“A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined..."
- George Washington, First Annual Address, to both House and Congress, January 8, 1790
Your rights and responsibilities of owning and bearing a firearm.
Part 1
This subject is of special interest to us during these turbulent times.
This is not a discussion on the 2nd amendment per se, but rather, should certain people in our industry be granted a concealed carry permit because the very nature of our business presents a clear and present danger to our safety ?
Additionally, and maybe more importantly, if you are issued a concealed carry permit to carry a firearm.......are you prepared mentally to use it ?
We are all familiar with the stories of road salesmen and jewelry store robberies. And while the percentage of jewelry store robberies and salesmen robbed is small compared to the overall exposure....it still happens all too often.
Although this newsletter goes worldwide, it is predominantly read by readers in the US. Every country and every state have their own gun laws that one must abide by, but the risks in this business are still the same whether you carry a firearm or not. For those of you outside the US, please do not see this discussion topic along with recent headlines in the news and think that the US is a Wild West shooting gallery. But if the world does see the US as a dangerous place, that is even more reason to issue concealed carry permits to people in our industry.
If you had any doubts, there are people in our industry who do carry a firearm without a concealed carry permit. Every state is different, in California the penalty is only a misdemeanor, in New York City it is a very serious offense.
To be clear, a concealed carry permit will not be issued for you to protect your merchandise. It will be issued to you to protect your life or bodily harm. And to use that firearm on another individual, there must be that clear and present danger to you. These may seem like trivial points, but they are not. If a criminal comes up to you, points a gun at your face, then grabs your jewelry briefcase from your hand with your entire uninsured inventory and is now running away from you......you CANNOT now shoot them. The threat to your physical being is over. You are safe.
In fact, if you chase after the criminal, catch them and this new confrontation leads to you now shooting them......you will be charged with a crime. You escalated the confrontation.
You did not need to chase after the robber. The threat to you had diminished.
When you are issued a license to carry a firearm you accept a new list of responsibilities.
You can only use your firearm to protect yourself and someone with you. You must make every effort not to escalate a situation, even if that means you must run away if possible.
If someone on the freeway cuts you off or yells at you and maybe gives you the finger.....you need to let it go....deescalate the situation. You will need to change your awareness of every situation.
You may be tempted to take a shortcut down a dark back alley thinking you are safe because you are carrying a firearm. But the reality is you need to avoid that alley BECAUSE you have a firearm. Why put yourself in a bad situation. And if something does happen, what are you going to tell the police when asked “why did you go down that dark alley?”
Are you going to say “I felt safe because I had a gun in my pocket ! “
That answer will not sit well in your post incident interview by the police.
-Anonymous
Please see Part 2 of this article in next week’s edition of Through the Loupe
