CWC ( Concealed Weapons Carry)

YES, THIS IS A PHOTO OF THE TASER POSITION ON MY DUTY BELT, BUT!!, I HAVE A SMALL OF BACK HOLSTER ON ALSO!!!



S/Sgt. Tom Hanna #36739
FTO T/O URT
WESTMAN OPS
"D" DIV"
Headingly Detachment


Greetings all of my RCMP Brothers. I have been asked to post a short note on concelaed Weapons Carry when we visit the USA, and how HSA 218 affects us as being Canadian LEO's. What what I have been able to interpret and discussing this with Justice in Ottawa this is basically the breakdown of their laws and how it pertains to us:




Carrying a lethal weapon in public confers a grave power that carries

with it great responsibilities. Those who lawfully engage in the

practice realize that. Those who are considering "carrying" need to

know what those experienced people know.



If You Carry, Always Carry

The criminal is the actor, and the armed citizen is the reactor. The

typical violent criminal arms himself only when he intends to do

something with it. He picks the time and place of the assault, and

initiates the attack. Therefore, he doesn't need to worry about self-

defense.

The armed citizen, the intended victim, does not know when or where

that attack will come. Therefore, he or she must be constantly

prepared and constantly vigilant. The "pistol-packer" learns to pick

a comfortable holster and an appropriately sized handgun, and "dress

around the firearm." After a few days, or a few weeks, it becomes

second nature to wear it.



When the defender does not know when the attack will come, the only

reasonable expectation of safety lies in being always armed.



Don't Carry If You Aren't Prepared To Use It

There is a great irony that attaches to the defensive firearm. When

you analyze a great many defensive gun usages (DGUs) you discover

that the great majority of the time, the protection weapon does its

job with no blood being shed. Usually, the offender who is confronted

with the prospect of being shot in self-defense either breaks off and

runs or surrenders at gunpoint.



Its most important asset turns out to be its power to deter. The

irony comes from the fact that its power to deter is drawn directly

from its power to kill.



Understand that criminals do not fear guns. They are, after all, an

armed subculture themselves. What they fear is the resolutely armed

man or woman who points that gun at them. Criminals are predators,

and their stock in trade is their ability to read people and

recognize victims. They are very, very good at reading "body

language" and determining another's intent to fight, or lack thereof.

In short, you're not likely to bluff them.

If you carry a gun, you must be absolutely certain that you can use

deadly force. The person who is hesitant or unwilling to do so will,

in the moment of truth, communicate that vacillation to the hardened

criminal they are attempting to hold at gunpoint. In such a case, it

is quite likely that the offender will jump them, disarm them, and

use the hesitant defenders' own weapons against them.

If, however, that same criminal realizes that he is facing a resolute

person who will, in fact, shoot him if he takes one more

transgressive step, he is most unlikely to take that step.

The irony: The person who is prepared to kill if he or she must, is

the person who is least likely to have to do so.



Don't Let The Gun Make You Reckless

Circa 1970, armed citizen Richard Davis invented the Second Chance

vest, concealable body armor that for the first time could be worn

constantly on duty, under the uniform, by any police officer. Some

alarmists speculated that "being made bulletproof" would cause cops

to become reckless. Those fears turned out to be totally unfounded.

As any officer who has worn armor can attest, the vest is a constant

reminder of danger and, if anything, makes its wearer more cautious.

It is much the same with concealed firearms in the hands of

responsible private citizens. People unfamiliar with the practice

fear that "the trigger will pull the finger," and armed citizens will

go looking for a chance to exercise their deadly power. This, too, is

a largely unfounded belief.



The collective experience of ordinary, law-abiding people who carry

guns is that they don't feel a sudden urge to go into Central Park at

three o'clock in the morning and troll for muggers. They learn that

being armed, they are held to what the law calls "a higher standard

of care" and are expected to avoid situations like traffic arguments

that could escalate and, with a deadly weapon present, turn into

killing situations.

