I went through a CCW requals class recently, and the changes in law in the state have been interesting. We were retrained on everything from affirmative defense, to your handgun permit. as an example. A weapon like the sig MPX sells as a pistol/handgun however it is not covered under the CCW handgun permit. in point of fact in a explanation of what LEO’s may know and what you are permitted to do. The new points in the law were in part as follows.:
- an officer can take you in for carrying a variety of machine pistol(semi auto) because they are not HANDGUNS! Then the point was made that under current law(some changes were just passed in may) you need a CCW for pistol (yet none exist at the current time, at least none I am aware of).
2)Knives were always at the discretion of the officer, but the prevailing thought had been, that if you had a CCW you could carry a knife . (under current law however OTF knives (out -the Front) and assisted knives may also need their own permit (also none exists at the moment, to my knowledge) FOR those carrying EDC bags, you could get arrested by what’s in the bag
-
a great deal was made about two other points you can have a CCW get pulled over, be taken to the station and then released (Our reporting systems are not updating on weekends in this state). A class participant asked what happens if I am on my way to work and get fired for not showing up on time. The response was basically that hopefully when you are at the precinct a supervisor with more understanding would let you go (the routine stop didn’t need to go to the station) but even if you get a note. If the job fired you it was the price for having a CCW - deal with it.
-
in our state now" printing" (having a weapon outline show under your clothes) is now the same as brandishing a weapon. An officer can arrest or cite you for “printing” This will undoubtedly insure your CCW is not renewed in the future.
-
If you are involved in an incident, and lets suppose you have someone else call the police (for a host of state based reasons), andlets assume you are in-front of your house. (in our state houses have the castle doctrine-no need to retreat, HOWEVER every other place the law says you must retreat if it can be done safely). So back to the point you were in your front yard but you have paths to the right and left of your home. It is at night. The officers show up, you may be arrested because you did not retreat. In addition if the attacker was bigger than you and lets say you couldn’t retreat you may win, but if they are smaller than you, you may get arrested for something coming from a principle of disparities of force. which basically states
1)if someone punches you in the nose punch them back , no harm no foul
2)if they punch you , and you shoot them… you’re going for a ride to the gray bar hotel -
if you say you are in fear of your life, and the person is bigger (the force is with them) you may win your case (you will still loose your CCW)
4)if you say you are in fear, and the person is smaller you will most likely go for a ride in the gray bar ferry to the hotel.
5)if when the officers show up they see avenues of egress you did not see, you are going for a ride depending on how that officer files his report based upon what he sees. (note) his report may be unbiased but it is based upon perspective and yours is subject to complete examination -
lets say you were in a city at the mouth of an alley and you could retreat but it was through gang territory ( the law is waived since you would be putting yourself in danger)
In addition the law is modified that CCW means essentially no one knows ever that you have a weapon (other than possible wife or immediate family members).
Also note that in the signup for the class, there is a small amount of type that says per the state you are required to practice (at a range) once per month. So that innocent question from someone about your skill set could get you sent to jail, if you answer it wrong, and remember their will be a validating investigation.
also note that the more training you have (in my view the more responsible of a gun owner) the standard in the law now weights that somewhat against you. More training equals an ability to never be involved in an incident. Or as the instructor stated if you are thinking of going somewhere and think to put on your weapon. then do not go where you are thinking of going. (if you do and something happens, then your judgement is in question).
The law is being molded to insure that for CCW carry folks , it is a LIFESTYLE. Everyday you do abc (get up brush teeth, put on weapon, go out-) Everyday it is an everyday occurrence.
In addition we had a render aid clause in the law that has been modified, because the responding officers could assume if you are rendering aid that you are trying to destroy forensic crime scene evidence. In addition it will shift the incident from defense to your medical skill set, and if you were capable of the medical treatment you were giving, if you are capable (tactical medic,EMT,etc) the questions in part are did you give the right specific treatment at the time (you know ten doctors in a room and each may have a slightly different take on what is first. This is especially true if analyzing tactical medic treatments vs EMT style treatments) they look at different things to treat based upon normal environment they are used in.
Tactical may work on a farm 40 miles from a hospital, but emt standards may rule if you are in a suburb with hospitals 5 minutes away The choice may get you prosecuted in addition to the weapons charge or examination.
Officers investigate scences, investigations are for the purpose of determining what if any other violations of law may have occurred. if upon investigation it yields other charges, you will be charged. That is a big difference from officers investigate to determine the truth (this is not about officer bias, but training). Hence the following
- Be prepared to spend 1-3 days at the station after an incident (just officers doing their job)
2)speak when your lawyer says speak
and note for any past LEOS, and those with some past experience (DHS,FBI,DIA,CIA, Local and county Police, Sheriffs etc.) If you are a civilian training may go against you. Example from class. I asked- per a past understanding from training , fire until the threat is down or eliminated, however the law takes the position that when a person drops then the threat is eliminated… In conjunction I asked should the attacker be handcuffed or restrained. (per training). The thinking was (as we know) bullets do not kill people blood loss (exsanguination)does (in general) we also know handcuffs are employed because the human body tries to rework the issue of hurt and sometimes people regain consciousness (they wake up and get up, and continue on with destructive behavior)
However the new understanding per class is 1) definitely do not restrain or handcuff, and fire until they stop. which is different from until the threat is neutralized.
My only point is regardless of training or what you thought you knew, do you keep up with the current law our governor signed 200 bills in to law, he did this in May- he did this three times, and buried within those bills were subtle changes to the law that have a profound impact on a CCW and a persons right to exercise their 2 amendment freedoms.
The push of man to refine and analyze or do away with certain rights is here, the battle may be different than bullets and a gun, it may be what subtle changes in law mean for everyone
A final note: A bank robber gets shot by a security guard, he runs out of the bank, around the corner, through the parking lot,to the end of the parking lot. unlocks his car gets in turns on the ignition, and the dies on the steering wheel. The security guard shot the robber through the heart-- but look how far he went and what he did before he stopped!
We may need to do a better job of educating the general public about our sports and protections, because they are the ones judging us in court. and what they do not know can get you a new confined home
Do YOU KEEP up WITH YOUR LAW CHANGES