Carry A Phone
If you carry a gun, then also carry a phone. Why? To take photos? Maybe. To call 911? Bingo!
Let’s suppose you are going about your day outside your home. You are approached by a bad guy who suddenly pulls a knife and demands money from you. You draw your concealed carry handgun and aim it at the bad guy. Not expecting the victim to fight back, he panics and flees at the sight of your gun without you ever firing a shot. You wipe your brow and exclaim “Whew!” But is that the end of it? In many cases, no. Bad guys want the element of surprise on their side and get pissed off when the tables are turned.
Those bad guys who know the game, call the police and tell the police they were just minding their business when YOU suddenly pulled a gun on them. So, the police show up and question you. Then you tell them your side of the story. When they ask you “why didn’t you call the police”, you respond with “well, he didn’t actually attack me, so no crime was actually committed”. Bullshit!
The bad guy instigating the events by pulling a knife IS ACTUALLY committing a crime, such as attempted murder, aggravated assault or the like. So, by not calling the police first, you flip the tables in the bad guy’s favor, because HE CALLED THE POLICE FIRST. You can be arrested instead of the bad guy. The charges can be something along the lines of brandishing (if your state has a brandishing law) terroristic threats, or aggravated assault.
So, if you carry a gun, also carry a cell phone. Should an incident similar to this happen, IMMEDIATELY CALL THE POLICE. By you calling first, you become the complainant. The 911 call will be logged with a date, time and location (nearest cell tower). In these kinds of incidences, there are two types of people. Either you are the victim or you are the suspect. By calling 911 first, you automatically become the victim, because you will be on record as being able to present your side of the story first.
But what if you are in an area with no cell towers nearby and your call cannot go through? Should you hold off attempting to call 911? Absolutely not. Call anyway. Your phone’s call log will indicate, with a date and time stamp that you attempted to call 911. Now if the bad guy calls after that time and date stamp, you give your defense attorney something to work with.
It should be automatic when you grab your personal items before walking out the door: Keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Handgun? Check. Cell phone? Check. If you carry your handgun, ALWAYS carry your cell phone.