Psychological problems of firearm ownership
When I was down in Ottawa last week I stayed with ahigh school friend of mine who is in the Canadian Armed Forces. I also managed to spend a few hours with a college friend of mine who will be starting RCMP (Canada’s national police force) training this comming week. He and I reminisced for some time, and indirectly the talk tutrned to firearms. I am planning on moving to the United States and aquiring a concealed firearm for personal protection, and so I asked his opinion on such weapons. It was suggested that I look at a few specific makes and models, which I have done so online.
He told me about the firearms training he would receive, which would be quite intensive. He also mentioned his mother’s reaction to the video which was sent to him byt he RCMP which gave an overview of the training he would receive, since a lot of it would focus on firearms training. She was quite shocked at what he would have to be prepared to do. Most people view police work as primarily high-speed driving, investigations and public relations - the Police Academy view of police training. Unfortunately, a lot of time needs to deal with firearms work, especially with the major policing agencies. If you forget to aska question of a crime witness, you can always go back and ask it later. If you forget to take the safety off your firearm in a critical situation, you end up dead. Police need to be prepared not only to use firearms, but to deal with the consequences of their use.
The following day I asked my army friend about firearms. He doesn’t know as much about them as he is not an enthusiast, but he has more practical experience. He listed a few models and gave me some information. And then he asked me what I was interested in pisols for - they are nearly impossible to carry around with you in Canada. I told him I was doing reasearch and planned to aquire one when I eventually moved down to the United States for self defense purposes. He then asked me “Where would you shoot somebody?” I thought he was testing me so I began to answer that you aim for center of mass when he invertupted in his typically ADD-like style and continued to ask in a hyper fashion “When would you use it? How would you live with yourself afterwords? How do you know that you aren’t going to start pulling it in inappropriate situations?” I missed a nubmer of his questions because he was going so fast.
I began to realize afterwords that both the police and the civilian use of firearms have significant concerns to them. There exists in both situations the possibility of misuse, and a possibility of remorse afterwards. I gave a lot of thought to that, and consequently I have more respect for police officers - this is an issue that they would have to confront during their training.
As for myself, I have carried an asp (collapsable steel batton) with me for the last 4 years. I tend not to carry it with me when I am around town, but when I am out late, in a bad section of the city, am travelling, or am in an unfamilliar section of the city I will carry it with me for personal safety. This is the most powerful weapon that a person can carry around in Canada with them for self defense without a *huge* amount of paperwork and a lot of luck. Both stun guns and pepper spray are prohibited in Canada (unless you get bear spray, which is pepper spray, but that doesn’t go over too well with the police). I have had to consider using it.
I have had to de-holster it on a few occasions, though it has never gotten to the point that I had to extend or strike anybody with the baton. Once was with a group of students heading home late at night in downtown Toronto when a homeless man started begging for money. We ignored him (students don’t have spare money) but the man started pawing at members of our group. I then moved my baton from it’s holster into my hand in the event that he became violent. Fortunately, he decided to go back to his space on the sidewalk and to leave us alone. My baton returned to it’s holster without any comment. Another situation was when a lady I knew had to leave her appartment because another tennent in the appartment building went on a drug rage and started damaging the property. When I was in the building (it was quite small) helping her move her stuff out, I kept the baton in my hand should he burst out of his unit and go crazy. He never did.
People who decide to carry weapons for personal protection need to realize that those weapons are only effective if they are willing to use them. They may not have to, but they need to be prepared. Pointing a gun at a purse snatcher or a rapist or a serial killer may work. It may not. It depends on the mental situation of the attacker. If you are planning on carrying a weapon for self-defense, prepare a plan of action ahead of time. Figure out when you will use your weapon, and when you won’t. Try to resolve the situation without violence if possible. But if necessary, be prepared to kill the attacker. Years of therapy is a lot easier to handle than death for eternity. But give credit to those who have chosen to carry a weapon. Most of them have made that discision knowing the possible outcomes. It’s never an easy decision, but it is a personal one. And remember that it may not be their life they end up saving, but yours.