3 Lives Saved by CCW Permit Holders (in March)

A gentle reminder on the importance of “bearing” those arms…

It’s human nature, and a human failing: Sometimes we just don’t want to be bothered latching our seatbelts (because we’re just going up the driveway to get our mail), and sometimes we don’t feel like strapping on our EDC rig (because we’re just going to the store for some milk). But every now and then, it’s good to be reminded that getting a gun, the training to use it, the accessories to keep it safe, and the license to carry it concealed is a waste of time and effort unless we make use of that God-given right. Here are three stories of armed citizens with concealed-carry permits saving their own lives, and the lives of others, thanks to remembering that the Second Amendment protects the right to “bear” just as strongly as it does to “keep.”

1: LetGo? Not without a fight…

It seems the junkies of the world have gotten bored with stealing packages, and have taken to sites like “letgo” to find honest folks to rob in person. Case in point? This 26-year-old Milwaukee man and his 17-year-old girlfriend. Using a fake name, they contacted a woman who wanted to sell a laptop and watch, and then planned to rob her of her goods and whatever else she happened to have on her…and they decided to use a gun to do this. There was only one problem: Their victim had a gun, too, and she knew how to use it. In reasonable fear for her life, she shot the young woman who was attempting to rob her at gunpoint. Now the 26-year-old boyfriend is being charged with murder, since his girlfriend’s death happened as part of their felonious plan. The anonymous victim is no doubt shaken to the core, but she’s still alive…because of her quick thinking and her CCW.

2. “For no reason!”

This one’s a little different, in that the concealed-weapons permit holder’s actions aren’t as clear-cut as the story above, but there’s still a valuable lesson for the rest of us. It started when a young man saw another man on a bicycle, and thought, “I need his stuff more than he does.” He knocked the bicycle rider down, and stole the handgun that the victim was open carrying. Unable to retrieve it from its holster (hooray for retention holsters, by the way!), he ran away…only to come back in an attempt to get the victim’s wallet and phone. It was at that point the victim shot and wounded the robber. What’s interesting here is that when law enforcement initially responded to the scene, the robber tried to claim that he’d been shot “for no reason.” It wasn’t until he was told that there were surveillance cameras that caught exactly why he’d been shot that he changed his tune.

Because the victim shot when the robber had returned and only seemed to be after his possessions, said victim spent a couple of days in the county jail before prosecutors decided not to charge him. (Be that as it may, I can’t say that I entirely fault the armed defender…after all, his first encounter ended with him having been disarmed, and he had every reason to believe that the robber was simply going to assault him again.) However, since he was open carrying and the first thing the robber went for was that gun, this incident does add credence to the “open carry is a temptation for criminals” argument.

3. Why do they even bother in Texas?

Last, but not least, we have this story from the Lone Star State. Why criminals in Texas think that armed robberies are ever going to be a good idea, I don’t know. I mean, there’s “dumb,” “damned dumb,” and “tried to hold up a Texas liquor store” dumb. That’s why nobody should be surprised to learn that when these two Mensa members decided to make some quick cash, they headed to a store that’s probably the third-most-likely to feature counter jockeys who pack heat. (The first two would be the Texas gun store, and the Texas pawn shop, followed by the Texas quilting circle at #4.) They shot at the clerk and missed; he shot back and didn’t. The one he hit died shortly thereafter, and the one who got away was caught by law enforcement swiftly. Texas criminals, maybe you might want to think about choosing a safer line of work, like, say, fishing for Alaskan king crabs or teaching tigers to sit and stay.

Here’s the crucial point: Although each of the above examples is anecdotal evidence that guns save lives, consider the fact that these are the ones that actually make the news. Although the figures are fuzzy, it’s estimated that up to 97% of armed citizen incidents don’t involve a shot being fired at all. In those cases, the citizen may choose not to contact the police–no harm, no foul–and therefore you’ll never hear about it unless you were there. And if you were…well, aren’t you glad you had a gun and a permit to carry it concealed?