Blood in the Streets

by Skip Coryell

  So, let’s follow this definition to its inevitable conclusion using logic and “if-then” statements of fact. If a criminal has no regard for the law, then, laws will not deter him. Kind of simple isn’t it? Then why can’t our legislators figure it out? Well, some can, but others can’t. Our job as responsible citizens, is to vote out the ones who can’t. In that regard, perhaps you and I also failed those students at Columbine. We allowed people with no common sense to lead us, and, like sheep, we followed blindly to witness their deaths.

  And that’s why I called this chapter “Pistol-free Insanity”, because it makes no sense whatsoever to disarm honest, law-abiding citizens, potential “sheepdogs” who are willing to defend the flock from wolves. We do it over and over and over again. Someone is murdered, so we make a law against the way they did it. Someone else is murdered, so we make another law, and another and another, and another. Where does it end? Answer – never. Because that’s how legislators gauge their success, by introducing bills and passing new laws. What we need is an anti-legislator, someone who will get rid of half the stupid laws we already have on the books. But I digress – again.

  No doubt you’ve all heard this definition of the word, “insanity”. “Doing the same thing over and over again, but, each time, expecting a different result.” Gun control laws will never control criminals; they never have, and they never will. They only control those willing to obey, i.e., honest citizens.

  So, even with the best of intentions, gun control laws are doomed from the start, because they are illogical and contrary to the laws of human nature. They affect only the victims of crime and leave the criminal unmolested, indeed, empowered to do his job quicker, easier, and safer.

  But I say, “Make the criminal scum pay!” Armed sheep are a wolf’s worst nightmare. Make the wolves worry. I want to see them twitch their head nervously from side to side when they mug someone. I want to see them develop nervous ticks! I want them scared. Loosen up gun laws and allow innocent victims to defend themselves. And that’s what “shall issue” CCW laws and “stand your ground” bills are all about. Empower the people and let us take out the trash!

  Am I advocating vigilantism? Of course not! That’s against the law! However, when laws no longer serve the people, the people should work to abolish those laws. So, work hard to abolish counterproductive gun control laws, arm yourselves, train, stay alert, and, when the bad guy comes knockin’, you start rockin’! It’s the only thing that makes sense! Why? Because it works!

  Aside from being illogical and impractical, pistol-free zones create unsafe conditions for all of society, for several reasons. First and foremost, pistol-free zones create an artificial geographical area where only criminals will have guns. You’ve seen the time-tested and popular bumper sticker: “Outlaw guns and only outlaws will have guns.” This is very true. But, many of our legislators, in their infinite stupidity, took it a step further. Not only did they create pistol-free zones, but they announced it to all criminals everywhere. “You may rape, pillage and plunder with impunity at the following locations: churches, schools, hospitals, casinos, daycare centers, and stadiums, etc.” Someone emailed me a sign that would be funny if it weren’t so scary. “Attention criminals! All law-abiding citizens have been disarmed in this location for your convenience.”

  Now tell me, does that make any sense to you? Where do people like Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold go when they want to kill mass amounts of people? The answer is obvious, they go to a place with lots of people, preferable unarmed people. Places like schools, churches, stadiums, . . . is any of this sinking in?

  Think about this next question and take it to heart. If someone is already willing to commit mass murder, do you really think they care about a sign that says: “No guns allowed”? When did simple, common sense become so uncommon? It’s amazing. Here’s another thing. As a former Marine and as an NRA Instructor, I’ve been around a lot of firearms in my day, so I know firsthand that guns don’t pull their own triggers and bullets don’t spontaneously combust inside the chamber. Someone has to pull the trigger or the blasted gun just won’t go off! In short, guns don’t go off inside the holster, they go off when they’re being handled. And what do pistol-free zones mandate? They force CCW holders to continuously and needlessly handle their firearms, usually in a cramped and crowded place like a car. Allow me to illustrate by describing a typical day for many CCW holders.

  7:45AM – Holster pistol and leave the house.

  8AM: - Drop kids off at school. You have to go in and see the teacher, so you unholster your pistol and lock it in the car. You come back out, and reholster your pistol.

  8:30AM - Go to the post office on your way to work. Remove gun. Put in safe. Go inside. Come back out. Handle gun again. Go to work.

  9:00AM – Get to work. They are afraid of guns there, so you take it out and lock it up. (Handle it again.)

  Noon: Go to lunch. (Chinese food) Take out gun, holster it. Return to work. Unholster gun.

  5PM – Get off work. Holster gun. 5:45PM – Go get kids at daycare center. Unholster gun, put in gunsafe. Go in, get kids. Come out. Take gun out of safe and reholster it. Go home.

  So, thanks to the pistol-free zones, instead of drawing my pistol once, I have handled my firearm a total of 11 times. Ten of those handlings were unnecessary, except for compliance with a ridiculous and senseless statute.

