Of Chance and Trust

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While upholding the value of training, the FBSN never puts “gun talk” as the primary topic of an event. For our annual summit in Nashville this year, it was intentional that only 12 of our 62 segments related to firearms or deadly force events (of those 12 segments, 7 were optional break-out or after-hours events). However, for the few segments that were about deadly topics, the value of intervention-capable defense was clear.

Likewise, in 12-years of Think About It’s, few were about guns. It was May that I last touched the topic of armed defense in church.

It’s time to consider more things for those who object to that thought.

I can’t imagine anybody from any organization, stopping police who are responding to an attack killing their children, to disarm them at the door. Nobody (in their right mind) is going to stop an armed defender (police or civilian) from using his or her gun if that trained defender is using it to stop a murdering rampage.

So, it’s not a question of whether guns are allowed in sanctuaries.

Some still play the “chances are” card, pointing out the unlikeliness of a deadly attack at their ministry. Our Deadly Force Study reveals it happens more than people thought. Whatever the chances are however, the numbers will never be high enough to convince them.

How many political leaders (Presidents, congressmen, representatives, governors, mayors or statesmen of any kind) have experienced deadly attacks? Likewise, how many deadly attacks have been brought against movie stars, entertainers, sports figures or other high performers? How many supreme court justices, judges, high-level attorneys or VIPs have been attacked? 

Armed protectors are an accepted, intervention-capable part of the security plan for folks in all those circles, even though the chances are rare. 

Yet it still remains a question in many faith-based circles.

 

Think about it

Even those considered as anti-gun would want one in their defense if they were on the verge of death by violence. Even they would (should) acknowledge the gun isn’t the threat.

And it isn’t really about likelihood, or they would not buy life insurance that expires at age 60.

It’s about trust. When stakeholders in any organization don’t want guns on the people doing the protecting, it’s because they don’t trust those who would carry those guns. 

Train your hands and your character. Emanate skill and trustworthiness.

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