Michigan Home Depot CPL Shooter: Exceptional But Increasingly Likely?

I have written a couple of times previously (here and here) about the idea that some who have licenses to carry concealed weapons today extend their role beyond the right of self-defense to a DUTY TO PROTECT others, including strangers.

Even if those with concealed carry permits (by design) are less likely in general to commit crimes, I wonder whether the full embrace of the duty to protect others that some clearly have will lead to some poor decision making on the part of concealed carriers.

In her book Citizen-Protectors, Jennifer Carlson discusses the case of a citizen-vigilante in suburban Detroit, and to my amazement I heard another story out of suburban Detroit of a concealed pistol license holder doing something that seems inadvisable if not illegal.

I fully recognize that I do not know the entire story here, and I bracket my final judgement pending all of the facts. But on the surface, it seems sketchy.

But perhaps no less so than another item that came through my email yesterday: the #CCW247 campaign shown below.

There are two parts here: (1) Illegally carrying a firearms as an act of civil disobedience. Perhaps, but not sure the advisability of announcing it since it could result in the revocation of the very right one is trying to advance here.

But more apropos of the main topic of this post, is (2) YOUR act of civil disobedience is for MY protection? You won’t let me be a victim? Um, not sure that makes me feel any safer, really. I don’t know who you are, I don’t know how good your ability to recognize real threats are, I don’t know how good you are at deploying your weapon, I don’t know that I want you to escalate a situation by drawing your weapon unnecessarily.

Not saying you are a bad person with bad intentions, but good people with good intentions can do bad/stupid/erroneous things (see Aaron and Home Depot CPL shooter above). By all means, defend yourself. But don’t presume to defend me in all situations.

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