What’s the first rule of a gun fight? Have a gun. I’ve never had the misfortune to get into a gun fight. I really plan on keeping it that way if at all possible.
Nevertheless, I carry a gun whenever I legally can.
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You don’t have a gun?
If a gun fight breaks out around you and you have no gun, you’re at best a bystander. At worst, you’re a victim. If you’re reading this you’re hopefully planning to avoid that “victim” label.
Not necessarily anything wrong with “bystander”.
Even if you’re armed, that doesn’t mean you should just jump into potentially violent situations. For example, if someone is holding up a fast food establishment where you stopped in to get a sandwich. Do you really have a dog in that hunt? Do you want to shoot someone (or get shot) over a couple hundred dollars of an insurance company’s money?
Pay attention and try to accurately remember as much as you can in order to provide good information to the police. That is a perfectly legitimate option, even if you’re armed.
The benefit of having a gun there is that you can do something if the situation warrants it. If the robber takes money and runs away that’s one thing. But if you think it’s about to go from a simple robbery to someone getting shot or kidnapped then that may change things for you.
The responsibility of having a gun there is that you have to think things through and not leap in where angels fear to tread. Go over this in your head in advance. Decide when you are and are not comfortable being an active participant vs being the best witness you can be. You can’t think of everything but a little planning can’t hurt.
Non-violence is the way to go.
You’re in an argument. No matter how big a jackass the other person is, violence should be your last resort. For one thing, no matter how righteous you feel there’s always a chance that you’re being the jackass. Hell, maybe you both are. There’s no rule that says there can be only one asshole in a disagreement.
It takes two to make peace.
On the other hand, it’s not always up to you. If someone decides he wants your money, car, friend, or what have you then that person does not have the same views as we do. The reality is that it takes two to make peace but only one to create violence. No matter how good your de-escalation skills, no matter how empathetic you may be, no matter how silver your tongue, it’s always possible that you’re just going to find someone who wants your stuff or is looking for trouble.
If they want your stuff you have to decide whether to let them have it. And it may not be a simple decision. Do you want to shoot someone over $20 in cash? What about $200 in cash that you’re going to use to buy medicine for your sick mother? That’s kind of a silly example but you could very well have something on you that’s so important you won’t give it up lightly.
I mentioned I’ve never had a gun fight. Closest I came was with a robber type person about 30 years ago. I was a courier at the time and delivered to pharmacies. He approached me in my truck and wanted my packages (he probably thought they were a lot more interesting than they were.) He had a knife. I pointed a gun at him. He left. I did not follow my own advice and call the police. I didn’t realize until later that I’d made an error. Although, as I said: it was 30 years ago. Cell phones were not exactly the ubiquitous devices they are today. I don’t think I had one for another 10 years or so.
Any gun is better than no gun.
As a rule, you should carry the most effective weapon that you own. My Springfield XD(M) in .40 is more effective than my Smith & Wesson M&P Shield in 9mm which is more effective than my Beretta Pico in .380 which is more effective than my NAA .22 magnum mini-revolver. However, I rarely carry the XD(M) because it’s too big to conceal easily. And there are times when that little five shot single action revolver is all I have.
You really don’t want to get into a gun fight.
But if one shows up then the benefit of having a gun is that you have choices. Which is why rule number 1 is to have a gun.
