By Paul Rackley, American Rifleman
A small Spokane, Wash., coffee shop was robbed three times in less than a month. Afterward, the owner decided to arm her staff. The owner was already allowing employees to carry firearms on the job, but after the third attempt she has decided to supply a gun for the store.
This is not the first time I’ve heard of crime being the impetus for someone choosing to arm himself or herself. It’s hard to not want to fight back after staring into the eyes of someone with very little regard for decency. Often it takes becoming a victim of crime before a person considers ways that it could have been prevented, though sometimes walking out of a potentially bad situation makes people realize that they had no way to fight back if things had gone bad.
A few years ago, when my mother was out riding her horse, she came across a couple of dodgy characters. Other than offering her a couple of stares that made her nervous they gave her no problems as she trotted by. She was, however, a good half mile from the nearest road and even further from any homes. Any potential help was a long way off, and she had no way to defend herself, other than sinking spur and hoping for the best. She now has a concealed-carry permit and a handgun.
Other victims of non-violent crimes, such as vehicle break-ins, learn to hide valuables from view, or get really good at remembering to lock all of the doors and windows after seeing a suspicious person hanging around outside. It’s sad that so many become a statistic before realizing there are numerous ways to prevent and stop crime, such as locking doors, staying aware and, in the case of these coffee shop employees, arming themselves.
I have no empirical evidence that crime victims become gun owners; I’m just drawing a logical conclusion. It’s obvious that this barista plans on never being a victim again. Now that the decision to carry has been made, my recommendation is that the entire group obtains some training so they’ll be truly prepared in the event of another robbery attempt.
Thanks to Paul at American Rifleman for this post. To follow Paul’s blog click here. To join the NRA click here.