When you carry concealed, sometimes things can get a little constipated, I mean complicated!

I don't know why, but every time I go to Costco, I have to use the restroom and that means I have to figure out what to do with my firearm while taking care of business, sitting or standing.

I have seen and heard of many ways people handle these situations and I’m going to share with you some do's and don’ts on handling your firearm while handling your business!

Here is the situation, you’re visiting your local Costco or Wal-Mart and nature comes a calling!  Many of our firearms are in holsters that attach to a pants belt, regardless of the type of holster you have, inside- or outside-the-waistband. For those of us who wear a  IWB soft material to keep the holster from digging into our sides, the con is that the hoster becomes flimsy when the belt loosens. Others who wear a stiffer style holster still have to deal with how the firearm falls. Sometimes this means a pistol flops when the jeans drop.

Those who don’t know what to do (men and women) tend to put themselves in situations that could cause embarrassment or worse, the loss of a firearm.

Just two months after a new law in Kansas passed allowing concealed carry on campus, A student at KU reported to a graduate teaching assistant that he’d found a .38 Special revolver, on a toilet in a men’s restroom.

Don’t be this person who forgot to put his firearm back on his person!

Let’s take a look at the places you shouldn’t place your firearm when in a public restroom.

On the back of the toilet

This is how most firearms get left behind.

Between the rail and dispenser

Again , this is dangerous if the gun is not holstered and it's how it gets left for the next person to find.

On top of the toilet paper dispenser

Many people have admitted that they have used this method of storage while going to the restroom, the problem is that many of these people have taken the gun out of the holster (leaving the holster on the belt) to sit it on the dispenser and when they pull on the toilet paper, the vibration causes the gun to fall.  If a person would try and catch the gun before it hits the ground, they have a very good chance of a bad finger placement,  like, on the trigger.

On the floor

Do I really need to say more?  How often does that floor get cleaned, how many people have had slash back causing the floor to be sticky?

Never place your firearm in any place without it being in a holster.

If you take your gun out of its holster and it falls this could cause the gun to discharge or as you grab your gun from between your legs and the pant button catches on the trigger causing it to discharge.

So, If these things are out, what are we supposed to do?

Pick a stall that has a least one side with a wall

If you drop your pants all the way to the floor, you need to           remember that people can see your feet under the door, making this a great time for the person in the other stall to reach under and grab your gun and run.

For the women,

if you have a purse or bag that can hold your firearm while in the stall, you can place your gun and holster in that purse or bag.

use the coat hook

on the stall door to keep your purse or bag off the floor, you can also put your firearm in your jacket pocket and hang it on the door.

you can place the gun

and holster between your legs on top of your underwear.

Depending on where you carry

on your person, you can fold the gun and holster inside the pants when sitting

Men, using the urinal

is not a hard thing to work around. Remember our jeans have zippers and our underwear (for those of us who wear them) allows us access, if you know what I mean.

These are just a few things to think about the next time you’re in public and needing some relief time.

Join me next time when I talk about carrying a firearm without without proper training.

There's A Better Way

As gun owners, we understand there will be times when we will experience the lows in our lives that come from arguments, break-ups, divorce, death of a loved one or from personal pain, like back injuries or surgeries.

Most are able to keep those lows at bay, not allowing ourselves to fall down the rabbit hole. We learn to move on after a break-up, learn how to co-parent after a divorce and learn to live with constant pain without letting the drugs get the best of us.

Unfortunately, not every gun owner is able to pull themselves out of that funk. They may think they will never find another boy or girlfriend, or that their children would be better off without them in their lives. These emotions are just that, emotions.

Family and friends may start to worry about what you are saying, afraid you might use your gun to end your life.

Out of fear that you may hurt yourself, the “petitioner” calls the police and the “Red Flag Gun Protection Law,” also known in Colorado as the “Extreme Risk Protection Order” or ERPO goes into effect.

Approved by the courts, you will be mandated to hand in your firearm(s) for no less than 364 days! In that time ,you the “respondent” can motion the court once during the 364-day ERPO for a hearing to terminate the ERPO. Money will be spent on attorneys plus time lost from work.

The Person or “petitioner” that reported the original ERPO may request an extension of the ERPO before it expires! This could leave the petitioner without access to his or her gun for more than a year.

There's a better way!

