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To the concealed carry permit holder, you have a very important responsibility. The responsibility to carry a handgun is not one that you should take lightly, it is a key factor in deciding whether or not you or your family will be safe and at the same time whether or not you will take a life. Guarding your family and ending the life of a bad guy is not a choice you should make with the same amount of thought as to what you are going to watch on TV tonight. This should be something that you are clear in your mind of the reasons why, and the possible ramifications of your choices.

Why Carry Concealed?

There are a lot of reasons why an individual would choose to carry a concealed handgun but they almost all boil down to personal security or protection. Why else would you carry a firearm that is capable of killing someone unless you were prepared to use that amount of force to do just that? If you weren’t willing or able to pull the trigger, there would be no need to carry would there?

Carrying a concealed firearm should be done with the full intention that one day you may need to draw your weapon, point it at the threat and pull the trigger. If you don’t understand this basic fundamental and more importantly, are prepared to do just that, you should not be carrying concealed in the first place.

For me, the motivation behind carrying concealed was not because of a threat on me or my family. I had no out of the ordinary experiences in my past that made me fearful for my safety or the safety of my loved ones. I look at this from a practical standpoint. I think Wayne LaPierre summed it up nicely in response to the outcry over the Newton School shootings when he said, “The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” I agree completely.

It wasn’t a school shooting that convinced me to carry either, but Wayne’s comment resonates perfectly with my own philosophy. As a legal carrier of firearms, it may come down to me standing in front of a “bad guy” with a gun. I don’t view this as a preordained destiny from God that I would be placed in any situation like this, but if I am, I want to make sure I am prepared. If I am in that situation, I will accept the responsibility of being the good guy who potentially stops the bad guy.

Obviously my family’s safety was first and foremost in my mind, but like school shootings, or church shootings or mall shootings, I believe that the more legal, responsible people we have with firearms, the safer everyone else would be if a bad guy got it in his head to harm people.

Never leave home without it.

I know a couple of people who have their concealed carry permits, but they never have their weapon on them. When I ask why, it is usually one of two responses. Either they laugh and say, “I don’t have to worry about anything here do I?” or that the firearm is bulky, doesn’t go with their outfit, not easily concealed, etc.

If you have a permit, you should carry your firearm everywhere you go. I have mine with me even sitting around the house in my sweatpants. Why? Because you will almost never foresee the time and place you will need it. Leave it at home one day and the church you are attending may be paid a visit by a lunatic who wants to meet God, really. Have that firearm in your bedroom and someone may kick down the door while you are watching American Idol. You never know, so it is your duty and obligation to carry your firearm with you at all times. How are you going to protect yourself or anyone else if your concealed carry is under the bed?

When should you use your weapon?

Carrying concealed, as I explained above, is not to be taken lightly. If you are carrying, you must think through the possibilities and potential threats, escalation and your actions.

Let’s say you are a woman and you are work evenings at a retail store. When you leave at night, you may have to go out into a dark parking lot or a dark alley. Maybe this isn’t in the best part of town, maybe it is. Regardless, there is a chance someone could approach you on your way to your car, but you are carrying a concealed handgun. Out of the corner of your eye you see a man walking towards you. He is mumbling something that you can’t quite make out and he is closing the distance between you and your car. As he gets closer he is still mumbling and you see a knife in his hand. What do you do?

Every situation that you could possibly face is different so there is no one size fits all answer to using lethal force. As we saw with the George Zimmerman case, there was much arguing and heated debate over the “Stand your Ground” law in Florida. First, you should know the laws of the state you are carrying in, but a general guideline is that your life must be in jeopardy before you can justifiably kill someone. You can’t kill someone who is being rude or talking too loudly in a movie theater, or who stole your parking spot. This is life and death we are talking about so there can’t be any grey area.

If you do have to use your firearm, the police will be involved and they will be scrutinizing you very carefully to ascertain whether or not the person you shot (just like George Zimmerman) was a real threat. If they decide that you killed someone who didn’t deserve to die, guess who goes to jail?

