worse intentions. They wanted a way to protect themselves and the ones they love. And they wanted to do it legally.
So after 16 hours of class time, 25 rounds of target shooting, fingerprinting, background checks and paperwork, they'll be licensed to carry concealed handguns in the state of New Mexico.
Doing something
This year, the state started issuing concealed-carry permits, and Department of Public Safety staffers are already swamped.
DPS spokesman Peter Olson said "the official word is only a handful have been issued," but since the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled the licenses were constitutional, "we're just getting inundated with applications. Lots and lots of applications are coming in, so that number will rapidly jump up. We haven't tabulated them yet— by Monday we should have some (idea) of the number that have been issued."
To date, 47 people have taken the required firearms training course at Calibers Shooters Sports Center; five of those have been women. The state Department of Public Safety Web site, www.dps.nm.org, lists 38 approved instructors available, from Aztec to Las Cruces.
Anonymity goes with the license territory. Advertising you have a concealed weapon kind of defeats the purpose for most people.
When I asked my class why they wanted the license, they quickly threw a couple of questions back at me: Do you read your paper? Watch the news?
Yeah, I do. So does my husband. That's why we signed up.
So we spent last weekend at Calibers with instructor James R. Glover. Joining us were a surgeon, his wife, two computer experts, a former Army Ranger, a man who works at a local car dealership, a Department of Energy consultant, a former sheriff's deputy and a guy who sells jewelry on the Home Shopping Network.
Each of us listened as Glover verified that our safety concerns were very real and we needed to do something to keep from becoming victims of horrifying things we like to think only happen to other people.
Your last resort
That something doesn't start with pulling out a gun. Probably the biggest surprise to people who don't take the course is what it actually teaches.
"The most important things you'll learn in this class have nothing to do with guns," Glover told us soon after we filed in.
Covering 10 hours on a Saturday and six on a Sunday, all but the last few hours focused on how to avoid firing a weapon. How to spot trouble before it finds you (like walking down the middle of the parking lot so you can see if a creep is hiding around or under cars). How to prepare for threatening situations so you can get out of them (have an escape route and know what you're willing to use, whether it is pepper spray, a knife or a gun— and be sure to have it with you). How to stop talking yourself into thinking things are OK (some people wear parkas and ski masks in July, right?) and start asking yourself what could go wrong and what you'll do about it.
Glover called what we were learning "crime fighting without bullets" and had us consider our nonshooting options in a variety of hypothetical situations before we even talked about using our guns. It was made clear that it was our last resort.
We shared stories about random violence, like road rage. Spillover violence, like stray bullets from a gang shooting. And target violence, like in a domestic dispute.
Glover told of a scam where a person comes to your door with a bloody baby and a story about a wreck and asks to use the phone. Once they're in, you find out they've got a doll smeared with ketchup and a gun.
A class member told of a friend being hit in the head with a brick by a panhandler in front of the Downtown library.
Another told of a friend driving down Coors with his wife and three kids when a driver pulled up, flashed his lights, waved a gun, emptied a magazine and drove off. The wife called 911, and cops were waiting at the gunman's house.
Glover said having a cell phone is "an absolute obligation" if you carry a concealed handgun. With each situation class members brought up and each videotape he showed of a police officer being shot, Glover said we had to ask ourselves why we, as armed observers, would get involved. Could we perform triage on the baby? Take away the brick? Pull over the gun-waving maniac?
It's "not your job to solve societal problems," he said. Law enforcement officers "are trained at intervention." We could and should call 911 for help. But as for pulling out our guns in a bar fight (you can't carry where liquor is sold or poured) or a road-rage incident (that would be aggravated assault), New Mexico has a mandatory firearm enhancement provision that makes it a felony and tacks on a year in jail upon conviction. We were training to use them only to defend our lives or the lives of our loved ones in the face of deadly force.
As for the seemingly endless tales of random, deadly, bloody badness, Glover said, "I worry about things like that happening to you. (But the chances) are remote if you follow what's in this class."
