(photo courtesy of The Colony Police TX)
As many of you are already aware of the absolute heinous event that took place recently in Texas; Self Defense Grid wishes to offer our sincere condolences to the victims and their families of this atrocity. As previous gun violence has swept through many places throughout the years; this tops as one of the worst in history. I’m sure that many people of different political views will try to rally against the 2nd Amendment; and while we’re not a licensed firearms dealer nor am I a certified firearms instructor, I want it to be noted to anyone with an open mind that as a whole; firearms have actually saved more innocent lives than they have taken. Be that as it may; that does not bring comfort to anyone who has lost someone to gun violence, and why should it?
The idea of this posting is to share a few points on how having armed Police, armed Security and even the armed common law abiding citizen as well as staff training can all play a pivotal role in helping to reduce not only gun violence; but also provide the potential on helping to reduce casualties. Anyone can go online after the fact, whether it be on a YouTube video, blog post, etc and state how this could’ve been prevented or what they would have done “if they were there that day” and try to offer some sort of self-indulging opinion with a imaginary synopsis. I’m going to offer facts here about potential situations as well as some recommendations and let you make your own decisions:
- As a practical self defense company; I urge people that do not (and do) carry firearms on a regular basis to learn not only self defense; but engage in active shooter training.
- If you’re part of a staff; whether it be at a school, hospital, casino, security, etc.; it is recommended that such training be held AT LEAST twice a year. When you learn something once as a “set it-forget it”; that is not training. Training should be the same concept as practicing; only doing something once does not qualify as either.
- I’ve stressed it before and ill stress it again; situational awareness isn’t only what you can see right off-hand. Sometimes it takes an extra moment to look around to spot suspicious activity. Whether that is from a distance, around a corner, behind a door, whatever that isn’t always in plain view.
For reference; I have posted a link outlining some facts regarding firearm violence; it’s interesting to note that even the CDC now conducts reports on firearms, gun violence and statistics. Please be safe!
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/firearms/fastfact.html