Friday, July 13, 2012

More Heat Than Light

Sometimes an honest question is answered with a rant...


A member of the ASIS LinkedIn group asked for current best practices for the extremely rare active shooter scenario.  

Before the discussion got started a staunch defender of the Second Amendment and enthusiastic proponent of Shall Issue concealed carry chimed in:

Shame people are now prohibited from protecting themselves...

No one rose to the bait so he made 58 more posts, arguing with some invisible straw man.  The irony of ranting about workplace violence in a public forum apparently was lost on him.

The current best practices for unarmed personnel is to escape if you can, hide if you can't, and fight if you must. Gunfighters should run to the sound of the guns. When the cops arrive don't act like an active shooter. Simple. Intense, but simple.

FEMA EMI offers a free version such instructions in their IS-907 online course, Active Shooter:  What You Can Do.  The advice is simple, clearly laid out, and free.

The Center for Personal Protection and Safety (CPPS) offers for sale a DVD called Shots Fired: When Lightning Strikes (which correctly summarizes the frequency of such incidents).


I have no issue with shall issue laws or the idea of lawfully armed private citizens carrying concealed almost anywhere, but active shooter situations are rare; situations where lawfully armed citizens have intervened to stop one even more so.

In the mean time, "Lighten up, Francis."

Image credit: The Day of His Great Anger by John Martin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anger