Honor Defense sent out a press release on Monday, July 30th that their pistols were approved for purchase for back-up and off duty use by the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department in Lawrenceville, Georgia. This on the surface may come across as extremely mundane, but you need to bear in mind the location that Honor Defense achieved this at in the United States. We are talking about Georgia. More specifically, 35 miles from one of the largest firearm manufacturers and names in law enforcement in the world – Glock.

What the announcement from Honor Defense does not go into is what this exactly means. Optimistically, the department could be purchasing or allocating funds for all of their officers to get Honor Defense pistols for back-up and off-duty use. Pessimistically, the department could simply be implying that Honor Defense firearms are acceptable if sheriffs so choose to spend their own money on them in their free time.

I am not implying anything negative about Honor Defense’s firearms or their brand. Simply put, there are a few more questions than answers to their press release. Gary Ramey, the President of Honor Defense, shared this statement regarding the news:

We are honored and privileged to be approved by Gwinnett County for individual Officers to purchase. Gwinnett County joins a growing list of law enforcement departments that have approved Honor Defense. The approved weapons are the same models available to consumers as well. Honor Defense was designed with law enforcement input and has superior ergonomic features. Most importantly, Honor Defense was tested by Gun Tests Magazine and confirmed to be more accurate than the top single-stack 9mm brands.

Many civilian shooters appreciate Honor Defense for their law enforcement driven qualities and relatively affordable price-point. If your favorite gun to carry is [insert favorite brand/model here], would you consider Honor Defense as a back-up or secondary carry firearm? Is the idea of a back-up carry even something you consider to begin with? Let us know in the comments below! We always appreciate feedback.