One fallback you have is that the simple fact you are carrying, may be a deterrent. Without shooting anyone you can let them know that you will, if need be. Drawing your firearm and having it pointed down at the ready position (down) is a first step. Forcefully warning your attacker that you have a gun and you will use it may defuse the situation. They leave, you are both alive and you don’t go to jail.

You must play out scenarios in your mind and make sure you understand what you will do in various situations. You want to clearly deal with the threat if you are ever forced into that reality.

Why does all of this matter?

In order to be prepared, we look at a lot of different aspects of our lives, possible threats that could impact us and make plans for how to mitigate the pain or suffering we would go through in the event that any of those threats come to pass. Carrying a concealed firearm, just like storing food for an emergency is one type of survival preparation. You carry survival kits for when your car breaks down in an emergency. You carry a Get Home Bag if something happens and you need to make it back home, right?

Carrying a concealed firearm is what you do if you are planning to survive a bad guy trying to kill you or someone else. If you have foresight to get your permit, carry a weapon and have thought through the ramifications of deadly force, you have a duty to yourself and the other good guys around you to have this with you and be prepared to use it.

On a different note, here’s some other self-sufficiency and preparedness solutions recommended for you:

The Lost Ways (The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us)
Survival MD (Knowledge to survive any medical crisis situation)
Backyard Liberty (Liberal’s hidden agenda: more than just your guns…)
Alive After the Fall (Build yourself the only unlimited water source you’ll ever need)
The Lost ways II (4 Important Forgotten Skills used by our Ancestors that can help you in any crisis)
The Patriot Privacy Kit (Secure your privacy in just 10 simple steps)

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To the concealed carry permit holder, you have a very important responsibility. The responsibility to carry a handgun is not one that you should take lightly, it is a key

I have not been following the news of the Boston tragedy hyper closely because I didn’t want to get bogged down in the details. That may sound foolish or naïve, but I had a feeling as this was unraveling that something seemed very odd about the events portrayed in the news and TV. I continue to feel that way after the two suspects have now died or been captured. Time or circumstances has made me a little more skeptical to believe everything I see on TV at first blush. I don’t know whether or not this is a good thing but I started to wonder how we as a society will change going forward.

After every terror attack since 9/11 we have lost some of our liberties in the name of fighting terrorism and I don’t expect this event to be any different.  I still believe that the Boston Marathon bombing event will be more significant for how society will change as a result than the actual event that took the lives of 3 people and injured over 100 others. In consideration of that belief I started to think about the precedents that have been set in the wake of this tragedy and how they might change our world tomorrow now that the dust appears to be settling.

Coming to a town near you?

Coming to a town near you?

Martial Law declared over 2 people?

As soon as the “authorities” were on the trail of the suspects, they ordered everyone off the streets and into their homes. People willingly hid in their homes to stay away from the boogie man who was running around with a bomb apparently.  Several communities were under Martial law as armored vehicles, Humvees and troops combed their streets in full battle gear. Was all this necessary? In retrospect, was this conditioning for getting us used to hiding in our homes while the military roams the streets? Why were all of these troops necessary to catch 2 men? Aren’t the Boston police capable of catching someone when the entire world knows who they are and what they look like?

No fly zone Declared

Immediately after the bombing a no fly zone was declared with a 3.5-mile radius over 811 Boylston Street. The zone was later reduced in a subsequent notice to a 2.3-mile radius. The zone is limited to flights under 3,000 feet in altitude, which is lower than most airliners would fly except when taking off or landing. The only people who would have been able to fly that low are helicopters and small planes. Why this restriction? Perhaps it was for public safety but maybe it was to keep someone in the sky from seeing something on the ground that the media wasn’t showing.

Door to Door searches

Door to Door searches

Door to door searches without a warrant

Police were hunting for a suspect door to door in several neighborhoods in Boston so they were going from each home, one by one, searching homes and cars with complete impunity. I heard reports that some people, scared that the bombing suspects might actually be in their home were welcoming the police in with open arms. Why doesn’t this seem odd to anyone? On another level, could this additionally be conditioning or practice for gun confiscations?

Miranda Rights? We don’t need no stinkin Miranda

A Justice Department official says the Boston Marathon bombing suspect will not be read his Miranda rights because the government is invoking a public safety exception.