“HoldMyGuns” is a non-profit organization that partners with FFL’s across the United States to provide voluntary firearms storage during times of crisis or personal need. They understand that we as humans go through ups and downs.

They believe that times of hardship should be met with an outpouring of compassion and camaraderie.

If someone you know is feeling down, talk to them about voluntarily storing their guns until they work through their hardship.

We want to protect your rights to keep your firearms without fighting the courts.

I will be applying to be a safe holder of your firearms until you are ready to have them back. The cost? Getting through the hardship and seeing the beauty of the days ahead.

Warning Shot

It’s 1 am and you hear your neighbor (who has been threatening to harm you in the past) yelling for you to open the door.  You open the door and tell him to go away, he steps back into the yard and pulls a knife and demands you step outside so he can kill you.  Fearing for your life, you get your gun and fire off a warning shot into the sky telling your neighbor to get off your property.

The neighbor runs away and a short time later the police are at your house.

What do you think is the reason for them showing up?

1. They’re there to take your statement?
2. They’re there to let you know they arrested your neighbor?
3. They are there to charge you with negligent discharge of a firearm?

If you picked “C” you are correct!  In Colorado and most other States, firing a warning shot is illegal.  The only time you fire your gun in a situation like this is when you are in imminent fear for your life at that moment.

Question

If you are in fear for your life, firing a shot at the threat is to:

1. Shoot to kill?
2. Take careful aim and shoot the leg hoping he/she will run away?
3. Shot to stop the threat?
4. None of the above

I look forward to reading your answers.

Level Up

From time to time I come across a diamond in the rough. That's what happened at my Basics Of Pistol Class this last weekend. A young man, 21 yrs. old took my class just days before buying his first pistol. Tyler had never fired a gun and couldn't wait to take the class. Five people in the class and this young man qualified for "Level 1" status. After working with him one-on-one, Tyler once again qualified for the NRA "Level 2" status! This young man is going to do very well.

April 2022

April Fool’s Day is the one time a year we can all pull pranks on our family and friends (notice I didn’t say, spouse or partner!). Jokes are played and we all laugh with each other. But there is a “Fool’s Day” that is very serious, underaged kids with firearms. Just this year two kids under the age of 8 yrs old (from a quick look on the internet, I bet there are more) found a gun in the home and the other in the car. The 7-year-old found a pistol under the bed, pulled it out, and shot his mom. They were the lucky ones, mom survived.

The 5-year-old was not so lucky. Dad parked the car and went into the post office to mail a letter and left his 5-year-old son and wife in the car. The boy got out of his seat and found a loaded gun under the seat, I bet you can guess what happened next. The boy picked up the gun and it fired, the round hitting the mother in the back of the head killing her instantly.

This type of “Fool’s Day” is on the people who buy guns and think they don’t need to follow safety rules.

I’m with many of you, there should be gun laws, but not on guns, on the people who own them and allow unauthorized people to get their hands on them. For years we have been putting people in prison for “getting high” and I can’t think of one case where a legal gun owner who left their guns unlocked allowing 17 years or younger child to shoot themselves or others was held responsible for allowing that to happen.

If you think putting your gun in your closet or under your mattress is a great way to hide and keep the gun from your child or your child’s friend, you better think again.

There are many documents showing that when a child is asked if the parent has a gun, not only will they say yes, many would take them to where the gun was kept.

If you’re not sure what the safest and most responsible way to store handguns is, take a class, take my class, or anyone who is qualified to teach you the correct way.

Don’t allow yourself to be a statistic, this type of “Fool’s Day” will haunt you for the rest of your life.

Do you know the law?

My wife came across this article and after reading it, I wondered how many of you would have shot at some one who was stealing from you?

April 14, 2022, 5:31 AM MDT / Source: Associated Press

By The Associated Press

A Southern California shoe store owner opened fire at two shoplifters, police said, but mistakenly shot a 9-year-old girl about to get her picture with a mall Easter bunny.

The store owner fled the state and was arrested in Nevada, authorities said Wednesday.

Marqel Cockrell, 20, was chasing the shoplifters out of the store Tuesday evening at the Mall of Victor Valley in the small city of Victorville when he “fired multiple shots at the shoplifters,” Victorville police said in a statement.

“Cockrell’s shots missed the shoplifters and instead hit the 9-year-old female victim,” the statement said.