I carry two everyday.
Too many folks worry about getting sued or going to jail. While I share those ideals, I don't let it stop me from one important fact. I want to LIVE! I will do everything I can within the limits of the law to go home to my family or protect them. If I have to go to jail, so be it.
Actually a little preplanning will most likely keep you out of jail.
The biggest difference between us average gun carriers and law enforcement is that we don't have to chase and apprehend bad guys.
But I urge to stop and think about this......
We don't have body armor.
We can't call for back up.
We don't have a long gun or dog in the cruiser.
Some of us don't carry a stun gun and/or pepper spray.
I can and will always carry a backup or second gun. I need every advantage I can get.
See the links about what Mr. Ayoob has to say on the matter.
Ayoob on Handguns lessons from the past: Three reasons to carry backup - Handguns | Guns Magazine | Find Articles at BNET
2010 Shot Show: Massad Ayoob talks about carrying a second firearm
Again, with all due respect to Mr Ayoob, follow his line of work. Each time I testify in a trial, my credentials are offered in order to be properly qualified as expert. Once my testimony has been given, one side or the other and possibly even the Judge will ask what I have written that supports my opinions offered in court. Mr Ayoob is no different. He hs to support his position in writings prior to a trial.
Many police officers retire and go into private investigation and I support this. Others want to become experts in some field but lack the educational background so they make up for it in experience. The more articles they can write for magazines, trade publications, websites and such gives them a basis for qualifying as experts. I know a wrecker driver in another town that is a high school dropout but he got qualified as an expert in accident reconstruction based on his experience in seeing auto accidents in post collision position as well as the vehicle damage. He now gets $240 per hour for his testimony, which has been proven incorrect many times but he still got paid.
The difference between a police officer's pay and an expert witness is several hundreds of dollars a day. One of those I admire in my field holds a Ph.D in the work but gets $475.00 per hr from the time he leaves on a case until he gets back. This includes travel time, sleeping and charges from portal to portal. During a typical three day invesitgation he can earn $30,000. I keep my fees less than that so the working person can afford my services but I have to have some background basis for my testimony before I can be hired.
Where one expert may have one opinion, another will feel exactly the opposite. Both sides get heard in court.
And we have, being nice here, prostitutes in the business that will say one thing in one trial and say the opposite in another. In short, they say what the person hiring them wants them to say.
My opinion may not be the popular one but it is the one I maintain. People often do not like what I say so they attack the messenger. I have been attacked severely in court about my beliefs and opinions. I have also been attacked in court for being a member of the NRA. It is a fine line that we have to walk.
I also have to say because a person writes a book does not make them correct. No book, magazine article or trade paper is any better or any more accurate than that of an opposite opinion. There is a thing called situation ethics. What is right today may not be tomorrow. But there are people that take both sides. They get paid well but are not stable in their opinions.
I want to say again that I am a fan of Mr Ayoob and have long admired his work. We may also disagree on some points but I certainly respect his work and am not directing this post against him or any other individual. It is simply to point out the differences in viewpoints.