  Why would the legislature do that? The answer is simple. It’s called political compromise. In order to garner enough support to pass the bill into law, the bill was continually watered down to get moderates to vote for it. Plus the fact that anti-Second Amendment politicians don’t want you carrying at all, so if they can’t stop the law, they’ll at least do their best to make it impractical to carry.

  I find it an amazing tribute to God that he loves even anti-gun politicians. It’s probably best that he’s God and I’m not. But, alas, they are like the poor, they will always be with us. They are the wretched refuse, the scum of the earth, always seeking whom they may devour, constantly trying to entitle and enslave those without the guts to stand and fight against them. And that is the task of this generation, to stand and fight, to resist, to restore sanity to our legal system.

  Now, with God as our witness, “Go forth and conquer!” Take no prisoners! Take America back, piece by piece if needs be, one pistol-free zone at a time!

  “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”

  —Thomas Jefferson—

  “I was instructed to walk through the front door with my hands above my head. They had me back down the steps, then raise my shirt up to my armpits. It was dark outside and several very powerful lights were on me. One officer came out from behind cover and gave me a body search that was the envy of even the most overzealous Air Transportation Authority Agent. “

  Safety! Safety! Safety!

  Have you ever cussed at your computer? I have, many times. The problem with computers, is that they always do precisely what they’re told to do, regardless of what you want them to do. In that regard, firearms are the same way. When I pull the trigger, the gun goes “bang”. When I point the gun at a person, then pull the trigger, someone gets hurt or perhaps even dies. It’s really quite simple.

  So that begs the question, “If it’s so simple, then why are there still gun accidents?” On page 211 of Ted Nugent’s book “God, Guns, and Rock-n-roll” Ted makes this ingeniously basic assertion:

  “And the bottom line remains that there is no such thing as an accidental discharge, only negligent discharges. It is never a hardware problem, always a human mistake. Period. So don’t make the mistake.”

  And, of course, Ted is right. After all, he’s Ted.

  According to the NRA, rule number one of firearm safety is “Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction”. Rule number two is “Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.”

  Rule number one is important, because “safe direction” is defined as any direction where the gun can
discharge without hurting another person. Rule number two is important, because guns just don’t go off unless someone pulls the trigger.

  I suppose there are extremely rare exceptions to this rule, e.g., firearm malfunction of a very old gun that has been dropped, or, the spontaneous combustion of a CCW holder. But, for the most part, people and guns just don’t burst into flames, and, if they do, you’ve got more to worry about than flying bullets.

  I recall that when I took my NRA class to become a Basic Pistol Instructor, the teacher asked how many of us had ever had an accidental discharge. When 6 out of 7 of us raised their hands, I thought that there must be some mistake. Perhaps people misunderstood the question and thought he was asking about their sex life? After all, I was the only person in the room with no law enforcement experience. I was shocked to discover that every cop in the room had experienced the misfortune of having their gun go off by accident. How could that be? Police are highly trained.

  Yes, of course they are. But if you think of a firearm as just another tool, then it becomes more clear. How many carpenters have you seen with missing fingers? It is so easy to become careless with a table saw when you operate it several hours a day. Likewise, when people are around guns every day, they can become lax, they stop thinking, they make stupid mistakes, and they break the rules.

  Life is cause and effect. If you neglect safety rules, the gun will go off and hurt or kill someone. In my instructor class, the teacher went around the room and made each of us tell the story of our “accidental” discharge. By time he got to me, I was sweating .45 caliber bullets. It’s not a pretty story, but I’ll tell it to you now. Go ahead and have a laugh at my expense, but it will be worth my embarrassment if you learn something that may save your life.

  I grew up in the country around guns. I knew the rules. In fact, I had gone to great lengths to handle my firearm safely and to keep it out of unauthorized hands. Still, even with heightened awareness and after meticulous precautions, I screwed up.

  I remember that I was about to file for divorce from my wife at the time. (Yes, this is a very juicy story. The soap operas have nothing on yours truly.) I had just caught her in her second affair, and I was holding off from filing, just to make extra sure I got custody of my two children. She was deep in the throes of drug and alcohol addiction, and I had been documenting everything. The pending court battle promised to be very nasty and I wanted to be prepared.

  Bobby Napier, my hunting buddy, had come over to visit, and we were watching the movie Major Payne in the front living room. We were both sitting on the couch and my then-wife was off to one side in another chair. Halfway through the movie I said, “Hey, have I showed you my new .40 caliber yet?”

  He said no, so I rushed off to the gun safe to get it. I brought the loaded gun into the living room, carefully removed the magazine and ejected the cartridge from the chamber. I double-checked to make sure it was safe before handing it to my buddy. I sat back down on the couch, put the magazine on my lap and went back to the movie as my friend looked over the gun and dry fired it a few times. When he was done, he handed the empty pistol back to me and I dry fired it a few times myself. I would pull up, aim at the television set, line up my sights, get good sight picture and sight alignment, then slowly and carefully pull the trigger rearward until it clicked. I did that several times over a 15-minute period, just for practice, then I stopped and placed the empty pistol on my lap.