Like an officer's body armor, the armed citizen's gun is a reminder

of danger, a symbol of the need for caution. The late, great big game

hunter and gun writer Finn Aagard once wrote, "Yet my pistol is more

than just security. Like an Orthodox Jewish yarmulke or a Christian

cross, it is a symbol of who I am, what I believe, and the moral

standards by which I live."



Get The License!!!! And yes our Canadian CCW is VALID in the USA!!

You'll hear some absolutists say, "No government has the right to

permit me to carry a gun! I don't need no stinking permit! The Second

Amendment is my license to carry!"


That is the sound of someone asking to go to jail. Like it or not,

the laws of the land require, in 46 of the 50 states, a license to

carry. In two states, there is no legal provision for the ordinary

citizen to carry at all. Realize that things are not as we wish they

were; things are as they are. If things were as we wish they would

be, we wouldn't need to carry guns at all.



If you are diligent about studying carry license reciprocity, and

about seeking non-resident carry permits in states that don't have

reciprocity, you can become legal to carry in some forty or more

states. It can get expensive, and it can get tiresome. However,

allowing yourself to be made into a felon and being ramrodded through

the courts is much more expensive and far more tiresome.

Bottom line: if you carry, make sure you carry legally.


Concealed Means Concealed!!! ( I prefere an ankle holster)

A very few people carrying guns for the first time feel an

irresistible urge to let others see that "they've got the power."

First-time carriers and rookie cops, usually young in both cases, may

fall into this trap. It is a practice to avoid for several reasons.

In most of this society, the only people the general public sees

carrying guns in public are uniformed "protector figures," such as

police officers and security guards. When they see someone not

identifiable as such, who is carrying a lethal weapon, they tend to

panic. This makes no friends among the voting public for the gun

owners' rights movement—you do not make people into friends and

sympathizers, by frightening them—and can lead to a panicky observer

getting the wrong idea and reporting you to the police as a "man with

a gun." This can lead to all sorts of unpleasant confrontations.

Moreover, a harasser who has picked you as his victim and knows you

carry a gun can create a situation where there are no other witnesses

present, and then make the false claim that you threatened him with

the weapon. This is a very serious felony called Aggravated Assault.

It is his word against yours. The fact that you are indeed carrying

the gun he describes you pointing at him can make his lie more

believable than your truth, to the ears of judge and jury.



MCRGO, Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners, is directly

responsible for getting reform concealed carry legislation enacted in

their state, and has been in the forefront of fighting for the rights

of armed citizens in that state. MCRGO's Steve Dulan, in the

organization's Weekly E'News of 6/23/08, had some cogent points to

make on the topic of private citizens carrying handguns visibly in

public:

"Open carry of firearms, subject to MCL 750.234d, it is legal to

carry a visible pistol in public. MCRGO has not adopted an official

position on this subject," wrote Dulan, who continued, "I agree with

Ted Nugent and many others that it is a bad idea in almost every

situation. Tactically, you are giving up the element of surprise

should you face a deadly force situation. Furthermore, you run the

risk of being called in to 9-1-1 as a `man with a gun.' I have been

on police ride-alongs when this call comes over the radio. It creates

a very dangerous situation for all concerned. I do not carry openly.

I have a CPL (Concealed Pistol License) and take care to choose a gun

and holster that, along with appropriate clothing, allow me to keep

my gun concealed unless/until I need it to save a life."

As cogent and valid as Steve Dulan's arguments are, it still makes

sense to have legal open carry available as an emergency option. If

the wind accidentally blows your coat open and reveals the gun, an

open carry provision assures you have committed no crime. If someone

who has not yet felt the need to get a concealed carry license

suddenly begins getting death threats, open carry provides an

emergency avenue of self-protection until the paperwork can be

processed to acquire the license to carry the weapon discreetly out

of sight.

Maximize Your Firearms Familiarity!!!!!

The more you work with the firearm, the more reflexively skilled you

will become in its emergency use and its safe handling. If your home

defense shotgun is a Remington 870, then when you go claybird

shooting or hunting, use an 870 pump gun with a barrel and choke

appropriate for each task. If you are a target shooter who uses the

1911 pistol platform at bull's-eye matches and have become deeply

familiar with it, it makes sense to acquire a concealable 1911 to use

as your carry gun, so that the ingrained skill will directly

transfer. If a double-action .44 Magnum is your hunting revolver, and

another double-action revolver is your home defense gun, it makes

sense to choose a carry-size revolver as your concealment handgun

when you're out and about.



