I’ve made my share of mistakes in
life but there’s one that stands out, to me, as one of the biggest. That was purchasing, and attempting to use, a
concealed carry purse.
As
I’ve said many times, I’ve made some stupendous, gargantuan mistakes in life,
but I’ve always tried to learn from them.
The story I’m about to relate was one of the biggest.
At
the time these events were happening I was totally new to the concept of
carrying a weapon in public, but I was by no means new to or unfamiliar with
firearms. My uncle, a Marine rifleman
and proud member of the Chosin Few, taught me how to handle a firearm
when I was eight years old. By the time
I was nine I was a crack-shot with an M1 Carbine and he and I spent a lot of
time at the range. Rifleman that he was,
he swore by a philosophy based on the idea that “the sole purpose of a
pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you never should have set down in
the first place.” He taught me to be
proficient with a pistol, but he made me an expert with a rifle. By the time I was old enough to apply for a
CPL I was a safe and accomplished shooter, but I was greener than grass when it
came to carrying a sidearm in public.
I’d
passed my Concealed Pistol License course, I’d been
fingerprinted and photographed, and I’d turned my application in to the County
Clerk’s office and paid my fee. Now, all
I had to do was wait for my permit to arrive.
I’d spoken with a
few other women, at the course, and they were fretting over what holster to
use, what impact carrying a gun would make on their wardrobe choices, when they
would be able to carry and when they wouldn’t and how they would use the ladies
room when carrying a weapon. I wasn’t
very outgoing in those days, so I listened, and nodded, and felt very
comfortable in the fact that I had that problem solved. I mean I had that problem solved six ways to
Sunday. This was one of those cases
where it’s easy to delude yourself into believing that you’re easily the
smartest person in the room. How could
anyone fail to see the perfect option?
My solution to every single one of those problem had arrived just a few
days earlier. The UPS man had delivered
my brand-new concealed carry purse.
I already carried a purse everywhere I went so why not just switch to one that
carried all my normal accoutrements plus a Colt 1911 Officer’s Model? This was a no-brainer. I always knew I was bright, but I was
beginning to realize I wasn’t just bright.
I was, in fact, beyond any doubt, absolutely brilliant. I transferred the contents of my old purse to
the new one and began using it, without the pistol, right away. Eventually, my permit did arrive in the mail
and I was ready.
Something happens to a person the first time they step out the door of their
home carrying a lethal weapon. A certain
amount of paranoia sets in. You become
highly self-conscious and you’re positive everyone knows you’re carrying. It’s quite uncomfortable but it does gradually
fade away. On my first outing I chose to
go to one of our local Meijer® stores.
They set the pattern for Walmart SuperCenters
before there were Walmart SuperCenters. I had a lot of shopping to do and I had the
day off. I finally realized that unless I
began acting like I’d done something wrong nobody would suspect I was
armed. I relaxed. I settled into a normal rhythm.
Soon I was absorbed in shopping. I was so absorbed that I became
oblivious. I fell into old patterns and
behaviors. I’d placed my purse in the
cart’s child seat and went about my business.
That was perfectly acceptable to me.
Had my purse been snatched I’d have lost a credit card or two and maybe
a couple hundred dollars in cash and my keys.
The chances of that were, I thought, rather slim and constituted a
reasonable risk but circumstances had changed.
That purse now contained an Officer’s Model 1911 with seven rounds* of
185 grain Jacket Hollow Point ammunition in the magazine and one more in the
chamber. The piece was in Condition 1,
magazine and chamber loaded, hammer cocked, and thumb safety applied. This was not business as usual. I made an unforgivable error.
As I’d done
thousands of times before, I stepped several feet away from the cart and
focused my attention on my shopping. I
was horrified when I discovered what I’d just done.
So much for that
idea. I’d had the bag in true “hand-bag”
configuration. If I were to have it
under my direct control, as it now needed to be, I’d need to hold it in my hand
at all times. That was
unacceptable. I retrieved the shoulder
strap that I’d placed inside the purse and installed it. I now had a concealed carry purse that was
securable provided I didn’t simply place the strap over my shoulder. I would need to wear it cross-body for it to
be secure and as an added bonus it would also be “hands free.” After a minor set-back I was back in
business. With a little luck I could
even convince myself that I was still a genius.
Then I came home,
made dinner, and watched the news. I saw
a story, similar to the pictures
below. A local woman had been beaten and kicked into
unconsciousness because she refused
to give up her
purse that she just happened to be wearing cross-body. She still lost her purse and its contents and
nearly her life, as well. Then it dawned
upon me. If I were in that situation and
I were struggling to regain control of my purse, my weapon, stored in that
purse, wouldn’t be available to me. My
IQ just took a huge nosedive. Suddenly I
realized my concealed carry miracle was a total failure much like most other
panaceas.
That was a big day
for me. I learned two extremely important
life lessons:
1.
I wasn’t
nearly as smart as I thought I was.
2.
Concealed
carry purses are a very bad idea.
This was the state
of my knowledge when I failed to convince Harry and Marge that concealed carry
purses were less than a good idea, as I’d related in the article Intimidation and Harassment. Then the true reality came to
me in the middle of the night and it gave me chills. I’ve been referring to this as “the nuclear
option” as far as this being a one-shot kill for the concealed carry purse
idea.
Purses
get snatched. There’s no doubt about
that and it’s happening more frequently.
Let’s take an objective look at exactly what happens when your concealed
carry purse is taken away from you.
At one time I
considered myself to be an average female.
As of late I’ve streamlined my life somewhat but up until a year or so
ago here’s the list of important items I’d have lost if my purse were snatched.
Most of us would
lose our wallet or whatever we use to contain or organize our credit and debit
cards, healthcare cards, identification cards, driver’s license, pistol
permits, membership cards to social clubs etc.
Most of us keep our keys in our purses and those could include our car
keys, keys for our home and various places inside our home such as small safes
or even gun safes. Some carry cards with
security access codes to home security systems.
Very few of us carry less than that so let’s see what we have to offer
the criminal who steals our concealed carry purse. We’ve quite possibly just given him, or even
her:
1.
The
address of our home, derived from our ID cards and driver’s licenses. They now have the ability to drive right up
to our front door.
2.
We’ve
given them access to our home any time of the day or night. They have our keys.
3.
If they
weren’t armed previously they are now, with our own pistol and ammunition.
In other words,
the criminal that stole our purse has the ability to come to our home, walk
into any door they like, steal everything we own or, should they so desire,
kill our entire family, in our beds, while we sleep. After that they’re still armed with the gun
we provided.
I look at concealed carry purses as “Please, come rape, rob, pillage and
murder my family,” kits.
Is there anyone who still thinks a concealed carry purse is a
good idea?
*Every single time I tell this story
someone, who believes a woman can’t be knowledgeable as far as firearms go, has
to point out my “error.” They always
contend the magazine capacity of an Officer’s Model is less than seven
rounds. It isn’t when one purchases Chip McCormick Custom® magazines.
A pdf copy of this article may be
downloaded here.