That official and a second person briefed on the investigation says 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be questioned by a special interrogation team for high-value suspects. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose the information publicly.

The public safety exception permits law enforcement officials to engage in a limited and focused unwarned interrogation of a suspect and allows the government to introduce the statement as evidence in court. The public safety exception is triggered when police officers have an objectively reasonable need to protect the police or the public from immediate danger.

This just means they can torture anyone they want in the name of “public safety”. Again, a precedent is being set here that is really dangerous. Why, when he is in custody does this person still present a public safety threat? What is a definition of public safety? Can someone who is just really pissed off be a threat to public safety so we don’t need to Mirandize him anymore? This seems to give too much power to law enforcement when they can arbitrarily throw our legal rights out of the window whenever they declare a “public safety” threat.

Who stands to gain from this tragedy?

That seems like a horrible question to ask doesn’t it? If you believe in the problem-solution paradigm, then you could easily see how this event would allow some in power to push for more limitations on our freedom. If the solution is that you need a way to have more TSA agents on the streets, we need a threat (problem) to warrant their presence. Voila! Everyone in the US could now be a part of a new threat of Islamic terrorism. Do you want to be able to search anyone’s home and have them gladly let you in? Lock down the city because of a lone crazy person on the loose. Do we need to control access to the media? Lock them out of a big section of the city and close the air space! This is too easy.

I know some of you will say that I am not looking at this the right way. There were dangerous men on the loose and we had to find them before they blew up something else or hurt another person. I disagree. When have we ever been free of bad people? When have we ever been completely safe in any situation in our lives? Giving up our freedoms and liberty is not a fair trade for the illusion of safety. My fear is that this tragedy is going to be the springboard for another round of calls for just that, another erosion of our freedoms. I hope I am wrong, but I got money that says I’m not.

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I have not been following the news of the Boston tragedy hyper closely because I didn’t want to get bogged down in the details. That may sound foolish or naïve,

I’m sure both you and I have come to realize by now, a properly prepared bug out bag can be the difference between life and death in an emergency situation. A quick search in Google however will bring back numerous results, all with varying articles and suggestions. So what’s a beginner to do?

Simple. I went to the experts.

“What is the one thing every good bug out bag can’t be without?”

I asked them all this very basic question. What you’ll find below are the answers from experts behind some of the biggest and best survival and prepper sites online.

Now while a true bug out bag list might never be complete, I was simply looking for a place to start – a foundation to build upon. I believe this list provides a great jumping off point. I think we can both agree that if it is important enough to be listed as “the one thing” every bug out bag can’t be without, it should be in yours. Check it out:

“Water. You need to have some and have the ability to treat water for drinking, cleaning wounds, cooking and maintaining proper hygiene.  You have two days of survival time without water, less if it’s hot out. Water borne illness are insidious and if infected, your survival time goes down to less than a day without clean water to maintain hydration.” – Mike from The Redneck Survivalist

“The Leatherman Charge TTi available here or just about any other quality multi-tool.” – MD Creekmore from The Survivalist Blog

“For its size, weight and usefulness a must have is Duct Tape. I prefer Gorilla Tape brand because it is so much stronger and can be used for repairs, makeshift bandage or millions of other creative uses. Duct tape is a must have for any respectable Bug Out Bag.”

“The one item that I think has to always be included in a bug out bag is a solid knife. Preferably a fixed blade, at least six inches in length. This can be used for security, to help build shelter, start fire, and to gather food to name a few uses for a good knife. If size or legal considerations are a problem, a suitable secondary option is a locking folder.” – Tom from The Prepared Ninja

“I think the obvious answer is that every bug-out bag should include a means of protection, such as a gun. If a given bug-out situation is just a short-term emergency such as fleeing a natural disaster, then the gun is useless, though comforting to have. In a long-term bug-out situation, without a gun, you are at the mercy of unprepared, and desperate folks who NEED your stuff. All your prepping is for naught, if anyone can come along and take it from you.” – Spencer from All About Preppers

“The best “can’t be without” item is the proper survival mindset.  Recognize that bugging out is not going to be a lark nor is it going to be a cool way to test all of your gear.  Grab onto a positive attitude to get you through the rough spots and you will do just fine.” – Gaye from Backdoor Survival