Consider training classes or competition shoots where your chosen

defensive firearm is appropriate to the course of fire. This skill-

building will translate to self-defense ability if your carry gun

ever has to be used to protect innocent life and limb. If training

ammunition is too expensive, consider a .22 conversion unit for your

semiautomatic pistol or a .22 caliber revolver the same size as your

defensive .38 or .357. The more trigger time you have with a similar

gun, the more confidence and competence you'll have with the gun you

carry, if you can't afford to practice as much as you'd like with the

carry gun itself.
Understand The Fine Points

Every state has different laws insofar as where you can and can't

carry a gun. It's your responsibility to know all the details. In one

state, it may be against the law to carry a weapon in a posted "no-

gun zone." In another, that sign may have no weight of law at all

behind it. In a third, you may be asked to leave if your gun is

spotted, and if you do not depart, you will be subject to arrest for

Trespass After Warning.

In the state of New Hampshire, it is perfectly legal to carry your

gun into a bar while you sit down and have a drink. If you do the

same in Florida, it's an arrestable offense, though you're allowed to

have a cocktail in a restaurant with a liquor license, so long as

you're seated in a part of the establishment that earns less than 50%

of its income from selling alcoholic beverages by the drink. In North

Carolina, you can't even walk into a restaurant that has a liquor

license, with a gun on. And, perhaps strangest of all, in the state

of Virginia at this writing, it is illegal to enter a tavern with a

concealed handgun, but perfectly legal to belly up to the bar and sip

a whiskey while carrying a loaded handgun "open carry" fashion in an

exposed holster! Yes I know, they are as strange as Nunavut's liquor laws!!


A superb current compendium of gun laws in the 50 states can be found

at www.handgunlaw.us. Review it frequently for possible changes. Review it BEFORE you enter the USA!!!



Carry An Adequate Firearm

If you carry a single-shot, .22 Short caliber derringer, you will be

considered armed with a deadly weapon in the eyes of the law. You

will not, however, be adequately prepared to stop a predictable

attack by multiple armed assailants. Most experts recommend a five-

shot revolver as the absolute minimum in firepower, and

the .380/9mm/.38SPL range as the minimum potency level in terms of

handgun caliber.

It is a good idea to carry spare ammunition. Many people in their

first gunfight have quickly found themselves soon clicking an empty

gun. A firearm without spare ammunition is a temporary gun. Moreover,

many malfunctions in semiautomatic pistols require a fresh (spare)

magazine to rectify. Some fear that carrying spare ammo will make

them look paranoid. They need to realize that those who don't like

guns and dislike the people who carry them, will consider carrying

the gun without spare ammunition to still be paranoid. It's an easy

argument to win in court. Cops carry spare ammunition. So should you.

Carrying a second gun has saved the lives of many good people. When

the primary weapon is hit by a criminal's bullet and rendered

unshootable…when it is knocked from the defender's hand, or snatched

away by a criminal…when the first gun runs out of ammo and there is

no time to reload…the list of reasons is endless. It suffices to

remember the words of street-savvy Phil Engeldrum: "If you need to

carry a gun, you probably need to carry two of them."

At the very least, once you've found a carry gun that works for your

needs, it's a good idea to acquire another that's identical or at

least very similar. If you have to use the first gun for self-

defense, it will go into evidence for some time, and you want

something you can immediately put on to protect yourself from

vengeful cronies of the criminal you were forced to shoot. If the

primary gun has to go in for repair, you don't want to be helpless or

carrying something less satisfactory while you're waiting to get it

back.



Use Common Sense

The gun carries with it the power of life and death. That power

belongs only in the hands of responsible people who care about

consequences, who are respectful of life and limb and human safety.

Carrying a gun is a practice that is becoming increasingly common

among ordinary American citizens. Common sense must always accompany !!