  About 10 minutes later, I grew tired of the loaded magazine sliding down into the couch cushions, so I slammed it back into the pistol and laid it back on my lap. A half hour later, I pulled up, aimed at Major Payne, and dry fired again. Wham! Major Payne exploded!

  A .40 caliber inside a small room can make a deafening noise. I remember being totally shocked at the boom and at all the smoke. I looked down at the gun in my quivering hands and thought. Did that just go off? The hole in my television set and the cloud of smoke above me confirmed that it had.

  Bobby looked at me and said, “Are you mad at the TV or something?” I didn’t answer. I was so shocked that I couldn’t even speak. My wife just stared over at me and smiled, very calmly and said, “Now I’ve got you.”

  I didn’t know what she meant at the time, but after my buddy left a half hour later, she walked over to the phone and, with perfect poise, dialed 911. She then, very calmly, deliberately, and as if she’d been planning it for years, pretended to be terrified.

  “Yes, hello, please! I need the police! My husband has a gun! He just shot the television and I’m scared. I have two small kids in the house and I don’t know what he’s going to do next!”

  She had me by the balls, and I could feel the icy grip of her squeeze. I sat down across the room and listened as she spewed out lie after lie to the dispatcher. At one point I got up and walked over to take the phone, but she began screaming.

  “Oh no! He’s coming to get me!”

  I wanted to strangle her. Instead, I prayed silently, and waited for the SWAT team to come and take me away.

  Five minutes later, I was instructed to walk through the front door with my hands above my head. They had me back down the steps, then raise my shirt up to my armpits. It was dark outside and several very powerful lights were on me. One officer came out from behind cover and gave me a body search that was the envy of even the most overzealous Air Transportation Authority Agent.

  The officers were very professional. They got my story. Then they got hers. Mine was consistent, but hers was not. Because the police were already familiar with our precarious marital situation and because they had arrested her before on other charges, they chose to believe my story, and they let me off with a warning to be more safe. I was lucky.

  To make a long story short, I divorced her, got the house, the kids, child support, etc. But that one instance of stupid, mindless, neglect of firearm safety gave me fits in court for months to come.

  (Not to mention that I had to buy another television.) What rule had I broken? A big one. The NRA specifically teaches that no ammo is to be in the room while dry firing. Ouch! Almost a decade later, it still embarrasses me to tell that story. My kids love the movie “Major Payne”, but I can’t watch it anymore. Even the sight of Damon Wayans makes me nervous!

  And that’s why I’m such a gun-safety nut on and off the range. My own stupid carelessness scared me into being safe. In that regard, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. After that, I took an NRA gun safety course, then a few years later became an NRA Instructor.

  You might call me the Apostle Paul of gun safety. Yes, I was the chiefest of firearm safety sinners, but that blinding flash of light coming from my .40 caliber that evening caused me to rethink and to change. It opened my eyes, and, just like Paul, I had become “born again”.

  So I urge all of you, to rethink your stance on firearm safety. Be conservative. Be careful. Always think, and always obey the rules. They will save your life. Don’t wait for the blinding flash to learn and practice gun safety. Because, after the flash, it’s too late for everything except the chalkline.

  “I quickly unholstered, placed the barrel of my gun on his bicep and pulled the trigger. The blast blew blood, muscle and bone up against my living room door. The grip of his hand loosened and then fell away completely as he withdrew and fled, leaving an awesome trail of blood.“

  Stay Alert – Stay Alive!

  Just a few moments ago, while I was writing this chapter, I heard the dogs barking, and my mind and senses kicked into super, self defense overdrive. I heard a knock at the door and got up to answer it. But, something didn’t feel quite right, so I first peeked out the curtain to see who was on the front porch. It was a rough-looking stranger.

  Through the door, I asked who it was. He replied that his car had broken down and his wife and kids were stranded just down the road. This had the look and feel of truth, but I still wasn’t convinced. I placed my foot about six inches away from the door and reached back to place my hand on my pistol. Th
en I slowly unlocked and opened the door a few inches.

  Almost immediately, the man threw his body against the door, but my foot stopped it from flying open all the way. I was off balance and a little surprised, but was still able to push against the door and try to lock it back up. But the man was strong and heavy. Quickly, he reached in and clasped his big, heavy hand firmly around my throat and began squeezing. My right hand was still on my pistol, so I quickly unholstered, placed the barrel of my gun on his bicep and pulled the trigger.

  The blast blew blood, muscle and bone up against my living room door. The grip of his hand loosened and then fell away completely as he withdrew and fled, leaving an awesome trail of blood. I closed the door, locked it, and then called 911 as I went to check on my kids.

  It’s okay, relax, I didn’t really shoot anybody. It was just a drill. In an earlier chapter, I mentioned a self defense training technique called visualization. I practice this technique everyday without fail. It’s something that I do automatically, without even thinking about it. By now, it’s become so ingrained in me, that I doubt I could stop if I tried. You can’t just run out and buy yourself a gun and then expect to survive a gunfight. You have to prepare. You have to train.