“My number one bug out bag list item is a protein source. Carbohydrates and fat are easy to find and store but protein spoils and deficiency for any of the amino acids is nasty. My personal favourite right now is SurvivAMINO by Vitality Sciences (vitalitysci.com/products/survivamino).” – JP from Bug Out Nutrition

“My answer would have to be knowledge. This item weighs nothing and makes all the other stuff in your kit and environment useful. The more you know, the less you need.” -Todd from The Survival Sherpa

“The one thing that every bug out bag should have is a good quality water filter.  The importance of clean drinking water is self evident, but having a good filter has definite advantages over other purification methods.  There is no need to stop and make a fire or use a camp stove to boil, and there is no waiting time as is the case with chemical purification systems.  With a personal water filter, one can simply fill a bottle with stream or pond water and consume as needed, keeping you on the move to  your destination and without the need for fuel or lost time.” – Denob from The Canadian Preppers Network

“In my opinion, the number one thing in any bugout bag is the person carrying it. If that person has the knowledge, and has taken the time to prepare and practice his skills, that person is worth 1,000 time what any piece of gear is worth. Gear is great, and it sure can make things easier, but remember when everything else fails the one piece of gear that you can count on is yourself.” – Robert from Off Grid Survival

Now that you’ve heard from the experts make sure your bag is stocked with those items. If you’ve stuffed your bag full and come back for more, some other items to consider including are:

 

Image Credits: Apocalypsepack.com

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I’m sure both you and I have come to realize by now, a properly prepared bug out bag can be the difference between life and death in an emergency situation.

Many times when I talk to people about prepping, the conversation veers somewhere into the neighborhood of how they can convince someone in their life, usually a spouse that their efforts at getting more prepared aren’t crazy. They want to know how they can frame their arguments in a way that will turn doubters into believers. How they can position this philosophy in the simplest terms and ostensibly make their own life easier at least from one aspect?

Having buy-in from your spouse is vital even though it isn’t strictly necessary and it will certainly make prepping much less stressful. It isn’t going to take care of the myriad of items that you could have accumulated on your list of prepper to-dos but if your spouse isn’t actively fighting you on every purchase or suggestion, making snide comments in front of the in-laws at the Sunday dinner table or poking fun at your attempts to grow a garden in front of the kids, all the better for you.

Talking to your spouse about prepping is usually what I hear the most, but there are others out there who are trying to convince parents that prepping to some extent is good. The funny thing is that this question comes from both high school age children who want support with their efforts as well as fully grown adults who are trying to change the habits of their senior citizen age parents. No matter how old you get, your Mom is still your Mom and she always knows best. Unless you are talking about technology it seems. Talking to your parents about prepping isn’t easy but it can be done and you may get them on-board with prepping too.

How to convince parents when you are a minor

Talking to your parents when you are still living under their roof and possibly still going to school (which they may be paying for) is believe it or not, the easier problem to deal with, but it does take a little more finesse. A reader sent me the following question:

“I am trying to prep, but I am 14 years old. I don’t have much money of my own and my parents seem to think the idea of stocking up supplies is crazy. How can convince them that we need to have something for emergencies?”

Focus on what you can control – There aren’t too many 14 year olds that I know who have the resources much less the dedication to prepare for all the contingencies that many of us have stored in the backs of our minds. When I was 14 I didn’t see much in the future past the weekend let alone preparing for years after some emergency, but don’t follow the example of my wasted youth. What you can do without really involving your parents is to make your own plans. Identify the risks you think are likely. Prepare a bug out bag of supplies and begin learning skills that could help you in a survival situation. I routinely promote backpacking as an extremely valid exercise for practicing a real bug out. Getting into this hobby is fun and your parents normally won’t think anything more of it. If you can get them involved, even better.

Your parents love you and probably care more about you than you can imagine. They naturally want to do anything and everything they can to keep you safe.

