It would appear that the thumb safety can be disabled/removed, although not as easily as on the other M&P series semi's currently available....

If you can't get a model without one (anybody's guess what S&W has planned), and can't deal with "just leave it off", you probably can remove it.

However, there may be civil consequences to removing manufacturer-supplied safety devices should you use the thing, and somebody notice.... Mas Ayoob's a little paranoid about such things, but if you're an LEO, "deep pockets" - whether an "agency" or even an individual, could cause problems. Much better, IMHO, sharing his paranoia, to just leave the thing switched off....

The original 1911, btw, has a very tiny thumb safety lever. Nobody's going to carry one of those in Condition One with the safety off, and while a lot of aftermarket safeties came available (I don't know when), the originals are still in service.

(Unless you are stuck with an "agency" or local rule that demands an empty chamber, in which case the safety should be off, you are, IMHO, out of your mind to do that. It's not impossible to chamber a round eventually, but it's also not likely that you can do it before the danger has passed.)

Carrying a semi with an empty chamber, often called "Israeli Carry", seems to be based on passing out guns to anybody who asked, with the feeling that it was simply safer to teach people to turn all that stuff off, and to chamber a round if needed. The concept of "better than nothing" and "everybody's got a gun" seems to drive this when the source of the weapons is nearly random. I would, I think, learn how to deal with Condition One (and practice) real fast.

If you check out Tueller's work (21'), it's based on an openly carried weapon that's ready to go. Tueller was an optimist anyway - it seems that drawing from concealment needs more like 60', and dealing with chambering a round, even more.

Hopefully S&W will offer the Shield without the thumb safety if people want it that way. I wouldn't mind buying one that doesn't have it, and then add one. If I then decided that I didn't want it, I could take it back off again.

Regards,

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Stu.