Concealed Carry & Home Defense

HOOBER: Wins Behind The Blue State Lines

(Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

Guns and Gear Contributor
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By Sam Hoober

Occasionally, it’s good to show off a win. While much of this column has been used to show what not to do, what people do wrong, etc., sometimes it’s good to highlight when something goes right.

And sometimes things go right in states that are known for being downright hostile to lawful citizens carrying.

In a residential area in downtown Syracuse, N.Y., a man opened fire on a group of people a few weeks ago after threatening several people there. One of the residents had a valid concealed carry permit and was carrying a sidearm. The armed citizen drew his pistol, and shot the man firing on the area.

The perpetrator was killed in the exchange, with nobody else killed or wounded.

Contrary to the wishes of the state government, and most local governments there, some Californians are lawfully armed. And sometimes, those lawfully armed Californians use them to save themselves and their loved ones from criminals.

On Aug. 26, residents of a neighborhood in Newport Beach, Calif. were awoken by loud banging and other noises at around 4 a.m. The commotion was caused by a man trying to break into somebody’s home. Initially, the perpetrator had been trying to gain entry through the back door, but made his way around to the front of the house and broke down the front door.

The homeowner was awoken by the noise, and retrieved a gun. A single shot was fired, fatally striking the man who had broken into the home.

Likewise, armed citizens also prevail in other restrictive states such as Maryland.

Around the same time, an attempted home invasion in California, Maryland was thwarted when a homeowner shot an intruder. Late in the evening of Aug. 27, police responded to a reported burglary in the town of California (about 40 or so miles south of Baltimore) and found one Tavein Dickens, who had suffered an apparent gunshot wound.

Dickens had forced his way into the residence by pounding on exterior doors and windows, eventually forcing his way inside. The homeowner emerged armed, and confronted Dickens, shooting him several times with a pistol.

Officers and paramedics rendered aid, but Dickens was pronounced deceased upon arrival at the hospital.

And it also turns out that permitless carry does not lead to blood running in the streets…or at least not in the way that some people believe that it will. As we learned with the Second Wave Of Shall Issue, more permissive concealed carry laws and even constitutional carry laws don’t correlate strongly to increases (or decreases) in crime rates.

In Houston, Texas, an armed robber attempted to stick up a man walking to a gas station and got shot in the face for his trouble.

The perpetrator was dropped off from a car and approached his potential victim, who was walking to a Shell station. The victim was lawfully carrying a handgun without a permit, which was signed into law effective September 1 of this year. The perpetrator approached and drew a handgun, demanding the victim’s valuable.

The victim isn’t being named in the press, but drew his own pistol and shot the perpetrator in the face. The perpetrator was transported to the hospital, where he is expected to recover and face trial.

That’s as close to an absolute win as it gets.

These are just some recent incidents that illustrate what we already know. There are some amongst us that are evil, and mean everyone else harm. In a perfect world, no one would need a gun because there’d be nothing and no one to defend one’s self from, but that’s not the world we live in.

People who advocate for gun control may be well-meaning, or even sincere in their concern for the well-being of others. But until mankind is cured of evil or violence of the mind ’tis better to err on the side of the common person rather than on the criminals.

Sam Hoober is a hunter and shooter based in the Inland Northwest.