Paint a different picture for your parents – When I was a much younger lad, fate had it that I spent the night alone, outside in late fall. This was a miscommunication on a couple of levels and I was safely picked up early the next morning by worried parents no worse for wear. Most of the subjects we deal with as preppers focus around bad things happening and without getting too ‘doom and gloom’, you can paint a picture of something bad happening to you in order to bring up some topic of preparedness. For example, you are going away for a school retreat out-of-town and your parents are going over the details with you. You could use this opportunity to say, “let’s just pretend hypothetically that something happens and I am unable to get home on the bus… what do I do and where do I go? What will you do? How will I get in touch with you if the phones are dead?” Again, you have to work this into the conversation with some skill. You can’t just blurt it out or they may blow you off and think you are just trying to scare them. Thoughtfully approach the subject and ask more questions. Get them to think about it and offer ideas if you have them. Your parents love you and probably care more about you than you can imagine. They naturally want to do anything and everything they can to keep you safe.

The Prepper’s Blueprint: The Step-By-Step Guide To Help You Through Any Disaster

Make sure the time is right – Don’t start trying to get your parents to stock up on freeze-dried food while they are busy watching their favorite TV show or filling out their taxes. You know when your parents will be most receptive to talking to you and you want the conversation to appear normal.

Look for strategic opportunities – The best times I think to bring up preparedness topics is unfortunately after some tragedy that is in the news. When news of earthquakes are dominating the headlines, that is a reasonable time to ask what would we do if one hit our town? How long do you think we could eat on what we have in the pantry mom? Maybe we should but a couple cases of water next time we go to the store, huh Dad?

How to talk to parents who are old and set in their ways

Convincing parents who are moving on in their lives is far tougher in my experience because like I said above, they are by design going to think they know more than you about life. Sure, they might come to you for legal advice if you are an attorney, but getting most parents to worry about something they think is foolish is a tough sell. Another reader sent me the following question:

“I am 49 and my parents are both retired and living in another state. I try to get them to prepare in some way, but they wont. When I visit them, I see how much food is on hand and it wouldn’t last a few days. Neither one is in the best shape and I worry that they will die if I can’t get to them and the stores are closed. Any advice?”

Take your time – Convincing someone who has been taking care of themselves for over 50 years that they aren’t able to take care of themselves can be problematic and I have seen two very different responses in people I personally know. Some will brush off any discussion I try to start as silly. That won’t happen! Many people in my parents’ generation still believe that the government will save them should a disaster happen. The flip side is the fatalist who simply says they will die. It is hard talking to either one of these types but don’t give up. You wouldn’t give up on any one of your family would you? It may take years and you may get nothing for your trouble, but it is a worthy goal. You probably won’t convince grandma she needs to set aside food when she has been walking to the corner store every day for decades.

old-people-616718_640

Mountain House, Just In Case… Essential Bucket

Focus on health – Far too many seniors are overly dependent on medication just to live. That along with a more sedentary lifestyle can be a recipe for trouble if the situation prevents the steady flow of medicine or requires a lot of physical effort to move as in an emergency evacuation. Even stress can kill many seniors if the disaster is severe enough. Health is very important and as much as possible you can try to reinforce this to your parents.

Give the gift of preparedness – I have sent my parents gifts of a survival nature before in the hopes that they would use it in an emergency. I sent my dad a weeks’ worth of freeze-dried food for Father’s Day and he was pretty disappointed I think. I fully expect him to try to serve those meals to me the next time we visit. Nevertheless, if something did keep him from going to the store, I know he would have food to survive at least a week. Hopefully, he would remember it. Actually, I really hope he didn’t throw that away now that I think of it… Christmas, birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, whatever day. You don’t even need a special day to give them something.

Develop contingencies – But if all else fails you should plan on being there for your parents. This means being prepared to do for them all the things you couldn’t convince them were necessary. They may have to live with you or you may have to move your command base to their location taking all your supplies with you. Have you thought that through?

My main motivation with anything I do as a prepper is to take care of my family and the people we love around us. I wish everyone shared that goal because prepping wouldn’t be a thing then. It would simply be what we all did. Until that day though, you have to keep working to make sure you are prepared and lovingly trying to nudge those around you who don’t. Best of luck to us all.

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Many times when I talk to people about prepping, the conversation veers somewhere into the neighborhood of how they can convince someone in their life, usually a spouse that their