In this edition of Concealed Carry Corner, we’re discussing carrying on your person, while at home. Of all places that you should be able to feel comfortable, secure and safe, it may not actually be that safe after all.

CONCEALED CARRY CORNER: CONCEALED CARRY AT HOME

I grew up in a town of about 100,000 people. I was raised that if you wanted to ride your bike tomorrow, you put it away when you’re done with it, lest it get taken at night. We locked our doors because my parents knew what kind of crime took place. Doors and locks don’t always matter for determined adversaries, but typically, they’re looking for soft, easy targets.

Image from https://wtvr.com/2016/05/05/hungary-glen-terrace-robbery/

My first job in law enforcement took me to a tiny town in comparison to my hometown. I responded to numerous calls of burglaries in which the homeowners admitted that they never locked their doors. They couldn’t understand why it had happened. Fortunately, in the incidents I responded to, the burglars in question didn’t have an interest in assaulting or murdering people. However, there are some out there that are interested in nothing but hurting or killing others. Some people are quick to say “give a bad guy whatever he wants” thinking only in material goods rather than saving their own life and limb. It’s hard to accurately define what any one intruder wants unless they tell you themselves, but who’s to say that they’ll not want more once they have what they came for? If someone has already risked going to prison by entering your home and stealing things and/or assaulting people, then how can we expect them to draw a line in the sand for themselves? The following video reveals a mother’s mindset in thinking that everything would be okay once she gave the invaders what they told her they wanted.

My home has a strange layout, so I’ve been carrying concealed at home so that no matter where I’m at inside or outside the home, if trouble arises, I can respond from where I am instead of having to go to a set spot to arm myself first. One day, for whatever reason, I’d forgotten to arm myself. A stranger came to the open garage door while I had just stepped inside from working in the garage. The kids were still in the garage and one of them came inside and told me “someone is here.” The man gave a bogus story about whom he was looking for and I was unable to help him. I didn’t fear him at the time and the encounter was harmless in the end, however, it was a wake-up call for me. His arrival was out of nowhere, unannounced and quick. I played the “what if” game in my head after he’d left. “What if he’d been a child abductor” or “what if he wanted something and didn’t care whom he hurt in the process of getting it?”

As we’ve clarified in other Concealed Carry Corner editions, simply having a gun on you isn’t going to solve every encounter with evil people. Practice, training and preparing yourself mentally can help. However, there have also been good responses by armed homeowners. The following video from CTV News doesn’t show if the homeowner was armed or not, but the homeowner reacted quickly to force the door shut, which seemed to shut down the attack despite the assailant’s use of a shotgun.

The next video from Fox News is lacking in details but documents the shooting of an intruder by the homeowner. It was reported that there were children in the home at the time. Defending children is a great motivating factor when it comes to protecting the home.

It doesn’t appear that anyone was injured in this next video from WPTV News. The homeowner engaged the home invaders who quickly split once the shooting started. However, the homeowner’s pistol either jammed or ran empty as the slide can be seen stuck rearward. The invaders seemed to be searching for something (or someone) specifically before they were located.

If you’ve been paying attention, most of the videos of home invasions that are embedded here involve two or more bad guys in an attempt to gain whatever their hearts desire. They are attempting, (sometimes succeeding) to overwhelm and conquer. The following video from the Live Awesomeness channel documents the YouTuber’s home invasion story. It is thirteen minutes, but there are some good things to chew on throughout the video. Even though she lived to tell the tale, her business and livelihood were disrupted, to say the least, with insurance not wanting to cover the losses. What’s more, the vehicle they stole from her was also used in two murder cases following her own experience.

Another thing to consider is that you don’t always have control over how desirable you or your home can be to a burglar looking for a target. As in the murder of George Davenport, it was believed that he kept $20,000 in a safe in his home, while in reality, he was killed for only $500 worth of cash and goods in the end. As in the video above where a mother and daughters were burned to death, it was one of the killers’ attraction to one of the daughters that made them the target. It turns out that all Jayme Closs’ kidnapper needed to target her was simply seeing her for the first time when she got off the bus. His attack on the home involved a quick attack on the front lock, then shooting Jayme’s parents to remove any resistance to the kidnapping. It’s a possibility that if Jayme’s parents had been carrying on their person, one or both of them may have put a quick end to the kidnapper’s plans. Making our homes more secure and keeping a better eye on our surroundings are great things to do, but sometimes we can’t change people’s perception of reality.

A WORD OF CAUTION

When it comes to buying guns for self-defense, at home or abroad, I remind people to ask themselves if they could shoot someone that was causing an immediate threat to life or limb. One of the arguments against gun ownership is that it could be taken from you and used against you. Usually, when I see a statistic involved with the argument it seems laughably high and seems easy to dismiss. However, the notion of having your gun taken from you is a real possibility if you introduce a firearm that you’re not willing or able to use against someone actively putting you and others in harm’s way. You would also be providing another tool for your attacker to use against others. For anyone reading this that is considering a firearm for home defense or concealed carry in general, ask yourself if you could shoot someone.

CONCLUSION

Even though this is the Concealed Carry Corner, open carry at home can be considered as well. We want to feel comfortable in our own homes, and if open carry does that for you, then please do so. I personally choose to carry concealed at home so that I don’t alarm delivery drivers or neighbors when they stop for a visit. Whichever way you choose to carry at home, stay safe IN there.

How about you? Do you open carry or concealed carry at home? Have any of you dealt with home invasions? Is there a certain news story that hit home for you?

TFB’s Concealed Carry Corner is brought to you by GLOCK