Self-Defense

Washington mini-mart owner Tan Ho has been robbed before, so when a man entered his business last Tuesday demanding money, he didn’t hesitate to take action.

While I can’t necessarily translate my unscientific study to the nation as a whole, I’d have to estimate that at least 80 to 90 percent of the permit holders that I know personally don’t carry regularly or even carry at all. The question is, “Why?”

Looking to increase your home’s security and your peace of mind? Here’s a quick rundown of some tried-and-true guns for home defense.

A South Carolina woman used her handgun last week to defend her home and her three sleeping children against a burglar who had broken into her front door. Security camera footage shows Cecil Charles Parnell, 43, along with an unidentified woman, attempting to break into the home owned by Ashley Jones. Jones told WSPA she heard banging on her front door and two people speaking on the porch.

To Mel Bernstein, owner of Dragon Arms in Colorado Springs, storing an AR-15 in a synagogue is as common sense as any other safety measure. And in the wake of a massacre in Pittsburg that left 11 Jews dead, he’s putting his money where his mouth is. “I don’t really like what’s going on in the country,” he told KOAA. “And I’m offering them a free AR-15 rifle with two magazines and 100 bullets.”

I should not have to say this, but just because someone “doesn’t look right” and is carrying a weapon doesn’t mean you are about to be assaulted or that he is an armed robber.

At the time these events happened, I considered myself to be well-prepared — maybe over-prepared — in the area of personal self-defense. (I am retired military and a former police officer.) I foolishly thought I was smart enough to be able to keep a criminal from getting the best of me. I was wrong.

A harrowing incident at a smoke shop in Savannah, Georgia, offers several key takeaways for practitioners of armed self-defense. Jerry Lawrence had just opened Mary Jane’s Vape and Smoke Shop when two customers entered the store. Thinking they were innocent patrons, Lawrence turned his back as walked behind the counter while speaking on the phone with the store’s owner.

When the new XDM came up, I asked Springfield Armory if they were ready to dance. Not only did they say yes, but they knew a good ammo guy. My proposal was 10,000 rounds, every round shot on camera. That is a huge risk for a new gun, and I had no way of knowing if it would survive.