The decision to carry
Using PowerPoint and quoting Steinbeck ("The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain"), Glover emphasized over and over that carrying a handgun "is about you being personally responsible."
And he made it clear not everybody is.
The criminal star of each class horror story was someone whose sense of responsibility went no further than, "It's about me, and I want it now."
And while everybody in class had forked over $299 for training and will then pay the $100 application fee and undergo state background checks, it's pretty unlikely an attacker has dedicated the same amount of cash, effort and time. "All the bad guys have weapons," Glover said. "Nothing keeps the bad guys from having weapons."
And we learned that nothing keeps a gun safer than a responsible owner. Our class stressed safe handling, proper cleaning and loading, and secure storage— especially if there are children in the home.
Glover emphasized that owning a gun wasn't "a pleasure cruise." That gunfights aren't TV or a "Dirty Harry" movie. That if you have to use a gun, you smell gunpowder, see blood, hear sucking chest wounds.
He highlighted that we need to have a hard talk with ourselves and those important to us about the implications of having a firearm and using it.
Most people who take his class "won't choose to carry," Glover said. "They're here for the education."
Those who were considering carrying a concealed handgun were told they "must have the proper mind-set if you carry this weapon. You unalterably change your life if you choose to carry this weapon. ... It's going to be really hard, maybe all that you can do, to pull that gun out."
After his class, I'm ready. But I hope everything I've learned translates into never having to.
# HOW TO AVOID A VIOLENT CONFRONTATION
Before you leave the house
# Change your mind-set— be alert to what's going on around you and any signs of danger. That way you can find trouble before it finds you.
# Don't go alone if you can help it.
# If you have to ask yourself whether it's really safe to be somewhere, don't go or leave ASAP.
# Always drive with your doors locked.
If something feels wrong
# Ask yourself whether something is out of the ordinary— why your once-locked door is open, who that person is by your car, home or store entrance. Then get away or get help.
# Don't freeze if you think a situation is going bad. Ask yourself what you're going to do next, not what's going to happen to you next. Remember that the worst plan now is better than the best plan when it's too late.
# Have a code word or name so if a situation turns bad, you can make what appears to be an innocuous phone call to your spouse or a friend and they know to call for help immediately.
# Remember that criminals don't want attention, police or capture, so do what you have to to bring those to the situation. Embarrassment is the least of your worries.
If you are followed
# When walking, turn around and yell for the person to leave you alone if there are other people around. If you're alone, do a fast inventory of what you have to defend yourself with and how you can get away. Consider carrying pepper spray or a knife.
# When driving, make three right turns and head for a fire station or other place where you know there are people. If necessary, crash into a busy public building, like a grocery, at a slow speed.
# Call 911 and make sure it is law enforcement that is trying to pull you over if you have any doubts that it's a real officer.
If you are attacked
# Do not get into a vehicle— you have a better chance of surviving a confrontation in a parking lot than on a deserted mesa.
# Throw away your keys if you can't get into your vehicle alone so your attacker no longer has a means to take you away.
# If you are carjacked, wreck the car on the side the attacker is sitting at a slow speed so the side airbag deploys and you can get away.
# If you are grabbed, throw up, urinate, defecate— do something to make the situation not fit in with your attacker's plan.
# Ensure that everyone in your home knows the "safe room" to go to in case of a break-in as well as escape routes.
# Never trade property or body parts for bullets. Give up the purse, the wallet, the car, etc.
NON-NEGOTIABLE GUN SAFETY RULES
# All guns are always loaded. If you removed the magazine, it's loaded. If it's in pieces while you're cleaning it, it's loaded. People are killed with "unloaded" guns every year.
# Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target. It takes longer to align the weapon than to move your finger. There is no reason to fire an unsighted weapon.
# Never let the muzzle of your weapon cover anything you aren't willing to destroy. Consider the muzzle a laser that destroys whatever it covers.
# Be sure of your target. Know what's in front, behind, in line with and to the side of it. You own every round you fire.
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